The Moon, the Mind and You

JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY CAN HELP YOU CONNECT YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS TO THE NATURAL WORLD.

Written and Illustrated by Arella Warren, Arts Editor

A wise man once said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”1 This man was Carl Jung, one of the earliest proponents of the unconscious mind in contemporary psychology. Jung was also an advocate for the so-called “occult,” believing that the turnings of the Moon play a critical role in our lives. He likened the conscious mind to the “bright side of the moon,” yet Jung’s true focus was on the shadow side, or the unconscious part of the self.2 The unconscious mind contains the majority of our automatic and intuitive processes, including memories, dreams, reactions, and subconscious inclinations. When we ignore these “shadows,” they disrupt our lives and emotional well-being in unexpected ways.3 Finding that people could use artistic means to get in touch with their unconscious tendencies, Jung developed a technique called Active Imagination. This is a creative, therapeutic process meant to bring subconscious imagery into the light, whereby you quiet the mind and allow subconscious thoughts and feelings to surface.4 Be it a memory, a dream symbol or a gut reaction, you’ll want to observe every detail associated with your experience so that you can translate it onto paper afterward. The purpose is to capture those subconscious inclinations otherwise hidden from the waking mind. This simple act of transforming your subconscious into a physical reality through visual means has immense value.

1N. Burton, “Jung: The Man and His Symbols,” Psychology Today, April 8, 2012. 2 J. Howlin, “Consciousness: The Bright Side of the Moon,” Santa Cruz Psychologist Blog, Feb. 16, 2013. 3 Ibid. 4“Carl Jung’s Active Imagination Technique,” Medium, Aug. 28, 2018. It is proven to guide healing and help you to identify and integrate otherwise hidden cognitions into waking life, as it “utilizes imagery to facilitate the identification of feelings and inner communication with ourselves.”5 Furthermore, visual journaling is a highly effective technique for coping with trauma and allowing for new forms of self-expression, especially when tied in with the cycles of the Natural World.6

People often dissociate from their feelings because they internalize and compartmentalize their experiences. We aren’t taught how to externalize our feelings and reestablish the connection between mind, body and nature. We see the implications of this through our system’s various unconscious processes, such as our circadian sleep cycle, which is linked directly to the Lunar cycle and may cause us to act in erratic ways if ignored.7 But “lunacy” doesn’t have to be something we bury deep down in the “shadows.” Emotions should never be buried deep inside, as those repressions will only haunt us and cause us disconnection later in life. Feeling is something to be proud of — and knowing how to properly manage and express those feelings is even more critical. By tapping into those “shadow” thoughts through various forms of subconscious reflection and visual arts, we can tap into our natural Circadian-Lunar cycles, and heal alongside the Natural World while expressing our highest actualization of the self.■

5J. Desmond, “Re-Assemblage of Self: Visual Art Journaling For Clients With Cumulative Trauma,” Digital Commons Lesley University, May 18, 2019. 6J. Cormell and T. Ivey, “Nature Journaling,” Science Scope, 2012. 7 Ibid.