James Hillman on Spiritual Practice as an Alternative to Psychotherapy

“An alternative (to psychotherapy), is a practice of some kind. I mention that as one of the things one can learn or absorb out of Jung — a practice. That one does certain things every day for the sake of the psyche.

In a Japanese culture where you may have a calligraphy master or a flower-arranging person or you may have a dance person, but you do a certain practice. And this practice is not called psychotherapy but you are working through or overcoming the blocks that make you awkward, stupid and insensitive. Isn’t that just what psychotherapy does — overcoming, working through the blocks that make you awkward, stupid and insensitive?

So in these disciplines, just practicing the calligraphy, just getting the right amount of ink on the pen, or whatever method you’re doing, grinding the black and so on, there’s a huge amount of delicacy, sensitivity, noticing. All kinds of qualities of soul are required — and you have a teacher who knows how to do it better than you do — without an examination of your personal life. But as your personal blocks or hang ups appear, they will block or hang up the practice that you’re in.”

— from the excellent 7 hour + lecture from 2005 entitled “In Defense of Carl Jung” (linked below)