Parts of a Whole by tyshea

PARTS

F A WH LE BY TYLER SHEA

PARTS

F A WH LE

J U N G I A N P S YC H O L O G Y A N D WA B I S A B I P H I L O S O P H Y

TYLER SHEA

B FA G R A P H I C D E S I G N S E N I O R T H E S I S MOORE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN

Parts of a Whole

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CARL JUNG

CONSCIOUSNESS

PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS

EGO

COMPLEXES

ARCHETYPES

DREAMS

Parts of a Whole

D I AG R A M O F

THE SELF

T H E P SYC H E

COLLECTIVE

PERSONA

UNCONSCIOUS

SHADOW

SY M B O LS

ANIMA / ANIMUS

SOURCES

INTRODUCTION

Parts of a Whole

“ Life has always seemed to me like a plant that lives on its rhizome. Its true life is invisible, hidden in the rhizome. The part that appears above ground lasts only a single summer. Then it withers away— an ephemeral apparition. When we think of the unending growth and decay of life and civilizations, we cannot escape the impression of absolute nullity. Yet I have never lost a sense of something that lives and endures underneath the eternal flux. What we see is the blossom, which passes. The rhizome remains.” CARL JUNG, “MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS”

INTRODUCTION

Parts of a Whole

INT R OD U CTI O N

Jungian Psychology & Wabi-Sabi This book aims to illustrate the subtle connections and oppositions between Jungian psychology and the Japanese philosophy known as Wabi-sabi. These connections are meant to cultivate a deeper understanding within ourselves and the world. Carl Jung used the term individuation for finding meaning and purpose in life. Jung believed we find our true selves through the balance of opposite things that exist together such as good and evil, or inner and outer worlds. Wabi-sabi honors the imperfect, the humble, the impermanent, and the unfinished in life. It embraces the simple beauty found in nature and our own lives. It is about accepting the decay of natural aging and finding the poetry in simplicity. Understanding both of these subjects can remind us that we are, like all things in nature, ephemeral and finite. They encourage us to be vulnerable, not be afraid to face the fractures or places where we feel friction in our lives, and do the work necessary to participate in our own healing both as an individual and as a collective. We are all part of a bigger picture. Parts of a whole.

Interpretations and connections All words found on the following pages are from credible and

Wabi-sabi philosophy appears within the

Wabi-sabi. Sources are listed in the back of the book.

linocut prints are my interpretation of

text that is crawling onto the pages. The

established experts on both topics of either Jungian psychology or

Jungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artwork from his studies.

CARL JUNG

Parts of a Whole

S W I S S P S YC H I AT R I S T

1875-1961

CAR L JU NG

Carl Jung was interested in the way in which symbols and common myths permeate our thinking on both conscious and subconscious levels. As a practicing psychologist and keen observer of the

Western world, Carl Jung noticed that many people

in his day were afflicted by debilitating feelings of insignificance, inadequacy, and hopelessness. Over

several chapters in Volume 10 of his Collected Works, Jung examined this issue and came to conclude that such feelings were caused by what he called a “spiritual problem”.

This “spiritual problem” continues to be an issue for

many people in the modern world and its widespread existence posses a great threat to the freedom and

prosperity of Western societies. For not only do those afflicted by it suffer as individuals, but as more fall victim to it, the stability of a society falters and the potential for

political and social unrest increases. Jung observed the social ramifications of this problem play out first hand in the form of two world wars and the rise of numerous

totalitarian states. He was so appalled by these events

that he tried his best to convey his insights to others in the hope of averting similar occurrences in the future.

Jung believed that the emergence of this spiritual

problem coincided with the declining influence that

traditional religions, most prominently Christianity, have had on Western societies over the past several centuries. Casting aside these religions has had many

effects, but the one which Jung saw as most pressing, was the fact that it forced countless people to face the existential dilemmas of human life without the helpful crutch of religious dogma.

