On the Usefulness of Psychology, or, “What’s a Soul to Do?”

Editor’s note: Jan is a longtime Planet Waves reader and psychologist who is offering this feature to answer one reader letter per week. If you have a question you would like answered and explored in this forum, please email her at Drjanseward [at] gmail.com. Please note, depending on volume of emails, not all letters may be featured. Letters may be edited for length and clarity We’re really excited to see what our readers come up with! — amanda

Hello, dear readers. My name is Jan Seward, and I’m a clinical psychologist, creative arts therapist, and a devoted member of the Planet Waves community. When I’m not in my day to day practice as a depth-oriented psychotherapist, I teach all things psychological at an east coast college of naturopathic medicine, read oracles, and offer workshops on the I Ching. I also have the privilege and challenge of shepherding my soon-to-be nine year old daughter Amanda through her current incarnation. Fortunately, as Eric Francis has assured me, I’ll always be the smarter witch.

I began my relationship with astrology on more than just a casual ‘what’s my sign’ basis after a catastrophic event that shattered me. Searching everywhere for answers to the question “why me?” I consulted with an astrologer, and his ability to describe the event and the ‘why’ of it, after the fact and using only my birth information, was the gateway to a transformational relationship with the planets. I began using astrology more and more in my personal life, as well as with my patients. Now, one of the first things I recommend with a new client is that we look at their natal and progressed charts to see what we’re up against and what resources we have to work with.

When Eric and I started a conversation about a psychology column on the Planet Waves blog, we agreed that I should write a brief intro on the usefulness of psychology and its relevance in our current astrological moment. Although I’m not an expert on the heavens, I can say with certainty that an understanding of psychology at this particular moment has never been more important.

Except for about the past 100 years or so, psychology, rooted in philosophy, has always been a science of the soul and the spirit, as well as the mind, which was understood to be rooted in the soul. It has also always been concerned with enlightenment and awareness, with an understanding that in all of us are forces, desires, drives and beliefs that, if left out of awareness, move us like puppets on a string. Psychology, as it has been practiced for thousands of years and in all cultures, is about awareness, integration and transformation — of the soul, the spirit, and the mind.

In our current cultural moment, our ability to understand what drives us and to use that understanding as part of an evolutionary process, will allow us to evolve into global citizens with emotional and moral intelligence, to act cooperatively to preserve our planet, and to resist the mind- (and soul- and spirit-) numbing influences of the media, corporations and our governments. This will be our best chance at surviving what feels like a final reckoning with the collective shadow of unresolved aggression, greed and fear. Our ability to look within ourselves and to understand the way that our humanity reacts with our astrology, and how to leverage that for our own betterment and the betterment of those we love, will also lift the planet.

It is a demonstrated fact that the more we understand our history, the more choices we have to create a different future. And my personal as well as clinical experience has shown me again and again that a strong commitment to awareness, integration and transformation can make even the most challenging astrology an opportunity to evolve.

This column will offer insights into your questions of why we behave the way we behave, in spite of ‘knowing better’. If you want, you can ask about what ‘normal’ (read ‘flexible’ or ‘healthy’) is, especially where it concerns sexuality, your relationships or your kids. I’m particularly good at explaining how we trip each other’s wires — most spectacularly with those we love most — and what to do about that. I’m an expert on personality disorders, addiction, trauma and integrative health. I have a good amount of experience advising about money and finances, and you should definitely ask about your dreams! Finally, don’t ever wonder or worry whether a question is silly — I guarantee that if it’s on your mind, it’s of interest and importance to others as well.

I look forward to taking your questions, and sharing the journey with you.

Many blessings!
Jan