With everything, and I do mean everything, falling into place with my relocating to my new lodgings in Palm Bay Fl from Middle Tennessee I can be confident that the future will continue to do the same. That move provided me with another 'experience' of my journey and is evidence of the monomythical journey of the hero. With experience faith is merely a word. We are all heroes when we have real experiences of the inner journey.
Now that I am situated in my new home and environment it is time to get to the 'nitty gritty' of what I would like to accomplish now that I am here. Although there are mundane things that are constant distractions I know what I need to do. And although it may seem at times I am rudderless deep within I know what direction to take and course to pursue. I have so much to guide me and a real desire to be guided by it.
A important step was taken this past Sunday when I attended services at the Unitarian Universalist church of Brevard in Melbourne. The Rev. Dr. Gregory V Wilson offered me the opportunity to give a class on dreams at the church on a Saturday in January. Rev. Gregory has been very receptive to my ideas and stated it could become a regular event. I have two months to prepare. Once I have some experience under my belt I hope to offer classes in other venues. This is all a part of my goals to share what I have learned from my Jungian education and a part of my continuing path of Individuation. Doors continue to open and I grow a bit more with each new opportunity. Faith is not a word I use often but in this instance I feel it appropriate to say I have faith it will all fall into place.
The first task I have undertaken is to refresh my mind on the basics of dream psyche. Over the years I have accumulated many books, videos and audio books that have added to my knowledge but have let many of them fall into dis-repair. I am updating my 'library' with new cds and the first I have purchased is Jung: A Very Short History by Anthony Stevens. I could not have made a better choice. I had bought this book years ago but had not remembered its vital contents until I began listening to it a second time. It was by chance, or in Jungian thinking a Synchronistic event, that I choice this particular cd by Stevens since it is perhaps as good an intro to Jung as there is. I plan to share some of my observations in detail about what is provided over the coming weeks. It is a treasure of info that goes to the heart of Jungian psyche and philosophy. As always the second reading provides insights to what I knew internally but had yet to communicate verbally. Having several websites to articulate my thoughts I will share what I learn the second time around with anyone who wishes to learn with me. For all novice Jungians like myself there are many Ah! Ha! moments. Some new some coming a second time around, but never-the-less inspiring and informative. Here are some of my notes from the second cd and after that an exert from the book.
My notes with the various tracks noted in {}
{7}The Self
architect and builder of dynamic structure that supports our psychic existence throughout life
self with a little s is the ego/persona
Self which transcends the ego whose goal is wholeness
Identified with the inner deity
{8}The Ego
Emerges out of the Self from early childhood development
It remains linked to the Self through the ego axis and is the center of consciousness-I or me
ego/consciousness
the ego is the Self's 'executive'
consciousness does not creative itself-it wells up from unknown depths
out of childhood is awakens slowly and also each morning out of unconscious sleep
it is like a child born daily
dependent of the vitality of the Self
the ego is to Self as the move is to mover or object to subject-the self surrounds the ego on all sides and is {Self} super-ordinate to the ego
only in the second half of life does the ego recognize its subordinate state to the Self
an indispensable stage of Individuation
{9}The persona
just as every building has a facade, every individual has a persona or mask
it is referred to as the social archetype or the conformity archetype
a public relationships expert employed by the ego so other people will think well of us
begins to form early in childhood out of the need to conform to wishes of parents, peers
build acceptable traits into persona and hide undesirable traits which are relegated to the personal unconscious where they are coalesced into a complex called the shadow
{10-11}The shadow
disowned sub personality
something 'shady' about since it is hidden away in the 'Freudian' unconscious
a dark companion we take with us that dogs our steps
most of the time we are able to ignore it
it has a way of reminding us, particularly in our dreams
in dreams the shadow tends to appear as sinister or threating figure possessing the same sex as the dreamer and often seen as a member of a different nation or color or race and there is something alien hostile about it and causes feelings of anger, distrust or fear
it is a complex, traits bound together by common affects
has an archetypal core, the archetypal enemy, the predator or evil stranger
of all archetypes the 'enemy is one of the most important, and potentially deadly
the archetypal enemy becomes apparent during the first year of life
just as an infant shows delight when approached by the mother so does it show wariness and withdrawal when approached by a stranger
by the second year it has ripened to full blown fear and hostility
these are innate predispositions even and are in all infants no matter where they are born or brought up even when blind or deaf from birth {differentiate strangers by smell}
attachment and xenophobia { that which is foreign or strange}
a matter of survival
two important sources-one is cultural indoctrination and two familial repression
cultural indoctrination is what one is taught about out groups and theologically about concept of evil or Satan
the shadow becomes to incorporate traits opposite the persona -persona balancing the anti-characteristics of the shadow
