Bette Davis claimed, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies!” And there’s some truth to that notion. But it’s also true that old age is not to be missed. An important life phase that offers its own mysteries to be solved, it deserves our full attention both from our conscious and unconscious minds. Old age can be one of our richest stages because it forces us to examine more closely what meaning life has and to seek answers.
To accomplish this, at the beginning of 2012, in my seventy-second year, I decided to return to analysis. I felt it was time to explore my fears of aging and dying. Fortunately, I found Dr. Y, a Jungian analyst who also is a psychiatrist, so he merges the rational world of science with the more mystical one Carl Jung embodies. Of course, Jung also was an MD, grounded in the scientific method. But for me, Jung’s esoteric ideas about the psyche, which I devoured from the time I first discovered his writing in my late twenties, overshadowed the scientist. I love how Jung evokes the multiplicity of things—the magic, the mystery, the mythic dimension. And that’s what I aim for in this exploration.
One question I’ve been asking myself as I write about aging is what my goals are. In part, I hope that reflecting on my final years will help me to better understand my own maturing process and deepen it. In sharing this progression, my readers will make their own discoveries, as has been true for me whenever I’ve read about someone else’s journey.
But I also believe that aging offers its own mysteries for us to explore, and that is part of my quest here as well. It can be one of our richest stages because it forces us to examine more closely what meaning life has and to seek answers. In my attempt to do that for myself, I take the reader behind the scenes of my late-life Jungian analysis where, during some of my weekly sessions, my nightly dreams become a focus. Dreams, like poetry and other art forms, employ a special image language that we can understand more deeply if we spend time with them. They also offer insights insights into ourselves and our world that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.
Please join me on my journey with Shanti Arts.
Following are a couple of Amazon reviews for Dreaming:
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2023
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2023
It is impossible to write an adequate review of Lily Iona MacKenzie’s book. Part Jungian psychology, part poetry, part narrative of the author’s life and emotions, it is the only book that has ever made me feel good about getting older.
This memoir has elements of the occult, esoteric, humorous and romantic. Poetry and dreams weave in and out.
I also found it to be a roadmap to other publications which can enrich one’s life, take it beyond the mundane and help us to better understand ourselves.
“Dreaming Myself into Old Age: One Woman’s Search for Meaning” est un mémoire d’une femme américaine de 81 ans, et incite le lecteur à la découverte de sa vie axée entièrement à la créativité et l’xploration intense de soi.
Enseignante, elle se découvre une vocation artistique et spirituelle et sa quête la conduit à se questionner : elle exorte ainsi chacun de nous à puiser dans nos expériences passées pour y déceler des trésors de créativité enfouis au plus profond de nous. Sa joie de vivre exulte le lecteur à la suivre, même à l’hiver de la vie !
Puissamment influencée par une mère centenaire encore plus résiliente qu’elle-même, Lily Iona MacKenzie l’adule tant et si bien que sa frayeur de la vieillesse et la mort, la conduit à suivre une Analyse Jungienne par l’étude approfondie de ses rêves. Une approche qui oriente alors sa vie de 72 ans, vers l’épanouissement personnel et mental, la délivrant peu à peu de ses démons intérieurs.
Lizez-le ! Un superbe récit qui agit comme un baume sur les maux du corps et de l’esprit ! Lily Iona MacKenzie m’a captivé, tant dans sa quête du Grall de ne plus craindre le vieillissement et d’agir au quotidien, choisir sa nourriture, se poser les bonnes questions.
Une approche optimiste et chaleureuse qui interroge intensément notre rapport face à notre veilliesse et notre mort, et qui implique la redécouverte de notre moi profond et de “notre royaume intérieur”, comme elle le cite si bien !
Une cure de Jouvence, merci !
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