Analysis is a descent into the well of one’s being, exploring the many landmark’s that anchor the personal story and welcoming the archetypal motifs that rise to meet and color one’s perspective. It’s a process where the depths take precedence. As the mystery unfolds session after session, different arcs begin to relate in the most uncanny way, so that a power best defined as destiny begins to emerge.
“If this concept of destiny is used as a working hypothesis, a reevaluation of some of our present clinical assumptions is suggested. Relevant events in a patient’s history which we have habitually considered to be causes of his present psychopathology may now perhaps be viewed as manifestations of an emergent life-pattern. Traumatic events of childhood which we associate with the genesis of neurosis or psychosis, and therefore regard as quasi-accidental or avoidable under “ideal” circumstances, may perhaps be seen as essential landmarks in the actualization of the pattern of wholeness.” Edward Whitmont, The Destiny Concept in Psychotherapy, Spring 1969, pg. 74.
The constellation of the victim archetype seems to me much more powerful than any reaction to specific incidents of one’s past. The prevailing power which can color one’s perception is instead to be found in how one incorporates or rejects the reality of destiny as it manifests in one’s life.
dormant geyser
When visiting Yellowstone a month ago, amidst the spectacular phenomena I experienced, it was some of the minor features I came across that impacted me the most. I posted about Isa Lake immediately. But when this image resurfaced in my dream last night, I realized that I needed to explore why it struck me as important.
First of all, it’s most likely misnamed. Perhaps dormant steam vent would be more accurate, I’m not really sure. What grabbed me was of a mythical nature. While the various features that made up Norris Geyser Basin where bubbling and spurting sulfuric water and vapors, this passageway down to the depths, a portal to the underworld of sorts, might be traversed (if only in the imagination).
At root here is the archetype of initiation, and as I begin a new chapter in my life it’s helpful to be mindful of the various expressions the this archetype constellates in our life. In our separate journeys toward meaning, finding our individual access to source is in many ways more important then any treasure that might be waiting for us.
Jeb asked me about archetypes and my twitter answer took two tweets. Not a good sign.
Archetype: primordial structural elements of the psyche, ” a dynamism which makes itself felt in the numinosity…/
…and fascinating power of the archetypal image.” Jung, CW8, par 414. (how’s that for a start?)
I wasn’t surprised when he followed up with a request to get that in layman’s terms. So, here we go.
Jung felt that the unconscious was not just personal, the baggage of our forgotten memories, but that it was also collective. Through his explorations of the human psyche certain products of the unconscious kept recurring as patterns of images. Much like the “stock” figures in fairy tales and the characters in mythic systems from around the world, these images could not be reduced to personal experiences or memories.
So what are they? Jung felt these figures, (and note they are not just human or living. The geometric pattern of a mandala is also an archetypal image) gave expression to the ego or consciousness of the energy patterns that lie in the collective unconscious. These patterns are inherited. One way we experience them is in dream images. Jung makes it clear that archetypes lie beyond the ego’s awareness but that their effects are experienced as archetypal images.
“Archetypes are systems of readiness for action, and at the same time images and emotions. They are inherited with the brain structure – indeed they are its psychic aspect. They represent, on the one hand, a very strong instinctive conservatism, while at the other hand they are the most effective means conceivable of instinctive adaptation. They are thus, essentially, the chthonic portion of the psyche…that portion of the psyche that is attached to nature.” Carl Jung, CW9i, par 136
He goes on to say that they are not inherited ideas, but inherited possibilities of ideas. That’s a little bit of a brain twister. Lets look at the image of the mandala above. What if you dreamed this image? What is this pattern giving expression to? All of Jung’s work is an investigation of just these questions.
It’s interesting to see where the images will take you. For instance, why might an opossum appear in a dream. It turns out the opossum is quite the trickster figure in Central American myth. All my observations of these marsupials start to give shape to the image: from playing dead, to hiding the young in a pouch, to raiding the trash cans. And the trickster or joker is clearly an archetypal image.
So if they ever do away with the Joker in the next Batman, I suggest they introduce a new figure, the Possum. What do you think Jeb?
It’s a great premise, the title of this shorter book by Jung: The Undiscovered Self. In many ways it sums up the whole of Jungian psychology. The challenge to us: step out of that comfort zone sometimes called the little self, what we often identify as “me,” and set out on a journey of discovery. This shift, really sought by the collective, seeks to break free from the shackles of ego-centrism.
The implication is that each of us has vast areas within the psyche awaiting discovery, areas that lie beyond the boundaries and awareness of our egos. The “Self” (note the capitol “S”) is like a continent in which you are the sole explorer.
As Wikipedia notes,
In Jungian theory, the Self is one of the archetypes. It signifies the coherent whole, unified consciousness and unconscious of a person. The Self, according to Jung, is realised as the product of individuation, which in Jungian view is the process of integrating one’s personality. For Jung, the self is symbolised by the circle (especially when divided in four quadrants), the square, or the mandala.
What distinguishes Jungian psychology is the idea that there are two centers of the personality. The ego is the center of consciousness, whereas the Self is the center of the total personality, which includes consciousness, the unconscious, and the ego. The Self is both the whole and the center. While the ego is a self-contained little circle off the center contained within the whole, the Self can be understood as the greater circle.
Slowly but surely, when the scope of this reality begins to emerge, a shift in perception begins to take place. The ego no longer reckons itself as the center of the personality. It moves and understands its identity in relationship to this other newly discovered center. Yet this center is not just an idea or a theory. It is an experience. It is an encounter.
Now doesn’t that sound refreshing?
Sound of One Hand Clapping
Parenting in the Opposites
Red Rocks at Sunrise
Lifestream Digest for January 31st