evident in literature- as in Jekyll and Hyde, Dorian Grey {as shadow}
Freud's super-ego is Jung's moral complex
ego defense mechanisms-repression, denial and projection
we repress the shadow in the personal unconsciousness and deny its existence in ourselves
and project it out onto others unconsciously-an act of ego preservation which allows us to deny our own badness and project it onto others who we then hold responsible for it-skape goating-and underlies all types of prejudices toward other groups other than our own
shadow projection is also associated with psychiatric symptom of paranoia where there are persecuted feelings which are disowned and projected onto others who are seen as hostile toward oneself
shadow project can function as a major threat to social and international peace -those perceived as enemies are seen as devils which is ligament to hate, attack or exterminate-Hitler is an example
are evident in all ethnic cleansings and all wars
most important a part of Jungian analysis is when one begins to confront ones shadow
which is very difficult
shadow is tint with feelings of guilt and unworthiness and fears of rejection if its true nature is exposed
much of one’s potential is locked away in ones shadow and is unavailable to consciousness
feelings of life being meaningless
to own one’s own shadow is to become responsible for it
Shadow consciousness is important not only for personal development but also international understanding and social harmony
{12-13}Sex and gender
Sexual differentiation begins about 6 weeks after conception
Male sexual development of gonads has an effect on the embryo
Ovaries in female not formed until 6th month
This gives the male advantage in weight, structure
Child baring and rearing responsibility of women, hunting that of men
Less to do with social stereotypes and more to do with the biology of our species-they are inherent
Masculine and feminine as two great archetypal principles co-existing and balancing as with yin/yang
Child awareness of gender begins as early as 18 months of age
Child is projected onto mother ‘participation mystic’ Self-both sexes naturally identify with the mother
Girls have shared identity but boys need a transformation away from the mother
Father relationship can move boys away from mother identification
Girl relationship with father develops her identity as feminine
Awareness by child that father love differs from ,mother love
Father love is contingent love
Mother’s love is unconditional
Mother archetype is personified as mother Nature, dispenser of nourishment
Father archetype personified as ruler, elder, king
Mother is Eros-love
Father is logos-reason his word is law http://retiredeagle.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/logos-and-eros-in-relationship-part-one/
Personification of gender is as much archetypal as socially induced
{14}Anima/Animus
Relations with opposite sex also rest on archetypal foundations
Archetypal systems allowing us to adapt that of relating to the opposite sex is most crucial
Contrasexual archetype anima in men animus in women, feminine aspect of man-masculine aspect of women
Function as a pair of opposites, syzygy, in the unconscious of both sexes influencing the relations with each other
Syzygy (poetry), the combination of two metrical feet into a single unit
The more unconscious the anima/animus the more likely it to be projected
The dynamic process of falling in love
Projection making factor
Possesses qualities opposite those manifested in persona
Boys expected to be boys and girls girls
The more a man is incapable of accepting his shadow and the feminine qualities within himself the more he identifies with his persona
The character of the anima can be deduced from the persona because everything that should be in the outer attitude but is conspicuously absent will invaridly be found in the inner attitude
This is a fundamental rule
{15} This is a self regulating system
Homo static rule of self regulation Jung borrowed from biology and applied to human psychology
Homo status is the means by which all organic systems keep themselves in a state of bounds despite changes in the environment
The psyche is a self regulating system that maintains its equilibrium just as the body does
Every process that goes too far inevitably pulls forth compensation
Compensation is a basic law of psyche behavior
Too much on one side results in too little on the other
The relationship of conscious and unconscious is compensatory
The principle of compensation is the key concept of Jungian psycho-dynamics in that it is central of Jung’s understanding of how the psyche adapts and develops in the course of the life cycle
Exert from the book {begins with track 18 from the second cd}
Rites of Passage
The archetypal tasks of childhood and adolescence for the male are symbolised in the hero myths which are found in all parts of the world. These tell about how the hero leaves home and is subjected to a number of tests or trials, culminating in the supreme ordeal – the fight with a dragon or a sea monster. The hero's triumph is rewarded with the treasure hard to attain, that is, the throne of a kingdom and a beautiful princess as a bride. So it is in actuality, to embark on the adventure of life, a boy has to free himself of his bonds to home, parents and siblings, survive the ordeals of initiation, which virtually all traditional societies imposed, and win a place for himself in the world – the kingdom. To achieve all this, and to win a bride, he must overcome the power of the mother complex still operative in his unconscious – the fight with the dragon. This amounts to a second parturition from the mother, a final severing of the psychic umbilical cord – victory over the dragon monster often involves the hero being swallowed into it's belly, from which he cuts himself out in a kind of auto-caesarean section. As a result, he dies as his mother's son and is reborn as a man worthy of the princess and the kingdom.
