Hauntings: Dispelling the Ghosts Who Run Our Lives

By: James Hollis PhD

Narrated by: James Conlan

What does life ask of us, and how are we to answer that summons?

Are we here just to propagate the species anew?

Do any of us really believe that we are here to make money and then die?

Does life matter, in the end, and if so, how, and in what fashion?

What guiding intelligence weaves the threads of our individual biographies?

What hauntings of the invisible world invigorate, animate, and direct the multiple narratives of daily life?

In Hauntings, James Hollis considers how we are all governed by the presence of invisible forms - spirits, ghosts, ancestral and parental influences, inner voices, dreams, impulses, untold stories, complexes, synchronicities, and mysteries - that move through us through history. He offers a way to understand them psychologically, examining the persistence of the past in influencing our present, conscious lives and noting that engagement with mystery is what life asks of each of us. From such engagements, a deeper, more thoughtful, more considered life may come.

©2013 Chiron Publications, LLC (P)2018 Chiron Publications, LLC

Critic reviews

"James Hollis is the most lucid thinker I know about the complexities and complexes that interfere with living a full life.... He is one of our great teachers and healers." (Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet)

Interesting addition to Jungian psychology

If you are not familiar with the topic, I highly recommend listening to “A Life of Meaning” by the same author. This book could be confusing without reference to the author’s prior work. It all links together

A great way to understand how the past runs us

I have been familiar with James Hollis's writings for many years. Hauntings offers deep psychological insights into how the past continues to influence our present lives in subtle and unconscious ways. Written with depth, wit, and an occasional bit of humor, Hauntings deserves a wide audience. James Conlan does a masterful job of capturing Hollis's tone and depth, while providing a read that held my keen interest all the way through.

recommended with caveats

Hollis is a prominent Jungian scholar and his work is recommended as generally good.
Two caveats, however:
1. he was a humanities professor. His prose is turgid and professorial with many fifty-dollar words. I like it, but some may differ.
2. he is prone, perhaps too prone, to left-wing cliches and Second-World-War stock references. In recent years he and other "progressive" therapists have indulged in consistent Trump-bashing, for those who care.

Loved this book!

From the content to the soft but strong voice of the narrator....five stars and more! thank you James Hollis!!!

One of my favorites by Hollis

l believe this is Hollis' latest work, perhaps one of his most practical books that give specific advice to live through life and grow. I listened to it when l struggled in dealing with family issues. lt gave me power and made me to show up in front of fear inherent from my childhood dramas. Read Hollis when you need energy. Read Eckhart Tolle when you want peace.

Narrator diminishes appreciation of content

I found the narration to be boring. It was also St as if a computer voice was made to read this book. It would have been much more engaging but I found myself tuning out because of a very robotic delivery.

overall, insightful read but some problematic points

I did enjoy this book and found a lot of wisdom in it but certain remarks, especially towards the end were a bit off putting. Even though I'm skeptical of psychiatry and do believe antidepressants are over prescribed, there is no reason to shame someone for taking potentially life saving medication. I did not like the implication that those who take antidepressants are unwilling to confront their life or are not doing the psychoanalytic work. "anesthetizing" themselves in his verbage. There is a lot of stigma around antidepressants, especially in Jungian psychology and I think it's hurtful to those who want to improve and help themselves but also want to live. There's nothing wrong with taking medication, especially when things become that unbearable.