Back in the day, I found an industrial rock project called Circle of Dust. Fast forward a couple decades, and I re-found the guy behind Circle of Dust in his latest projects that hit a sweet spot with me, because, yes, I do like retro 80’s synthwave. Check out Scandroid on Bandcamp if you’re into that.
Speaking of retro and of recommendations, for the past few years I’ve been suffering through a midlife crisis. I’ve come to think that there is nothing nor anyone who can really help you through a midlife crisis, because everyone’s past experiences and present situation is different. I read what helps other people and why, and I think, “but, actually, in my case the why is flipped, and that what really isn’t applicable.” Sometimes it isn’t flipped, by the way, I’m just thinking of one thing in particular as I write this, but even if it isn’t flipped, it’s at least skewed, and still not helpful.
Anyway, what does help me in general through difficult things is to better understand it. While understanding it hasn’t helped much in actually finding a way to end my midlife crisis, it has helped in coping with it to some degree. And what really helped me understand it was this book: In Midlife by Murray Stein, maybe because when it comes to psychology, I’m more of a Jungian man myself. Stuff out of the Jungian school seems more pragmatically flexible and applicable to me. I also like to write stories, so archetypes are a nice way to get at characters and conflict, so maybe that’s why, too. I like to think, though, that it is because I’m brilliant. I digress.
I also had a dream that was clearly about my midlife crisis and also kind of led me to that book — in the dream I first encountered Zeuss (yes, that incorrect spelling) and was led to a kind of neoplatonist cult… uh… service, that was more like a Baptist tent revival in the dark, after riding around in a car with some dead people as well as an actual former neoplatonist I know, all of whom had been significant in some way in my life. Those ancient polytheistic pantheons are full of archetypes, so I suppose that, combined with the dream, is why I ended up on a Jungian book to help me grapple with myself in midlife. I think Jung developed a lot of his theories out of his own midlife crisis struggles, and I think he was really onto some things that help in understanding it, so … that book.
I took Psych 101 in college about 33 years ago, and so that makes me a citable authority in psychology if you need to reference this post.