“ How totally different did the world appear to medieval

man! For him the earth was eternally fixed and at rest in the centre of the universe…Men were all children of God under

the loving care of the Most High, who prepared them for eternal blessedness; and all knew exactly what they should do

and how they should conduct themselves in order to rise from

a corruptible world to an incorruptible and joyous existence. Such a life no longer seems real to us, even in our dreams.” (Carl Jung, The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man)

CARL JUNG

Parts of a Whole

CARL JUNG

Parts of a Whole

In addition to the rise of secularism, Jung suggested that

In the 19th and even more so in the 20th century, social

mindset can be very detrimental for as Jung discovered,

significant role in the emergence of the spiritual problem.

mesmerized by the fruits which scientific inquiry

deficient in a manner which is detrimental to

the development of modern mass society also played a

Modern society came into existence during the industrial revolution, when large portions of the population were driven from small towns into big cities in search of work

and opportunity – instigating the birth of a mass society. While the development of a mass society generated benefits

planners, politicians, and leaders of various industries, was producing in the fields of industry and medicine, came to believe that the methods of science could be

used to remodel society. The result of this movement was a massification of society, that is, an increase in

uniformity and a drastic decrease in the importance of

when the conscious attitude of the individual is psychological health, the self-regulating mechanism of

the psyche will produce an unconscious compensation

in the attempt to correct the faulty conscious attitude, and bring the psyche back into relative balance.

the individual.

Those suffering from a spiritual problem, due to their

brought perilous problems. “This new form of existence…

For in order to model and subsequently remake

self-efficacy required for psychological health. Jung

suggestible.” (Carl Jung, The Fight With the Shadow)

uniqueness of the individual must be negated in favour

through the intensification of the division of labor, it also

produced an individual who was unstable, insecure, and

The insecurity of the individual in a mass society

is partly a function of the sheer quantity of people which surround him. The bigger the crowd, the more

nullified the individual feels. But this insecurity was

society based on scientific and rational principles, the

of statistical averages, and the redesign of society enacted by a group of elites, or Technocrats, who view

humans as nothing but abstractions, homogenous social units to be managed and manipulated.

also instigated, according to Jung, by the rise of a

The perilous effects of this attempt to use science to

industrial revolution, and over time, saturated more

today, were described by Jung:

rational and scientific mindset which accompanied the and more corners of society.

remodel the individual and society, effects still in play

“ Under the influence of scientific assumptions, not only the psyche but the individual man and, indeed, all individual

events whatsoever suffer a levelling down and a process of blurring that distorts the picture of reality into a

conceptual average. We ought not to underestimate the

psychological effect of the statistical world-picture: it thrusts aside the individual in favour of anonymous units

that pile up into mass formations…As a social unit he has lost his individuality and become a mere abstract number

in the bureau of statistics. He can only play the role of an interchangeable unit of infinitesimal importance.” (Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self )

The existential uncertainty brought by the decline

feelings of insignificance, lack the proper levels of

proposed that to compensate for this deficiency the

unconscious produces a compensation in the form of a strong hunger for power.

“ The individual’s feeling of weakness, indeed of non-exist

ence, [is] compensated by the eruption of hitherto unknown

desires for power. It [is] the revolt of the powerless, the insatiable greed of the “have-nots.”” (Carl Jung, The Fight with the Shadow)

A compensation can be beneficial if one is able

to integrate the compensatory contents of the

unconscious into their consciousness, thus bringing more balance to their conscious mind and an overall

improvement to their psychological health. However, If the unconscious contents of the compensation, which in the case of a spiritual problem take the form

of a lust for power, remain hidden in the unconscious, the compensation can prove extremely dangerous.

“ If such a compensatory move of the unconscious is not

integrated into consciousness in an individual, it leads to a neurosis or even to a psychosis.” (Carl Jung, The Fight with the Shadow)

of religions and the diminished importance of the

If a compensatory desire for power is not integrated

a situation where the vast majority of people view

possessed by unconscious impulses for power, and thus

individual in mass society have combined to create themselves as insignificant and impotent beings. This 8

into consciousness, Jung warned that one will become

seek it at any cost. Failing to find it in their personal

CARL JUNG

Parts of a Whole

life due to profound feelings of impotence, such people

react to the growth of state power with feelings of

“ Small and hidden is the door that leads inward, and

mass movements, and institutions which they view as

individuals can do about it. Jung’s analysis is profound

assumptions, and fears. Always one wishes to hear of

are very likely to gravitate toward collective ideologies, having the power they as individuals lack.

