Now, the term "Preamble" that Desteian uses here calls to mind the term amble. Yes, we may think of Desteian's 2021 book as an amble through Jungian thought regarding love relationships.
In studies of prose style, George Williamson's 1951 book The Senecan Amble: A Study in Prose Form from Bacon to Collier (University of Chicago Press) is a famous title. In studies of prose style, the Senecan able style is contrasted with the Ciceronian rhetorical style. Desteian's accessible prose style in his 2021 book may be characterized as a leisurely Senecan amble, rather than a Ciceronian rhetorical declamation.
In any event, in the terminology that Desteian uses regularly throughout his 2021 book, I would now describe my fascination with the beautiful young Lynda Carter in her wonderfully revealing Wonder Woman costume in the Wonder Woman television series in the 1970s, mentioned above, as infatuation - which Desteian differentiates from a love relationship. (For specific page references to infatuation, see the "Index" [p. 25].)
Because I did not know Lynda Carter in the 1970s, I could not have formed a love relationship with her then. Because I still do not know Lynda Carter today, I still cannot form a love relationship with her today.
Nevertheless, my experience of infatuation with the image of the beautiful young Lynda Carter on my television screen is instructive. In short, it is possible to experience infatuation with a person based solely on seeing that person's image on a screen.
Now, regarding infatuation with "people they have seen only in the movies or on television" (p. 47), Desteian says in Chapter Two: "Animation," "Proximity is not a necessary condition. Adolescents and lonely persons often become infatuated with people they have seen only in the movies or on television screens" - or on computer screens watching porn videos (p. 47).
In Desteian's Chapter Four: "Infatuation: How We Animate" in his 2021 book, he says, "We must beware, however, of confusing infatuation with sexual arousal. The first part of a creative process that involves the total psyche and proceeds to several other stages; the second is an instinctual reaction that is limited in scope and duration. Sexual arousal certainly occurs in infatuation, but infatuation is not essential to the [sexual] arousal. What we examine in the following sections of this chapter is the process of infatuation in which sexual arousal and satisfaction occur as part of a process rather than as an end in itself" (p. 93).
Subsequently in Desteian's Chapter Four: "Infatuation: How We Animate," he says, "All the psychic liveliness described in Chapter Two ["Animation"] and the awakening of one's creativity during infatuation result from the animation of the personality. The stagnation that precedes the projection of the anima or animus is a necessary antecedent to infatuation because it is symptomatic of a narrowing or limitation of the personality brought about by repression, of no longer being able to find meaning or satisfaction within the confines of our old ways of being and seeing things" (p. 106).
Now, in addition, in Desteian's Chapter One: "Introduction" in his 2021 book, he says, "As a full-time analyst and part-time relationship counselor (I spend only four hours of my 40-hour work week engaged in group therapy), I am not there to tell the group participants what they are doing wrong or how to change their behaviors" (p. 23). Subsequently in his "Introduction," he says, "Another example would be a woman who tells the group about a dream she has had of an Amazon, a tall, strong, powerful woman [like the beautiful young Lynda Carter playing the Amazon Wonder Woman from Paradise Island in the 1970s Wonder Woman television series], who, in the dream, is able to clear all physical obstacles in her path when she walks in the forest. Since the dreamer happens to be an unhappy, depressed, and weak person who often weeps and gives the impression of being inadequate, I see the dream image as having considerable value for her. I interpret it as another side of herself that is eager to be given life. My intention would be to mediate between the Amazon expressed in the dream and her conscious weak ego; I would hope that by helping her recognize the value of that strong and fearless part of herself, she would begin to integrate these traits within her conscious self-image" (p. 24).
Subsequently in Desteian's Chapter One: "Introduction," he also says, "The dependent woman I mentioned earlier [p. 24], whose dream of the Amazon helped her identify a more independent part of herself with which she could make contact and so live out in the world, is a case in point ["the work of bringing unconscious contents into consciousness, that is, personality traits that are unacceptable to us and so have been repressed, as well as personality traits we have never seen in ourselves"]" (p. 44).
Now, with regard to my recent powerful fascination with the beautiful young Lynda Carter in her wonderfully revealing Wonder Woman costume, I have no problem with interpreting my powerful fascination with her as somehow "bringing unconscious contents into consciousness" (p. 44). As a matter of fact, I had assumed something like this before I read Desteian's statement on page 44. I had interpreted my fascination with the beautiful young Lynda Carter as a manifestation of the optimal and positive form of the feminine lover archetype in my psyche. For me, the deeper question here involves exactly what "unconscious contents" are being brought into my consciousness. Yes, the optimal and positive form of the feminine Lover archetype in my psyche represents unconscious contents; but what are these unconscious contents bringing into my ego-consciousness and thus into my everyday world? Thus far, the answer to this deeper question is not yet clear to me. I will have to dwell on it further until and answer to it becomes clear to me.
Now, in Desteian's subsection "About This Book" in Chapter One: "Introduction" in his 2021 book (pp. 33-38), he provides a detailed chapter-by-chapter overview of the book.
In Desteian's subsection on "Spirit" in Chapter Two: "Animation" in his 2021 book (pp. 60-66), he operationally defines and explains three key terms that he subsequently uses throughout the book: (1) spirit; (2) prevailing spirit; and (3) essential spirit. (For specific pages references, see the "Index" entries for essential spirit [p. 250], prevailing spirit [p. 251], and spirit [p. 252].)
In conclusion, I have highlighted here John A. Desteian's 2021 book Coming Together - Coming Apart: The Play of Opposites in Love Relationships. The highlights I have mentioned here should provide you with an overall sense of what the book has to offer - if you have the interest and inclination to read it for yourself.
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