Hella Hammid

InPresence 0161: Jung’s Underworld Journey – Further Reflections on Peter Kingsley’s Catafalque

New Thinking AllowedOct 16, 2026

Psychologist Jeffrey Mishlove revisits Peter Kingsley's book Catafalque and its account of Carl Jung's perilous journey into the underworld, framed by an ancient 'sacred contract' between the living and the dead. He argues this idea splits parapsychology into two camps: physicalist researchers focused on psychic abilities among the living, and those who study survival of consciousness after death. Drawing on near-death experiences, mediumship, reincarnation research and psychic healing, he suggests that living only for ourselves may be driving humanity toward self-destruction.