“ If the individual, overwhelmed by the sense of his own

puniness and impotence, should feel that his life has lost its

meaning…then he is already on the road to State slavery and, without knowing or wanting it, has become its

hopelessness, believing there is nothing that they as for the reason that he suggests that the rise of state

tyranny is a by-product of the proliferation of the

spiritual problem afflicting the modern world, and thus can be subdued if more people learn to resolve the spiritual problem affecting their own lives.

proselyte.” (Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self )

Jung held out hope that many people in the West

When this psychological process occurs on a mass

of such potential in the growth of the field of

scale, a society becomes highly vulnerable to the rise of State tyranny.

Jung described this process in the following chilling passage.

“ Instead of the concrete individual, you have the

names of organizations and, at the highest point, the

abstract idea of the State as the principle of political reality. The moral responsibility of the individual

is then inevitably replaced by the policy of the State. Instead of the moral and mental differentiation of the

individual, you have public welfare and the raising of the living standard. The goal and meaning of

individual life (which is the only real life) no longer lie in individual development but in the policy of

the State, which is thrust upon the individual from outside…The individual is increasingly deprived of

the 20th century, and seems to be re-emerging in the West today. While many people realize the dangers posed by the existence of centralized states, most

and a world within. What has this vapid idealism got to do with gigantic economic programmes, with the socalled problems of reality?

drop down like manna from heaven, but are created by

desire of many to explore the depths in their psyche in search of self-knowledge.

“ To me the crux of the spiritual problem today is to be found in the fascination which the psyche holds

for modern man….if we are optimistically inclined, we shall see in it the promise of a far-reaching

spiritual change in the Western world. At all events, it is a signif icant phenomenon…important because

it touches those irrational and—as history shows — incalculable psychic forces which transform the life of

peoples and civilizations in ways that are unforeseen

and unforeseeable. These are the forces, still invisible to many persons today, which are at the bottom of

the present “psychological ” interest.” (Carl Jung, The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man)

the skies for regeneration. In Jung’s view, the modern

This form of dystopia occurred in varying degrees in

grotesque when anyone speaks of hidden doors, dreams,

psychology in the 20th century, and in the increased

as a social unit…and amused in accordance with the masses.” (Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self )

have landed every nation in a morass. Therefore it sounds

But I speak not to nations, only to the individual few, for

In times of desperation ancient peoples looked to

standards that give pleasure and satisfaction to the

grand political and economic schemes, the very things that

were capable of achieving this, and saw evidence

the moral decision as to how he should live his own life, and instead is ruled, fed, clothed, and educated

the entrance is barred by countless prejudices, mistaken

the gods which inhabited the oceans, the forests, and individual, for whom all the gods are dead, must

look to the forces within for answers to the spiritual

problems which plague them. In finding answers, he thought one will not only be curing the spiritual

sickness which afflicts them personally, but will also be contributing to the renewal of a world gone astray in the darkness of State domination: 9

whom it goes without saying that cultural values do not

the hands of individuals. If things go wrong in the world,

this is because something is wrong with the individual, because something is wrong with me. Therefore, if I am sensible, I shall put myself right first. For this I need—

because outside authority no longer means anything to me—a knowledge of the innermost foundations of my

being, in order that I may base myself firmly on the eternal facts of the human psyche.” (Carl Jung, The Meaning of Psychology for Modern Man)

P SYC H E

Parts of a Whole

JUNG’S MODEL OF THE PSYCHE

Jungian Model of the Psyche O N E ’ S T O TA L P E R S O N A L I T Y

“ By psyche I understand the totality of all psychic processes, conscious as well as unconscious.” CARL JUNG

P SYC H E

Parts of a Whole

SELF

CONSCIOUSNESS

PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS

The deepest layer of the psyche, the archetype of

That realm of the psyche most familiar to us. The

Largely composed of repressed elements

of the individuation process.

as one’s field of awareness and consists of those

unconscious seeks outward manifestation.

wholeness. Proper expression of the Self is the goal

conscious realm of the psyche can be described psychic contents that one knows.

from one’s personal history. Everything in the

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

PERSONA

EGO

Composed of instincts and archetypes which are

Represents the social mask that each of us “wear”

The ego is one’s personality as they are aware of it firsthand.

common to all human beings.

in our interaction with other’s in society.

