Patricia A. Pearce has written a personal, spiritual odyssey called Beyond Jesus. It is a compelling story, and will inspire you to consider your own spiritual odyssey!! At least that has been the effect I am experiencing as I read this book.

In fact, as I am reading, I am seriously considering offering this to our local Jung Society as a book club discussion session (or sessions, if that is required!!). Pearce is not specifically a Jungain per se, but certainly embodies a lot of what Carl Jung taught, such as paying attention to dreams and their messages, constantly seeking to grow spiritually, as well as psychologically. A Jungian scholar I know says this is evidence of what Jung called “individuation”.

I can see this book fostering a lot of discussion. And any readers out there who might be beyond the reach of the Calgary Jung Society would do well to read this book, maybe sparking some book discussion groups of your own!!!

One of the issues which this book has raised in my own mind is the idea that Jung’s ideas need to be promulgated beyond the scope of Jungian adherents. It is so tempting to keep Jung’s ideas to his own words. Certainly there are lots of those!! His collected works encompass 18(?) volumes!! But I suspect Jung himself would encourage his students, readers, and clients to go beyond where he took things, to expand his ideas beyond his own, to grow his ideas into new areas. That is what Beyond Jesus is doing for me. And I trust it will do that for anyone who reads this little book!! The book is readily available and is only a little over 200 pages. And it is a completely engrossing read!!!!