Beneath
TITLE: Beneath – Exploring the Unconscious in Individuals
FORMAT: 338 x 207 mm (Portrait), 312pp hard cover
PUBLISHER: Moonshine Media
AUTHOR: Hélène Smit
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Pluto Panoussis
ISBN: 978-0-620-49950-7
PRICE: R350 including VAT
AVAILABLE: In bookstores or by emailing the author at helene@feather.co.za
ABOUT THE BOOK: Beneath – Exploring the Unconscious in Individuals is a comprehensive introduction to the subject of depth psychology, using an integration of photography, illustration, poetry and prose. This school of psychology (developed by people like Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Melanie Klein) studies the part of the human psyche that is not immediately available to conscious thought, but nevertheless seems to have a profound impact on human behaviour. It attempts to understand the deepest roots of our engagement with the world.
In an accessible, but academically rigorous way, Beneath provides some very useful answers to WHY we do the things we do, and HOW we can change ourselves. It explains the logic of mental structuring and resultant behaviour in a way that assists individuals to gain a greater understanding of their psychological make-up, and be able to answer fundamental questions such as:
▪ How do my character traits develop?
▪ Why do I sometimes sabotage myself?
▪ How can I change behaviours that I do not like?
▪ How do I access my creativity?
▪ How can I achieve my full potential?
“With Beneath, Hélène Smit offers us a unique summary and interpretation of a vast field, and I think the inclusion of the Arctic and Antarctic visions help to explain and break the work so one is always coming at old or new concepts, depending on the reader, with a fresh mind and eye.”
– Arthur D. Colman, M.D, Jungian Analyst and Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
WHY? I wrote this book because I wanted to document my ongoing exploration of the inner world, and I wanted to demystify psychological concepts and their implications for individuals and the groups in which they live and work. It is my wish that this book helps individuals and organisations choose ways of being and doing that may be more constructive and sustainable than those they may currently be using.
All this is underpinned by a dream and a hope for a world in which people do less harm to one another because they are more conscious and more self aware – a world in which the cycle of the wounded wounding others is broken, and new paths are chosen which shift our human focus from re-enacting the dramas of our pasts to creating different futures.
AVAILABLE: Beneath is available through all leading South African bookstores. To order directly, email info@feather.co.za.
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Hélène Smit 
[…] Beneath […]
Pingback by The process of creative work « Hélène Smit— May 10, 2011 #
[…] emotion of finally holding a book we’ve been working on for quite some time. Called ‘Beneath‘, this is a weighty hardcover with the most sublime illustrations. ‘Exploring the […]
Pingback by Amazon: ebooks, print books, more and me « moonshinemedia— May 20, 2011 #
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Pingback by Training Dragons « Hélène Smit— May 23, 2011 #
Hope you are well. We are having glorious weather here in Durban. I have just completed your latest book – in fact had to read twice to get a good understanding of the book. Here are my comments:-
• The quality of the book in terms of printing – paper quality, pictures, layout – etc was excellent.
• The content for me being an engineer was exceptional.
• For me as I read the book – I used my own life as a case study to understand the affect of my caregiver on my psyche and all my defense systems.
• I also look forward to my dreams and try to get more involved (very difficult though) and get more details I terms of colour etc etc
• I now have a reasonable understanding of depth psychology.
• The pictures of the Antarctic added a nice dimension.
Comment by mano— June 29, 2011 #
[…] Beneath […]
Pingback by My radio interview « Hélène Smit— July 15, 2011 #
I wish you well with your new publication. Unfortunately, I do not have the faintest clue what pschology is all about. I once trid to read Jan Smuts book ‘The Humanist’ – I floundered! I am of an age that causes me forget where I live! – strange – I can still remember incidents that occured when I was a todler but am unable to remember every day recent stuff.
Good luck.
Regards,
Gavin Conolly
Bredasdorp
Comment by Gavin Conolly— August 5, 2011 #
Hi Helene
I can’t begin to explain how much I have benefited from you book.
Without even realizing it, I had embarked on a journey of developing my own self-awareness some time ago. I am now 53 years old, and it’s taken all of the last almost 30 years to get to this place – memories have unfolded bit by bit during this time. Your book has been like a shining light in a shadowy room – explaining everything I sensed and felt but couldn’t explain, reactions I couldn’t understand, and a way forward that I felt, didn’t exist.
The ‘the mother/daughter’ relationship I have with my mother has been the cause of the disturbed, extremely charged and reactive interaction that I have with her, which I could never understand and even more frustrating, had no idea how to deal with – it got so bad that when she was due to have very serious surgery, I actually wished she would die, but the overwhelming and corresponding feeling of guilt for feeling this way about ‘my mother’, actually resulted in me having a breakdown of sorts. Visits to a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist helped to a degree, as did the anxiety medication I was prescribed, but there was no solution.
I heard your interview of 702, and immediately went out and bought your book, which I’ve read in bite sized chunks, absorbing every word, and it all makes absolute sense. Memories had begun to surface at least 10 or so years ago, and I had actually, without realizing it, begun to put together a sequence of my personal history with my mother, from about the age of 4 – not a very pleasant history at all.
Just before hearing your interview, I had a dream; a very, very clear dream (unlike the usual, hazy ones I can’t really recall), and one which I could actually remember in absolute detail: I was in a room and through the window I could see into a kitchen and when I saw the tap I felt thirsty. The only way to get to the kitchen would have been to walk through the door, which I tried to do. But, as I moved towards the door, my mother was standing, with her back to me, on the right hand side of the door. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew it was her. On the left of the doorway, also with his back to me, was my father. But, I could not get through the door – every time I got close to my mother I was repelled / repulsed back into the centre of the room. I kept on trying but just couldn’t do it. I began to get so thirsty that I was crying in desperation, but I still couldn’t get past her. Eventually, after numerous attempts and me sobbing in desperation, my dad put his arm out, took my hand and led me out of the room and at that point I woke up crying. This dream left me feeling very unsettled.
When I got to the chapter, towards the end of the book, about dreams, I was able to understand the significance of this dream. Now that I understand my history better, the unconscious defense mechanisms (which I can now identify), why I have tried so hard, repeatedly, to try and ‘fix’ the relationship, and the terrible struggle that has been going on within me, I feel so much calmer, and more in control. It has been a difficult and exhausting journey and I can’t begin to explain how enlightening and helpful your book has been. All I can say is a very big ‘thank you’. Your book explained more to me, and has helped me more than the countless number of ‘professional’ consultations in my life have.
Comment by Cheryl— August 29, 2011 #
[…] thoughts are MUCH better explained in the book Beneath by Helene Smit, and was discussed between Helene, Candice Pelser, Maz Adamson and myself at our early morning […]
Pingback by Creating meaning, revealing self-organising principles | Merah Mas Blog— December 9, 2011 #
[…] Beneath […]
Pingback by Vision for 2012: Depth Leadership « Hélène Smit— January 1, 2012 #
I have recently read your book and recommend that every human being do so as there is so much to be gained from it! Whether we know or realize it or not , each and every one of us has something to learn from going through the processes.
Yolande
Comment by Yolande Singery— January 21, 2013 #