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James Hillman

James Hillman Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous James Hillman Quotes

“Why do we focus so intensely on our problems? What draws us to them? Why are they so attractive? They have the magnet power of love: somehow we desire our problems; we are in love with them much as we want to get rid of them . . . Problems sustain us -- maybe that's why they don't go away. What would a life be without them? Completely tranquilized and loveless . . . There is a secret love hiding in each problem”

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Author:James Hillman
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“My war - and I have yet to win a decisive battle - is with the modes of thought that and conditioned feelings that prevail in psychology and therefore also in the way we think and feel about our being. Of these conditions none are more tyrannical than the convictions that clamp the mind and heart into positivistic science (geneticism and computerism), economics (bottom-line capitalism), and single-minded faith (fundamentalism).”

ThinkingWayFeelsMindHeartWarFeelingsWinningLinesPsychologyConditionsBattleCapitalismEconomicsBottomConvictionFundamentalismHeart And MindBottom Line
Author:James Hillman
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“...you find your genius by looking in the mirror of your life. Your visible image shows your inner truth, so when you're estimating others, what you see is what you get. It therefore becomes critically important to see generously, or you will get only what you see; to see sharply, so that you discern the mix of traits rather than a generalized lump; and to see deeply into dark shadows, or else you will be deceived.”

ImportantShowsDarkGeniusShadowMirrorsVisibleTraitsDeceivedLumpsLooking In The MirrorEstimating
Author:James Hillman
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“The character truest to itself becomes eccentric rather than immovably centered, as Emerson defined the noble character of the hero. At the edge, the certainty of borders gives way. We are more subject to invasions, less able to mobilize defenses, less sure of who we really are, even as we may be perceived by others as a person of character. The dislocation of self from center to indefinite edge merges us more with the world, so that we can feel blest by everything.”

WorldWayGivingFeelsMayPersonsSelfCharacterAbleSubjectsHeroBlessingEdgesDefenseNobleDefinedCertaintyBordersInvasionEccentricTruestDislocationNoble Character
Book:The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life
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“How can we know ourselves by ourselves? . . . Soul needs intimate connection, not only to individuate, but simply to live. For this we need relationships of the profoundest kind through which we can realize ourselves, where self-revelation is possible, where interest in and love for soul is paramount.”

KnowsLoveInspirationalNeedsKindSoulSelfInterestRealizingKnowingPsychologyRelationshipConnectionsAnd LoveIntimateRevelationsParamountIndividuationStrong RelationshipSelf Revelation
Book:The Myth of Analysis: Three Essays in Archetypal Psychology
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“We would like otherworldly visitations to come as distinct voices with clear instructions, but they may only give small signs in dreams, or as sudden hunches and insights that cannot be denied. They feel more as if they emerge from inside and steer you from within like an inner guardian angel. . . . And, most amazing, it has never forgotten you, although you may have spent most of your life ignoring it.”

IfsInspirationalGivingFeelsMayDreamVoiceClearAngelForgottenInsightInstructionDeniedGuardianSteersMost AmazingHunchesGuardian AngelVisitation
Author:James Hillman
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“Rather let us imagine the anima mundi as that particular soul-spark, that seminal image, which offers itself through each thing in its visible form. Then anima mundi indicates the animated possibilities presented by each new event as it is, its sensuous presentation as a face bespeaking its interior image - in short, its availability to imagination, its presence as psychic reality. Not only animals and plants ensouled as in the Romantic vision, but soul is given with each thing, God-given things of nature and man-made things of the street.”

MenMadeSoulRealityFacesFormGivenImaginationAnimalVisionImagineStreetsEventsPossibilityParticularOffersPlantVisibleSparksInteriorsPsychicsPresentationAnimatedAvailabilitySensuousMan And NatureMan Made Things
Book:City and Soul: Uniform Edition
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“Not just any talk is conversation; not any talk raises consciousness. Good conversation has an edge: it opens your eyes to something, quickens your ears. And good conversation reverberates: it keeps on talking in your mind later in the day; the next day, you find yourself still conversing with what was said. That reverberation afterward is the very raising of consciousness; your mind's been moved. You are at another level with your reflections.”

MindSaidStillsEyeNextLevelsConsciousnessTalkingConversationReflectionEarsRaisesMovedEdgesFinding YourselfNext DayGood ConversationReverberation
Book:We've had a hundred years of psychotherapy-- and the world's getting worse
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“It helps to regard soul as an active intelligence, forming and plotting each person's fate. Translators use "plot" to render the ancient Greek word mythos in English. The plots that entangle our souls and draw forth our characters are the great myths. That is why we need a sense of myth and knowledge of different myths to gain insight into our epic struggles, our misalliances, and our tragedies. Myths show the imaginative structures inside our messes, and our human characters can locate themselves against the background of the characters of myth.”

NeedsHumansPersonsDifferentSoulCharacterHelpingUseShowsStruggleFateDrawsGainsTragedyRegardStructureAncientInsightActiveMythBackgroundsMessGreekPlotEpicImaginativeTranslatorsAncient Greek
Book:The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life
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“Mediocrity is no answer to violence. In fact, it probably invites violence. At least the mediocre and the violent appear together as in the old Western movies - the ruffian outlaw band shooting up main street and the little white church with the little white schoolteacher wringing her hands. To cool violence you need rhythm, humor, tempering; you need dance and rhetoric. Not therapeutic understanding.”

NeedsLittlesFactsHandsTogetherUnderstandingChurchWhiteAnswersViolenceStreetsBandWesternViolentRhythmShootingMediocrityInvitesRhetoricMediocreTherapeuticOutlawMain StreetWestern MovieRuffianShooting Up
Author:James Hillman
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“Aging is no accident. It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul. We become more characteristic of who we are simply by lasting into later years; the older we become, the more our true natures emerge. Thus the final years have a very important purpose: the fulfillment and confirmation of one’s character.”

YearsHumansImportantSoulCharacterPurposeConditionsAgingFinalsAccidentsFulfillmentCharacteristicsWho We AreLastingHuman ConditionTrue NatureConfirmation
Author:James Hillman
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