Acts as a gatekeeper which influences what contents

of experience are reflected in consciousness and which contents are eliminated, repressed, or ignored.

ANIMA / ANIMUS

SHADOW

INNER /OUTER WORLDS

Oriented inward, protecting the ego from the sometimes

The “dark” side of one’s personality. Influences

Jung believed in balancing identification with the

from the dark inner depths of the unconscious.

which is beyond conscious control.

threatening and overwhelming contents which emerge

emotions, thoughts, and behaviours, in a manner

external world by having inner experiences of the psyche.

THE SELF

Parts of a Whole

THE SELF

The Self for Jung comprises the whole of the psyche, including all its potential. The notion

It is the organising genius behind the personality, and is responsible for bringing about the best adjustment

in each stage of life that circumstances can allow. Crucially, it has a teleological function: it is forward

looking, seeking fulfilment. The goal of the Self is wholeness, and Jung called this search for wholeness

completion

the process of individuation, the purpose being to develop the organismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fullest potential.

It is a distinguishing feature of Jungian psychology

that the theory is organised from the point of view of the Self, not from that of the ego, as early Freudian

has

theory was, and the teleological perspective of Jung is

also distinctive. The ego, along with other structures, develops out of the Self which exists from the beginning

of life. The Self is rooted in biology but also has access

to an infinitely wider range of experience, including

the whole wealth of the cultural and religious realms,

and the depths of which all human beings are capable. It is therefore capable of being projected on to figures or institutions which carry power: God, the sun, kings and queens and so on.

Jung called the search for wholeness within the human psyche, the process of individuation. It may be described as a process of circumambulation around the

Self as the centre of personality. The person aims to

become conscious of him or herself as a unique human

being, but at the same time, no more nor less than any other human being.

For Jung, conflict is not only inherent in human psychology, but is necessary for growth. In order to

become more conscious, one must be able to bear

conflict. There are many internal opposites, as well as those experienced in the outside world. If the tension between the opposites can be borne, then out of this clash something new and creative can grow.

CONSCIOUSNESS

Parts of a Whole

CONSCIOUSN ES S

Conscious and unconscious are not necessarily in opposition to one another, but complement one another to form a totality, which is the self. To achieve individuation and realise our true self, he claimed that, rather than repressing these traits, we

must ‘integrate’ them by allowing them to surface

from the shadow and to coexist with those in the ego, or true self. Analytical psychologists may encourage this integration, or individuation, through therapy including free association.

Jung called the process of individuation “the central concept of my psychology.” He wrote “I use the term ‘individuation,’ to denote the process by which a person

becomes a psychological individual, that is, a separate, indivisible unity or whole.” The process involves the integration of the conscious and unconscious elements of the personality, leading to individual wholeness and self-realization.

e x t r a ordinary

moment of

and

THE SELF

Parts of a Whole

THE SELF

Interpretation of T H E I N C A N TAT I O N S 5 4 , C A R L J U N G , 1 9 1 7

The Self for Jung comprises the whole of the psyche, including all its potential.

The notion

It is the organising genius behind the personality, and is responsible for bringing about the best adjustment

in each stage of life that circumstances can allow. Crucially, it has a teleological function: it is forward

looking, seeking fulfilment. The goal of the Self is wholeness, and Jung called this search for wholeness

completion

the process of individuation, the purpose being to develop the organism’s fullest potential.

It is a distinguishing feature of Jungian psychology

that the theory is organised from the point of view of the Self, not from that of the ego, as early Freudian

has

theory was, and the teleological perspective of Jung is

also distinctive. The ego, along with other structures, develops out of the Self which exists from the beginning

of life. The Self is rooted in biology but also has access

to an infinitely wider range of experience, including

the whole wealth of the cultural and religious realms,

and the depths of which all human beings are capable. It is therefore capable of being projected on to figures or institutions which carry power: God, the sun, kings and queens and so on.

Jung called the search for wholeness within the human psyche, the process of individuation. It may be described as a process of circumambulation around the

Self as the centre of personality. The person aims to

become conscious of him or herself as a unique human

being, but at the same time, no more nor less than any other human being.

