Short Story Idea Bank 1

I'm gathering material, ideas and research for a short story.

When the ego has been made a "seat of anxiety," someone is running away from himself and will not admit it.

"The State of Psychotherapy Today" (1934). In CW 8: The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. P.360

So far as we know, consciousness is always ego-consciousness. In order to be conscious of myself, I must be able to distinguish myself from others. Relationship can only take place where this distinction exists.

"Marriage as a Psychological Relationship" (1925). In CW 17: The Development of the Personality. P.326

Hysterical self-deceivers, and ordinary ones too, have at all times understood the art of misusing everything so as to avoid the demands and duties of life, and above all to shirk the duty of confronting themselves. They pretend to be seekers after God in order not to have to face the truth that they are ordinary egoists.

"The Visions of Zosimos" (1938). In CW 13: Alchemical Studies. P.142

The foremost of all illusions is that anything can ever satisfy anybody. That illusion stands behind all that is unendurable in life and in front of all progress, and it is one of the most difficult things to overcome.

An Introduction to Zen Buddhism (1949). Foreword by C.G. Jung. In CW 11: Psychology and Religion: West and East. P.905



I have a month or two to write the short story, so I will add to this ideas bank over the coming days and weeks.

Cooking in the Woods 1

“The more civilised, the more unconscious and complicated a man is, the less he is able to follow his instincts. His complicated living conditions and the influence of his environment are so strong that they drown the quiet voice of nature. Opinions, beliefs, theories, and collective tendencies appear in its stead and back up all the aberrations of the unconscious mind. Deliberate attention should then be given to the unconscious so that the compensation can set to work. ” Jung, ‘The Syzygy: Anima and Animus’

Or alternatively, become less civilised and live a simple, uncomplicated life.

I have been in the woods for a while. Photos will come, eventually. Until then here are some old ones of the same place:

The yurt and workshop about two years ago. When I eventually upload the new images you will notice some changes:

This was where my friend Gabriel lived 2 years ago. A short dreadlocked man named Ollie with a great sense of humour now lives here. Ali lived here last year:

Here is some of the interior of the yurt when messy Gabriel lived in it:

When I go to the woods I usually cook for the workers because I enjoy it a lot more than manual lifting and woodwork. Here is the hob and a meal prepared by the previous cook, Ali:

In the background you can see the oven, This is the general kitchen, and lovely Dani:

Mr Kite lived in the far cabin for a month last January. He says this was the best month of his whole life. The closer cabin now has a turf roof:

Yes, you can have a hot shower in the woods:

When I came back after this year's spring project week I felt so intune, so relaxed and creative. I had only spent three or so nights in the woods, and already my whole being had started to shift into something more complete and relaxed. I will write about my time in the woods properly when I am less tired and I have some current photographs to show you. There is a baby in the woods now. He was born in a yurt there. He is the cutest, most reslient and healthy baby I have ever met. I'll talk about him more later. I hope you get to meet him some day because this dude is going to be the coolest kid you ever knew.

Contradict yourself

Don’t take things too seriously.

Learn to laugh at yourself and the world.

My personality is a construction. It does not really exist. I can be someone today and someone else tomorrow. To pigeon-hole myself into one box for the sake of continuity is absurd.

Everybody is split into many fragments. A madman is someone who believes he is one man.

Contradict yourself.

If you or others start to second-guess things about you; if you or others think they have you pegged and that they know you inside-out then you need to disillusion them. You need to do something that will surprise yourself and others.

There are no rules beyond those that you make for yourself. But be wary of others who think otherwise: be prepared to flex and bend things in order to keep yourself and others happy.

Success and happiness are not usually intertwined, unless you view success as being the attainment of happiness.

If I am unhappy now I will be unhappy later. If I am able to be happy now then I can be always happy. It is futile to find ways to be happy in the future.

Find happiness in nothing and I will be happy wherever and whenever I happen to find myself.

There are things that I feel are important, that are fair. Looking after the earth so that others may come after me falls heavily in this statement. So: Nothing at all matters; it is my nature to be contradictory; there are no rules; happiness is a state that you might as well be in because it is preferable to sadness. Knowing all of this, I can loosely point myself in the direction to ensuring that I look after the earth, but to also retain a sense of perspective. I need to allow myself to be all of these things at once.