A Happy New Year to everyone. I don't think we could have started the new year with a better number 1-1-11. In Jungian psyche the number 4 represents wholeness. Let's hope this is a note of great things to come for 2011. Being one who strongly believes in the power of numbers {nine being my lucky number, it representing the power of the feminine psyche} I look at such events as promising. Of course it really depends on the individual. But with the helping hands of fate being the source I look to as my 'invisible' source of support, I think of the influence of numbers as being real. Science is predicated on numbers so maybe there isn't a great stretch. Figuring out how to apply the influences is the task at hand.

Note: My interest in numbers is not based on astrology or numerology but primarily the symbolic value they hold in nature. My question and sometimes quest to understand, is how to apply the symbolic values to literal representations. It is my belief that if it exists, or has energies that can manifest themselves in life, they are to be found within nature.

Jerry

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1-1-11: A start that holds promise.

"Happy New Year"

Kristi

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a great observation. also now that you get me thinking, the year is also 4...2011

Maybe this year the christian and muslim fundamentalists and us ego gods will begin to incorporate our own inner fourth terrorist.

I just wanted to make a note that I read jung's Flying Saucers, and it being a little book, recommend it. In my case, it was a refreshing rewording of his primary concepts. Here makes a point about the anima in relation to the shadow, and I assume he also is implying the inferior rational function, feeling, while discussing the anima. In regard to a dream about symbolically decorated flying spheres impacting into the earth, the dreamer's fear of the event, and finally an indifferent unknown female who does not want to flee:

from Flying Saucers

"...a compensating anima figure. She represents a more complete aspect of the unconscious, since she adds to the personality its feminine traits (rational feeling function, sam's words). As a rule she appears most clearly when the conscious mind is thoroughly acquainted with the shadow, and she exerts her greatest influence as a psychological factor when the feminine qualities of the personality are not yet integrated. If these opposites are not united, wholeness is not established, and the self as their symbol is still unconscious. But when the self is constellated it appears in projection, though its true nature is hidden by the anima, who at most alludes to it, as in this dream: the anima, with here calmness and certainty, counters the agitations of the dreamer's ego consciousness, and by mentioning the number eight points to the totality, the self, which is present in the UFO projection."

I just thought this was a key point clarifying the relationship between one's shadow and typically inferior feeling function. I may be putting words into Jung's mouth but I wonder if it is possible to make a one to one comparison between the feeling function and the anima. Perhaps, if the anima as jung asserts is a near symbol for the whole unconscious, perhaps she contains also inferior intuition, or inferior sensation, whichever is inferior in the individual. Although sensation seems to be more associated with thinking typically and thus masculine.

To my progress his most relevant point is that about being thoroughly acquainted with the shadow. I think most people have much more work to do with the shadow than would be happy to admit. I have noticed only slow incremental developments of my shadow toward something that contains developeable tools. It is probably as it should be, since the shadow seems now to me to be a very worthy adversary, of very real proportions, and often having its darker more offensive needs met to the chagrin of the mind. And it cannot be defeated, or destroyed, but only apparently "thoroughly acquainted" with, and amplified by moral consciousness? Then it is not such an aberration after all, or dangerous. It must be in a way like practising the tight rope.

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Sam,

I am most interested in reading Jung's, Flying Saucers, given an earlier dream of mine, posted here a few years ago: "Submarine Starship." I think it can take time before the full meaning/impact of some dreams are realized. This dream is one of those for me. I am interested and intrigued by the fact that my UFO was not projected out into the sky but circled beneath me in the waters on which I stood...and was a profound source of intelligence.

Kristi

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i'll check that dream out if it's still posted, wonder if there's a search function i can just type in the dream name. like most of jung's work, i like to say that it almost reads itself. I'll get back to you later today.

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Hi Sam,

I've re-entered it below.

But there is a search function for the forum, just at the top of the dreams list on the forum page, on the right side.

I've edited the dream language some bit from the original, for clarity.

The two dreams were not sequential and may not be related except as indication of where I was at that time of my journey, yet I've left them both together here.

I don't know if this will work, but I am going to enter the url to the original dream and bit of converstaion Jerry and I had around it, here:

http://www.mythsdreamssymbols.com/dreamforum.html

If it does not work, you could still try the search function.

I did go ahead and order the book last night, too.

Look forward to any comments.

Kristi

P.S. Didn't work, the url just takes you back to the forum home page. But, yes, just enter the title Submarine Starship, if you want, and you'll get there.

