Hello, I am a marital therapist, communications trainer and author. I have thirty-five years helping couples and individuals make better relationships. I have written twenty-plus self-help books which include the international best-sellers ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you’ and ‘How can I ever trust you again?’ My books have been translated into twenty languages. I trained with RELATE the UK’s largest counselling charity. Perhaps it has been turning sixty but I have become interested in spiritual as well as psychological questions. Who am I? What are my values – as opposed to my parents, my teachers and the wider society? What makes my life meaningful? What do I believe about life, the universe and everything? Although my clients might come to me because of destructive arguments, falling out of love and infidelity, they are also interested in having more meaningful relationships and a more meaningful life. So what is the meaningful life? Why do we so easily lose our way and get lost in depression, anxiety, doubt, addictions and obsessions: the swamplands of the soul? One thing I know for sure is that there is not one answer...
https://andrewgmarshall.com/podcasts/
episode 162: Bea Gonzalez: Fairy Tales and the Route to Wholeness
Healing from profound exhaustion of the spirit requires more than just thinking of a good plan. Author and Jungian Bea Gonzalez believes in storytelling and myth as powerful tools for healing.
In this episode, Andrew and Bea discuss:
- Why fairy tales have so much to teach us.
- Rediscovering feminine wisdom (which both men and women need)
- How to analyse a fairy tale to find the message it contains for YOU.
- The tale of the Skeleton Woman - Andrew and Bea tell this story section by section, discussing its rich metaphors along the way.
Bea Gonzalez is the creator of Sophia Cycles, a project to bring feminine wisdom back to the world. She is the author of several novels (including Invocation, The Bitter Taste of Time and The Mapmaker’s Opera). Bea is also a lecturer and educator, and has taught classes on the work of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell all over the world.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
- Code Breaking: Unlocking the symbolic life
- Three things Bea Gonzalez knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Read Bea Gonzalez’s new novel, Invocation and her other books, The Bitter Taste of Time and The Mapmaker’s Opera.
Visit Bea Gonzalez’s website https://www.sophiacycles.com/
Follow Bea Gonzalez on Instagram, Twitter/X and YouTube @sophiacycles
You might enjoy Andrew’s other episode on fairy tales, How Fairy Tales Can Refresh & Move You Forward, with Libby Nugent, or his interview with Jungian analyst and author James Hollis on How to be Resilient.
Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall