The Individuated Bookshelf: Books for the Inner Journey

In this episode, I sit down with my longtime friend, professional actor, and educator Jeff Miller for a deep dive into the work of Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis. We discuss why a life focused on meaning trumps the superficial cultural chase for happiness, how to face our personal shadow, and the challenging but liberating reality of taking absolute responsibility for our own lives. From navigating personal blowups with aging parents to finding ultimate wisdom in literature, Jeff shares how Hollis’s writing fundamentally shifted his perspective on navigating the second half of life.

In this new incarnation of the podcast, I interview the same guest from the final episode of Gatherings, psychiatrist Dr. Sumit Anand. We explore why modern mental health must address soul, meaning, and a recognition of the human spirit.

Is there space for the notion of a "soul" in contemporary psychiatric practice? Dr. Anand makes a compelling case for why there should be.

In this episode, Béa speaks with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Sumit Anand about his journey from medical school in England to decades of work with the “criminally insane,” adolescents, and today’s so-called “worried well.” He traces how a love of story led him toward psychiatry and then back toward narrative, arguing that a patient’s story is data, not decoration. Sumit reflects on the limits of purely biological models, the crisis of meaning in younger generations, the distortions of tech culture, and why real change needs time, presence, and a willingness to sit in the “messy middle” of life. Along the way he shares practical insights from the consulting room: building trust in a system people no longer believe in, creating a genuine container for chaos and grief, reconnecting mind and body, and valuing growth over quick fixes.

You can find Sumit's short videos on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sumit+anand+md

This episode is a wide-ranging conversation on creativity, Jungian psychology, and what it takes to write from the depths. Béa reflects on her novel Invocation as a psychological culmination of years of work, one that braided together cognitive science, mythology, and inner development and ultimately prompted her to step away from her long-running group. From there, the discussion moves into the disruptive symbolism of the goddess Eris and why storytelling remains essential for both personal integration and the wider cultural humanities. Looking ahead, Béa shares early insights into her next project, a historical fantasy shaped by celestial maps and the myth of Parsifal. Throughout the episode, the creative act emerges as a form of inner healing and a living bridge between the rational and irrational dimensions of the psyche.

Link to information about Invocation: Bea Gonzalez Sophiacycles

In this episode, I turn to the Romantics as guides for a world coming apart, viewing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a protest against a mechanistic worldview that devalues feeling. Some questions that emerge from this journey are:   What do we do when technology outpaces our moral framework? Just because we're able to do something, should we? What responsibilities do we incur when we create a new form of life?  Are we repeating Frankenstein's mistake when we build systems and then disclaim any obligation to the creatures we have released onto the world?

Books Mentioned:

Magnificent Rebels, Andrea Wulf
Romantic Outlaws, Charlotte Gordon
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
A Flash of Golden Fire, Thomas Elsner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Romantics and Us, Simon Schama
BERGHAIN, Rosalia [Lux]
Guillermo del Toro’s, Frankenstein