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I read the dream and the original, and the comments. I must agree that the time element that allows for development of the self is one of the biggest factors precipitating a dream like this. A thorough acquaintnance with the shadow seems appropriate to this, since the disc coming up into consciousness is not a painful experience, but awesome and mysterious. Also I might suggest that the fur jacket would also suggest that you have become comfortable with the primitive animal aspect of the unconscious that surrounds us like a coat, and that exposes you to further aspects unknown to personal experience.

I'll try to add one more remark about the book that is interesting, later.

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Having read your post and considered this dream more, I was moved to reflect to a piece of collage I just completed a few weeks ago while on retreat. The bottom half of the page is done on black background (the unconscious). The top half is a road through a wooded landscape with "many" sun-streaked rays of light shining through. I have other various symbols in these two fields. But the symbols connecting the two fields are: a (somewhat circular) mirror, appearing more as a "disc-like light," given I'd trimmed the border/frame from the mirror; and a piece of wooden "boardwalk," near seamlessly connecting the diameter of the disc/light to the width of the earthen roadway...bridging the two.

I did not make the connection between the collage and this earlier dream of mine until you posted here on Jung and Flying Sauncers. When you did, I immediately felt a synchronicity.

I should have the book by week's end, but I'd like to read your other throught/remark in the interim.

Thanks.

Kristi

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Sam,
An important observation about the number equal to 4. Hopefully this year will be a '4' for all of us, it representing wholeness and harmony in life in Jungian psyche.

As for the gods. I notice the word 'us' in front of ego in your response. I think it could appropriately be used as U.S., initials for United States in its cultural association to god. Ego centric would be the best association I could think of as a nation. And it is spreading around the world, the obesity in once trim nations with the acceptance of Big Macs and Burger King. The world is slowly becoming so 'Americanized' it is shameful. As much as we have to be proud of as Americans, there is a great shame involved as well.

As Jung stated in the 1930s, America is a neurotic nation. I see it slowly slipping deeper into a state of narcissism. And with the tragic events of yesterday in Arizona {it was bound to happen with all the right wing rhetoric of taking up arms} it is only going to get worse.
Sadly, the only thing that may prevent a complete meltdown of society is global warming bringing about an 'armageddon' from nature. The only god I believe in is within nature and we should learn from experience you should never, ever mess with the Great Feminine, Mother Nature.
Can I get an Amen from the congregation?

Jerry

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Concerning the events of yesterday in Arizona with the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and others. For those of you who do not know my last name is {Gifford, as in Kathy Lee and football Hall of Famer Frank. Of course there is not any relationship other than a possibility of a continuation of 'synchronistic' events I felt from an earlier experience yesterday morning. The earlier event was a very positive thing, the shooting in Arizona very negative. I'll explain.

The Congresswoman has an 's' to her last name and is Jewish. I have evolved to a position of believing in a higher source that exists within nature but do not believe in a 'personal' god. Politically we are on the same page but other than that we have no other ties. We all 'pray' that she and the others find strength in their ordeal and those injured heal from their wounds and the loved ones from those deceased find strenght also.

As for the ealier synchronistic event. I went to the gym yesterday morning looking to get my usual basketball routine but could not do so because the gym was being used for a staging area for the annual 'polar plunge' {in the facilities outdoor pool}. I was so looking forward to the workout since it was Wednesday since I last had a workout {my usual routine is 4/5 times a week}. I was disappointed of course {although I had this sensory feeling something may be amiss this particular Saturday morning before I arrived at the gym} but put those feelings aside and did an extended time of my normal walk, the other part of my usual routine.

At the end of my routine I headed to the locker room to dress when I noticed a young man setting up a video camera to film the polar plunge event. I was instantly 'floored' since for the whole of all of last week all I could think of was to find someone who had the skills and tools to video my basketball routine {something I had mentioned at the end of my last blog post Physical Fitness, Psychology & Wholeness. I had stated in that blog I wanted to video tape my workout. I only needed to find the source for doing that.
Synchronize. There waiting for me after my walk, and the disappointment of not being able to perform my normal routine, was a contact for perhaps to a source to video my workout {this young man couldn't do it but gave me the telephone number of a parttime employee who does this type of work}. I sense my positive attitude upon arriving at the gym may have played a part in the timing of this event {a few minutes either way and I could have not met the guy}. Instead of letting the disappointment rule my day I instead made it a positive event and walked my way through it. It is from these walks I do a lot of deep thinking, being able to tune out all the noise and people around me and focus on those deep thoughts I so love. Synchronicity is alive and well in the 21st century.

Does anyone else have any synchronistic experience they can share? This aspect of Jungian psyche is often controversial. But in the journey of the hero it is fate that often rescues him/her from the depths of negative experiences and makes them positive. Believe it or not, experiences speaks for itself.

