During my 12 or 13 years working in the bookstore and library at the C. G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, I lost track of the number of times I recommended to patrons that they read Robert A. Johnson’s Balancing Heaven and Earth: A Memoir of Visions, Dreams, and Realizations. My recommendation always went something like this: “If you like Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1961), you will like Balancing Heaven and Earth. They are both profound guides and testaments to a life lived in relationship to the unconscious.” I still make this recommendation today. Following Johnson’s passing in September 2018 at age 97, I was struck by two comments made at an intimate gathering held at the institute in his memory. The first comment was “Robert brought me dreams.” A dear friend of Johnson’s, the person who made this comment meant it to be taken quite literally. When an inevitable lull in conversation occurred during visits with this friend, Johnson would reach into his metaphorical basket, pull out a dream, and share it. To me the connection with and consideration of others evident in such sharing is both rare and precious. A Jungian analyst as well as author, Johnson also brought me dreams though in a manner different from the one just described. In December 2002 or January 2003 I first came across his writings in the form of Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth (1986) and He: Understanding Masculine Psychology. A slim gem of a volume, He made for quick reading on my flight from Pennsylvania back to the Czech Republic, at the time my home of six and a half years. No sooner had I returned to the Czech Republic than I found myself inundated with dream after dream night after night. I did not know what to make of these nighttime visitations, but I did know two things. First, I had to decipher these dreams; my life depended on it. Second, I would need help in doing so, help which I could not then get in Prague, the capital city. As a result, 6 months later I said goodbye to my friends, my home, and life as I had known it. I moved in search of answers to a city that was far away and new to me: Los Angeles, California. In an anecdote in his memoir, which he co-wrote with Jerry M. Ruhl, Johnson relates some of the backstory as to why he was drawn to write He, his first book, with its central protagonist Parsifal and Parsifal’s quest for The Holy Grail. This anecdote, here in its entirety, additionally reveals Johnson’s touching ability to laugh at himself. He writes:

中文翻译：

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罗伯特 A. 约翰逊的书：选集。

在洛杉矶 CG Jung 研究所的书店和图书馆工作了 12 或 13 年期间，我忘记了我向顾客推荐他们阅读罗伯特·约翰逊的《天地平衡：愿景回忆录》的次数，梦想，和实现。我的推荐总是这样的：“如果你喜欢荣格的回忆、梦想、反思（1961），你就会喜欢天地平衡。它们都是与无意识相关的生活的深刻指南和证明。” 我今天仍然提出这个建议。约翰逊于 2018 年 9 月去世，享年 97 岁，我对在研究所举行的一次为纪念他而举行的亲密聚会上发表的两条评论感到震惊。第一条评论是“罗伯特给我带来了梦想”。约翰逊的挚友，发表此评论的人的意思是从字面上理解。在拜访这位朋友时，谈话不可避免地出现停顿时，约翰逊会把手伸进他的比喻篮子里，拿出一个梦想，并分享它。对我来说，这种分享中明显的与他人的联系和考虑既罕见又珍贵。作为荣格的分析家和作家，约翰逊也以与刚才描述的方式不同的方式给我带来了梦想。2002 年 12 月或 2003 年 1 月，我第一次以“内心工作：利用梦想和积极想象力促进个人成长”（1986 年）和“他：理解男性心理学”的形式看到了他的著作。一本薄薄的书，在我从宾夕法尼亚返回捷克共和国的航班上快速阅读，当时我住在我家六年半。我刚回到捷克共和国，就发现自己一夜又一夜地被一个又一个的梦所淹没。我不知道如何看待这些夜间访问，但我确实知道两件事。首先，我必须破译这些梦；我的生活依赖于它。其次，我在这样做时需要帮助，而那时我在首都布拉格无法获得帮助。结果，6 个月后，我告别了我的朋友、我的家和我所知道的生活。我搬到一个陌生的城市寻找答案：加利福尼亚州洛杉矶。在他与 Jerry M. Ruhl 共同撰写的回忆录中的一则轶事中，约翰逊讲述了一些背景故事，说明为什么他被吸引写他的第一本书《他》，其中包括主要主角帕西法尔和帕西法尔对圣杯的追求. 这个轶事，在这里完整地，还揭示了约翰逊自嘲的感人能力。他写：