Editorial

As we move into the new millennium, the world of contemporary analytical psychology is undergoing numerous changes. Intrapsychic, intersubjective as well as cultural components of the mind with their manifold ramifications are being re-examined by the larger psychological community. With analytical psychology's orientation and understanding of the archetypal, objective dimension of the psyche, we offer unique contributions to the unfolding exploration of the full range of human experience, from the neurobiological to the spiritual.

In light of the growing interest in Jungian psychology worldwide, the Journal is endeavouring to keep its readers abreast of the work of analytically-oriented contributors from diverse cultures. The editors are therefore introducing a new section in the Journal: it highlights reports from developing groups. Our recent conference in Mérida, Mexico, was one step in this direction, as is our next planned conference, ‘Diversity and its Limits: New Directions in Analytical Psychology and Psychoanalysis’, in Prague in the Czech Republic in May 2001. Three papers in the current issue inaugurate this new section.

The contributions from Patricia Michán and Julieta Rubinstein were each originally presented as workshops at our Mérida conference in 1999. These papers examine the impact and relevance of indigenous Mexican cultures as found in the psychology of modern Mexican individuals. The specificity of the cultural overlay upon archetypal themes presented here, distinct from more commonly discussed European myths, offers broadened possibilities for reflection on and refinement of our models of the psyche.

From a completely different cultural context, the paper by Geoffrey Blowers, delivered at the First International Conference on Jung and Chinese Culture, gives an account of prospects for the reception of Jungian psychology in modern China. Cross-fertilizing influences offer mutual enrichment while a climate of ‘cultural intersubjectivity’ prevails.