The Diamond Heart – Jungian Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition

Announcing the release of 

The Diamond Heart – 

Jungian Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition

Two towering figures thread their way through this book: St Teresa of Avila, the sixteenth century Spanish Carmelite saint, writer and reformer and C.G. Jung, the founder of modern depth psychology. 

Through sharing 15 key papers, chapters and talks written over nearly 25 years, author Julienne McLean draws on their writings to focus on and explore the interface and relationship between the Christian mystical tradition and Jungian, depth psychology.

Jung saw the human psyche as “by nature religious” and made this insight a principal focus of his explorations. In this regard, the book aims to explore an essentially depth approach to spirituality and numinosity relevant for todays’ largely post-religious situation. Jungian depth psychology, with all its own richness, can serve as an essential psychological foundation for, and bridge to, the Christian mystical tradition.

Over the past 1500 years, the Christian tradition of theologia mystica, or mystical theology, has flourished in particular communities and individuals with great transformative beauty, vitality and strength—like a mysterious, hidden river of Love overflowing into society, such as in sixteenth century Spain. Key to understanding the transmission of this tradition down the centuries has been the sixth century writings known as the Dionysian Corpus, written by Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite. These writings have evolved over more than 1,000 years of interpretation and translation, being closely identified with the tradition of theologia mystica.

McLean believes, under different guises, we are in the midst of another flowering of theologia mystica in our own secular time. The unprecedented spiritual longing and emergency of our own times is fueling a strong need for the depth psychological tradition of Jungian psychology and the ancient tradition of theologia mystica to become more widely known, understood, practiced and lived. There is a wider evolutionary shift happening in our times—in the diamond heart of individuals, groups, nations and the global community. Something new and unprecedented is being born in our world today—we are not only in a new time, but a new era.

She teaches on the Jungian Analytic Training for Qualified Psychotherapists, organised by A.J.A, London, at St Mary’s University, Strawberry Hill, London and Sarum College, Salisbury, where she is a Visiting Scholar in Christian Spirituality. Since 2018, she has been involved with the Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality (www.oxcacs.org), teaching and tutoring on the Carmelite Spiritual Direction Training Programme. 

She has published many papers and is the author of Towards Mystical Union (St Pauls, 2003, 2013, 2017) a modern commentary on St Teresa’s classic text on prayer The Interior Castle.