Jerry

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Before I read the blog I think I should follow up on the post I promised to write. Basically it is just a couple more quotes I would like to share from the book. For some reason, I take pride in the fact that I use a little highlighter when I read so that I can easily reference stuff later on, and I use it even simply if I like a certain phrase, such as from this book, "America, the land of superlatives and of science fiction."

Jung states that "the present world situation is calculated as never before to arouse expectations of a redeeming, supernatural event." He goes on to say that the technological aspect of the ufo symbol is what makes it digestable to our modern scientific intellect, some other manifestation of wholeness might be considered an abberration of the rational mind. As he states, "in order to avoid the odiousness of a mythological personification."

Wholeness images and the reconcilliation of opposites, jung says is dangerous to a consciousness dominated by only one or two human functions. In this manner he explains the scene of a woman's dream where she saw a ufo at night, the next scene she was in a hospital and her face had been badly burned. It was exposure to the great potential and numinosity of the self. He also suggested it meant an activation or penetration of the self into her.

One last quote, that seems to be so boundless that I don't want to foul it with any commentary. I'm trying not to ruin the book for anyone, so I'll stop quoting after this last vignette,

"The only thing we cannot doubt is that the most imortant of the fundamental instincts, the religious instinct for wholeness, plays the least conspicuous part in contemporary consciousness because, as history shows, it can free itself only with the greatest effort, and with continual backslidings, from contamination with the other two instincts." (sex and power)

his prescription? in a candid moment, he says,

"Should it be granted to him(/her), however, to develop into something higher without crippling his nature, he is reminded that this transformation is not his to command, for he is dependent on factors he cannot influence. He must content himself with a prayerful yearning and "groaning", in the hope that something may carry him upward, since he is not likely to make a success of the Munchhausen experiment. Through this attitude he constellates hopeful and at the same time dangerous powers in the unconscious; helpful if he understands them, dangerous if he misunderstands them."

-Seems to me that intuition is the secret ingredient in the practical process.

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Sam,
America and science fiction definitely fit with the 'self-centered' attitude we have developed over the past century. We have begun to believe, as a whole, we are above ourselves, progressed/regressed from a neurotic nation to a narcissist culture.

I believe one of the major problems with our culture is we do not have a true mythology to live by as older European cultures have. Without a mythology there are not the rituals to guide the populace. Because America is a potpourri of different peoples and cultures we have never formed a myth that defines who we are. And what few rituals we have developed have pretty much disintegrated over the past century with the new technologies and our focus on self absorption. Joseph Campbell said America needs to form a new mythology. I don't believe that is possible in a world of corporate corruption and individual greed that prevails. It could be the new myth that is beginning to take shape is one we have seen in old movies where the corporations become so big they are the governing system. That has already begun on a large scale, and few people realize it {agribusiness controls the world food supply to the point a few individuals control our food source}. America is so self centered on growth at the expense of the planet's health it is a good bet that the armageddon that is prophesied will be environmental.

As for the intuitive. I have written many times of my belief of how we must open up to the 'great feminine' before we can restore balance to the individual as the world. The masculine, as represented by a patriarchal god and the corporate world, must relent and accept the power of the feminine psyche {individual and universal}. I have chosen to pattern my life after Jesus and not god. Jesus lived from those feminine qualities whereas god {of Abraham} lived from the masculine. The state of affairs in the world today is the net result of a patriarchal world lacking a true feminine identity. The intuitive is one of the powerful aspects of the feminine psyche that few ever realize.

Jerry

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Thank you for sharing what more you have here, Sam. I've not yet received my copy of the book. I purchased a used copy, which is standard for me when I can find a decent one, and shipping times not as speedy as Amazon purchases normally are.

As I am still in the midst of a Munchhausen experiment, I say little here, saving it for the container of my work with my analyst.

I have been having experiences of the Self since I was a child, encounters unbidden by me, so I "get" that we are dependent upon factors we cannot influence/control. I also understand (from experience) the "burning" of one's face by a force greater than ourselves, and the "groanings" Jung speaks of.

You quoted Jung: Through this attitude he constellates hopeful and at the same time dangerous powers in the unconscious; helpful if he understands them, dangerous if he misunderstands them.

I certainly agree that the danger lay in the instincts of sex and power. And so, besides intuition, a healty dose of humility is also in order.

Whatever my UFO/submarine starship dream is, I understand it today to be lesser "about me" or "for me," and perhaps only about something that may want to make itself known through me.

I must say that I am most grateful for the wisdom and experience of my analyst who has safely steered me through some troubling waters over the past many months.

I look forward to reading the book.

Kristi

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