Robert A. Johnson (1921-2018) was a well-known Jungian psychotherapist, author, and lecturer. An early student of Jiddu Krishnamurti, Mr. Johnson first became interested in Jungian psychology through his own therapy: “I went to Fritz Künkel, a Jungian analyst in Los Angeles . . . It was such a profound experience for me I simply stayed on as a student.”[1] Specifically, Johnson set out in 1948 for the newly-formed Jung Institute in Zurich, where he studied and worked with the pioneers of analytical psychology, including Carl Jung, Emma Jung, and Jolande Jacobi. After completing his analytical training with Fritz Künkel in Los Angeles and Toni Sussman in London, Johnson set up a practice in Los Angeles in the early 1950s with Helen Luke; in the early 1960s, Johnson—who often thought of himself as a monk—spent several years as a member of St. Gregory's Abbey in Three Rivers, Michigan, a Benedictine monastery of the Episcopal Church. The organizational aspects of monastic life did not agree with him, however, and in 1966 he moved to San Diego to resume his career as a psychotherapist and lecturer; there he worked closely with John A. Sanford, an Episcopal priest, Jungian analyst, and author.
In 1974, a collection of Mr. Johnson’s lectures was published as He: Understanding Masculine Psychology. The book became a bestseller, and it was the first of his many books that gave a Jungian interpretation, in accessible language, of earlier myths and stories and their parallels with psychology and personal development. His books have sold over 2.5 million copies, other titles of which include: She: Understanding Feminine Psychology, We: Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love, Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth, Ecstasy: Understanding the Psychology of Joy, Transformation: Understanding the Three Levels of Masculine Consciousness, Inner Gold: Understanding Psychological Projection, and Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche.
Johnson also studied at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India and in 2002 he received an honorary doctorate in humanities and a lifetime achievement award from Pacifica Graduate Institute.
The correspondence found here begins in October 1974, shortly after Mr. Johnson had first visited Wolff and his wife, Gertrude, accompanying them on a trip to Phoenix. Letters include Johnson’s reports on his trips to India, news of mutual friends and acquaintances, and arrangements to see one another. In one letter, Gertrude notes that Wolff is using Johnson’s books as material for his recorded lectures.[2]
Other than a 1979 notification of a new telephone number, the correspondence here ends about one month prior to Gertrude’s (May 1978) death. Robert Johnson was a great help to Franklin Wolff after the death of Gertrude, including a recorded interpretation of some “major” dreams that Wolff had fifty years earlier and that Mr. Johnson deemed were relevant to Wolff’s situation; Wolff often referred to this interpretation in his many recorded notes that chronicle his grief after his wife’s death.[3] (30 pages)
[1]Anne Harter Jones: “Friends of Jung in San Diego”(San Diego: February 24, 1983).
[2]These recordings include:
- Franklin Merrell-Wolff: “On Jung’s ‘Seven Sermons to the Dead’” (Lone Pine, Calif.: December 2, 1976), audio recording.
- Franklin Merrell-Wolff: “Jungian Psychology and Personal Correlations: Parts 1-7” (Lone Pine, Calif.: September 5, 1977 to November 1977), audio recording.
[3]See Franklin Merrell-Wolff: “Report of Major Dreams” (Lone Pine, Calif.: June 6, 1978), audio recording.
