Living the Individual Journey: The Mystical Life
A. Punnett
Jung Journal January 2, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/19342039.2024.2291304 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | O'Handley describes a mystical experience at fifteen as the origin of her religious vocation, and says Jung's work confirmed that experience and led her into analysis and individuation. She presents her faith as integrated with Jung's ideas of wholeness, and discusses the Trinity, the Assumption, and dreams as signals of soul shifts and life changes. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Audrey Punnett interviews Sheila O’Handley about the mystical experience she had at the age of fifteen that began her journey into the religious life, first as a Sister of St. Martha, and later as a professed hermit in the Roman Catholic Church in first Newfoundland and then Nova Scotia, Canada. An introduction to Jung’s work confirmed her mystical experience and led her into analysis and the process of individuation. She speaks of an informed living faith integrated with the wholeness of Jung’s ideas. The interview explores the Trinity and the Assumption through Catholic and Jungian lenses as well as the power of dreams in announcing soul shifts and life changes.