In girls, the transition to womanhood is more readily accomplished, since feminine gender consciousness does not demand a radical shift in identification away from the mother's world to father's world as it does in boys.
Although our culture no longer provides rites of initiation, there persists in us, regardless of gender, an archetypal need to be initiated. We can deduce this from the dreams of patients in analysis, which become rich with initiatory symbolism at critical periods of their lives – e.g. at puberty, betrothal, marriage, childbirth, a divorce or separation, at the death of a parent or spouse. Attainment of a new stage of life seems to demand that symbols of initiation must be experienced. If society fails to provide them, then the self compensates for this deficiency by producing them in dreams.
The Dynamics of Progress
For all young people, growth is a hard journey out of the familiar past into an unknown future, and there are times when everyone feels daunted by the precarious uncertainty of the path. Sometimes it's challenges may appear so overwhelming that individuals breakdown or give up, or regress to a previous stage of development, returning to the mother in her archetypal aspect of nurturer and container. The period from adolescence to early adulthood is the time when people are most highly motivated to look after #1, pouring all their energies into job, marriage, home and children. It is a time of rapid, if one-sided, development – when few people have much time to devote to their inner life. For this reason, Jung maintained that a psychological commitment to the path of individuation was hardly appropriate to this stage. On the contrary, this is time to pay one's dues to society, in order to purchase the right to individuate which then becomes the task of the second period of life.
Love and Marriage
In most people, the capacity to relate to the opposite sex matures during adolescence and early adulthood, to the point where marriage becomes both possible and desired should circumstances allow. The experience of falling in love, as we have seen, when one meets a woman or man, rightly or wrongly, appears to be the living embodiment of one's anima or animus. This profoundly moving experience is an example of is what is means to be taken over by the power of an autonomous complex.
Every archetype, once activated, seeks its own fulfillment in life. This is especially true of the animus or anima, for their quest for completion is rendered more imperative by the nagging insistence of sexual desire. Bonding with a partner is more than just a matter of unconscious projection. If the bond is to last long enough for children to be reared, then it must be sustained by continuing sexual interest, the insistence of the law and the recognition by each partner of the other as a real person with qualities over and beyond those that have been projected. Failure to forgive a spouse for not living up to his anima or her animus fantasies can lead to heartache, recrimination and divorce.
Jung was very aware of this from his own experience of marriage. In his essay 'Marriage as a Psychological Relationship', published in 1925, he argues that a marriage can only be a true relationship if it transcends blind mutual animus/anima projections and if both partners become conscious of each other's psychic reality. Otherwise, it remains as 'medieval marriage', ruled by custom and illusion, a mere participation mystique ('one heart and one soul'). In present circumstances, marriage has to be a more conscious, less stereotyped institution, even if this entails feelings of disillusionment as the contrasexual fantasies are withdrawn, and results in an increased incidence of separation and divorce. 'There is no birth of consciousness without pain', Jung said.
If, however, the union survives, then it can become what has been called an 'individuation marriage', enabling both personalities to grow through a richer understanding of each other, their marriage, and themselves. 'This is what happens very frequently about the midday of life', said Jung, 'and in this wise our miraculous human nature enforces a transition that leads from the first half of life to the second. It is a metamorphosis from a state in which man is only a tool of instinctive nature to another in which he is no longer a tool, but himself: a transformation of nature into culture, of instinct into spirit'.
Jerry
Sponsored & Supported by:
Gifford Fence Co/Middle Tennessee
Gifford Fence Orlando/Melbourne Fence Pro
Daniel Gifford's 2Stain Fence Staining
Web Design
MyDrSy.com - The Power of Dreams
Melbourne Dreams & Metaphysics - Dream Interpretation Space Coast, Florida
Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 62 Space Coast, Fla.
Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male
How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes
|
stats from 7-14-10 to the present
|