“ You are the star of the east. You are the flower that blooms over everything. You are the deer that breaks out of the forest. You are the song that sounds far over the water. You are the beginning and the end.” C A R L J U N G , T H E R E D B O O K , I L L U M I N AT I O N P G 5 4

For Jung, conflict is not only inherent in human psychology, but is necessary for growth. In order to

become more conscious, one must be able to bear

CONSCIOUSNESS

Parts of a Whole

CONSCIOUSN ES S

must ‘integrate’ them by allowing them to surface

from the shadow and to coexist with those in the ego, or true self. Analytical psychologists may encourage this integration, or individuation, through therapy including free association.

Jung called the process of individuation “the central concept of my psychology.” He wrote “I use the term ‘individuation,’ to denote the process by which a person

e x t r a ordinary

moment of

and

PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS

Parts of a Whole

PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS

The personal unconscious is a product of the interaction between the collective unconscious and the development of the individual during life. Jung’s definition of the personal unconscious: Everything of which I know, but of which I am not

at the moment thinking; everything of which I was once conscious but have now forgotten; everything

perceived by my senses, but not noted by my conscious

mind; everything which, involuntarily and without

paying attention to it, I feel, think, remember, want, and do; all the future things which are taking shape in

me and will sometime come to consciousness; all this

is the content of the unconscious.’ ‘Besides these we must include all more or less intentional repressions of painful thought and feelings. I call the sum of these

While th e

contents the “personal unconscious”.’

One can see that there is more here than the repressed

contents of the unconscious as envisaged by Freud, it also

for while it does include repression, Jung also sees the

personal unconscious as having within it potential for

future development, and thus is very much in line with his thinking about the psyche.

constructs. New

merge

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

Parts of a Whole

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

Rather than being born and being influenced purely by our environment, Jung proposed that we are each born with a collective unconscious. The theory of the collective unconscious is one of the

distinctive features of Jung’s psychology. He took the

view that the whole personality is present in potentia from birth and that personality is not solely a function of the environment, as was thought at the time when

he was developing his ideas, but merely brings out what is already there.

The role of the environment is to emphasise and develop aspects already within the individual. Every

infant is born with an intact blueprint for life, both

physically and mentally, and while these ideas were very controversial at the time, there is much more

agreement now that each animal species is uniquely

equipped with a repertoire of behaviours adapted to the environment in which it has evolved.

This repertoire is dependent on what ethologists

call ‘innate releasing mechanisms’ which the animal

inherits in its central nervous system and which become activated when appropriate stimuli are encountered in the environment.

In representations

PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS

Parts of a Whole

PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS

Interpretation of

The personal unconscious is a product of the interaction between the collective unconscious and the development of the individual during life.

T H E C A ST E R O F H O LY WAT E R , C A R L J U N G , 1 9 2 0

Jung’s definition of the personal unconscious: Everything of which I know, but of which I am not

at the moment thinking; everything of which I was once conscious but have now forgotten; everything

perceived by my senses, but not noted by my conscious

mind; everything which, involuntarily and without

paying attention to it, I feel, think, remember, want, and do; all the future things which are taking shape in

me and will sometime come to consciousness; all this

is the content of the unconscious.’ ‘Besides these we must include all more or less intentional repressions of painful thought and feelings. I call the sum of these

While th e

contents the “personal unconscious”.’

One can see that there is more here than the repressed

contents of the unconscious as envisaged by Freud, it also

for while it does include repression, Jung also sees the

personal unconscious as having within it potential for

future development, and thus is very much in line with his thinking about the psyche.

constructs. New

merge

“ If things go wrong in the world, this is because something is wrong with the individual, because something is wrong with me.” A L W O R L D O F J U N G ’ S L I B E R N O V U S C A R L J U N G , T H E AST R O LO G I C

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

Parts of a Whole

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

Rather than being born and being influenced purely by our environment, Jung proposed that we are each born with a collective unconscious. The theory of the collective unconscious is one of the

distinctive features of Jung’s psychology. He took the

view that the whole personality is present in potentia from birth and that personality is not solely a function of the environment, as was thought at the time when

he was developing his ideas, but merely brings out what is already there.

The role of the environment is to emphasise and develop aspects already within the individual. Every

infant is born with an intact blueprint for life, both

physically and mentally, and while these ideas were very controversial at the time, there is much more

agreement now that each animal species is uniquely

equipped with a repertoire of behaviours adapted to the environment in which it has evolved.

This repertoire is dependent on what ethologists

call ‘innate releasing mechanisms’ which the animal

inherits in its central nervous system and which become activated when appropriate stimuli are encountered in the environment.

In representations

PERSONA

Parts of a Whole

CONSCIOUS REALM

PERSONA

Distinct from our inner self, Jung noted that we each have a persona, an identity which we wish to project to others. He used the Latin term, which can refer either to a

personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality the mask of an actor, intentionally, as the persona can be constructed from archetypes in

the collective unconscious, or be influenced by ideas of social roles in society. For example, a father may adopt traits which he considers to be typical of a father -

serious or disciplining, for example - rather than those which reflect his actual personality.

Philip Zimbardoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s study of social roles in a prison situation (1971) further demonstrated the effect that our role has on our persona. Assigned a role, such as

that of a prison guard, people often behave as they would expect someone in their role to act.

As the persona is not a true reflection of our consciousness, but rather an idealised image which people aspire to, identifying too much with a persona

can lead to inner conflicts and a repression of our own individuality, which Jung claimed could be resolved through individuation.

about

the

minor

and the

CONSCIOUS REALM

EGO

Jung saw the ego as the centre of the field of consciousness which contains our conscious awareness of existing and a continuing sense of personal identity. It is the organiser of our thoughts and intuitions, feelings, and sensations, and has access to memories which are not repressed. The ego is the bearer of personality and stands at the junction between the inner and outer worlds.

The way in which people relate to inner and outer worlds

is determined by their attitude type: an extraverted individual being orientated to the outer world, and an introverted one primarily to the inner world. Jung also

noted that people differ in the conscious use they make

of four functions which he termed, thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. In any individual, one of these

functions is superior and is therefore more highly

developed than other functions, since greater use is made of it, but each attitude operates in relation to the

introversion or extraversion of the person, as well as in conjunction with other less dominant functions, giving a number of different theoretical possibilities.

The ego arises out of the Self during the course of early development. It has an executive function, it

perceives meaning and assesses value, so that it not

only promotes survival but makes life worth living. It is an expression of the Self, though by no means

identical with it, and the Self is much greater than it. Jung compared the nature of consciousness to the eye: only a limited number of things can be held in vision

at any one time, and in the same way the activity of consciousness is selective. Selection, he says, demands

direction and other things are excluded as irrelevant. This is bound to make conscious orientation one sided. The contents which are excluded sink into the

unconscious where they form a counterweight to the conscious orientation. Thus an increasing tension is

created and eventually the unconscious will break through in the form of dreams or images. So the

unconscious complex is a balancing or supplementing of the conscious orientation.

EGO

Parts of a Whole

PERSONA

Parts of a Whole

CONSCIOUS REALM

PERSONA

Interpretation of

Distinct from our inner self, Jung noted that we each have a persona, an identity which we wish to project to others.

T H E C A ST E R O F H O LY WAT E R , C A R L J U N G , 1 9 2 0

He used the Latin term, which can refer either to a

person’s personality the mask of an actor, intentionally, as the persona can be constructed from archetypes in

the collective unconscious, or be influenced by ideas of social roles in society. For example, a father may adopt traits which he considers to be typical of a father -

serious or disciplining, for example - rather than those which reflect his actual personality.

Philip Zimbardo’s study of social roles in a prison situation (1971) further demonstrated the effect that our role has on our persona. Assigned a role, such as

that of a prison guard, people often behave as they would expect someone in their role to act.

As the persona is not a true reflection of our consciousness, but rather an idealised image which people aspire to, identifying too much with a persona

can lead to inner conflicts and a repression of our own individuality, which Jung claimed could be resolved through individuation.

about

the

minor

“ The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.” CARL JUNG

and the

CONSCIOUS REALM

EGO

The way in which people relate to inner and outer worlds

is determined by their attitude type: an extraverted individual being orientated to the outer world, and an introverted one primarily to the inner world. Jung also

noted that people differ in the conscious use they make

of four functions which he termed, thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. In any individual, one of these

functions is superior and is therefore more highly

developed than other functions, since greater use is made of it, but each attitude operates in relation to the

introversion or extraversion of the person, as well as in conjunction with other less dominant functions, giving a number of different theoretical possibilities.

The ego arises out of the Self during the course of early development. It has an executive function, it

perceives meaning and assesses value, so that it not

only promotes survival but makes life worth living. It is an expression of the Self, though by no means

identical with it, and the Self is much greater than it. Jung compared the nature of consciousness to the eye: only a limited number of things can be held in vision

at any one time, and in the same way the activity of consciousness is selective. Selection, he says, demands

direction and other things are excluded as irrelevant. This is bound to make conscious orientation one sided. The contents which are excluded sink into the

unconscious where they form a counterweight to the conscious orientation. Thus an increasing tension is

created and eventually the unconscious will break through in the form of dreams or images. So the

unconscious complex is a balancing or supplementing of the conscious orientation.

EGO

Parts of a Whole

I am not what happened

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Carl Jung

I am what I choose to

COMPLEXES

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

COMPLEXES

Jung considered that the personal unconscious is composed of functional units called complexes, and he reached the concept of the complex through some important and ground-breaking work he did on word association. He found that there were internal distractions which

interfered with he association of the subjects to the test words, so that their reaction time was longer for some

words than others. These responses tended to form

groups of ideas which were affectively toned and which he named complexes or ‘feeling-toned complexes’. The

word association test suggested the presence of many types of complex not merely, as Freud claimed, a core sexual complex, or Oedipus complex.

Complexes are determined by experience but also by

the individual’s way of reacting to that experience. A complex is in the main unconscious and has a

tendency to behave independently or autonomously so that the individual may feel that his behaviour is out of his control. We probably have all said at one time

or another when we have done something seemingly

out of character: ‘I don’t know what came over me’. This sense of autonomy is perhaps most marked in abnormal states of mind, and can be seen most clearly

in people who are ill; whom we sometimes think of as possessed, but complexes are parts of the psyche of us all.

Complexes have their roots in the collective unconscious and are tinged with archetypal contents. The problem for

the individual is not the existence of the complexes per experience wabi sabi, means

se, but the breakdown of the psyche’s capacity to regulate itself. Jung held that the psyche has the ability to bring into awareness dissociated complexes and archetypal material in order to provide a balance or compensation

to conscious life. He thought that the ego was prone to making inappropriate choices or to one-sidedness, and that material arising from the unconscious could help to bring a better balance to the individual and enable further development to take place.

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

SHADOW

â&#x20AC;&#x153; Taken in its deepest sense, the shadow is the invisible saurian tail that man still drags behind him. Carefully amputated, it becomes the healing serpent of the mysteries.â&#x20AC;? This carries all the things we do not want to know about ourselves or do not like. The shadow is a complex

in the personal unconscious with its roots in the collective unconscious and is the complex most easily

accessible to the conscious mind. It often possesses

qualities which are opposite from those in the persona, and therefore opposite from those of which we are conscious. Here is the Jungian idea of one aspect of the personality compensating for another: where there is light, there must also be shadow. If the compensatory

relationship breaks down, it can result in a shallow

personality with little depth and with excessive concern for what other people think about him or her.

So while it can be troublesome, and may remain largely unconscious, the shadow is an important aspect of our psyche and part of what gives depth to

our personalities. The fascination which the differing, contrasting, or opposing aspects of personality hold for

us, is illustrated in such novels as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or The Picture of Dorian Gray.

you have to slow

The way in which we most immediately experience the

shadow is as we project it on to other people, so that we

can be fairly sure that traits which we cannot stand in

other people really belong to ourselves and that we are

trying to disown them. While difficult and painful, it is

important that we work at owning our shadow to bring

it into relationship with our persona, and so provide

some integration of these two complexes within our personality.

SHADOW

Parts of a Whole

COMPLEXES

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

COMPLEXES

Interpretation of T H E I N C A N TAT I O N S 5 4 ,

Jung considered that the personal unconscious is composed of functional units called complexes, and he reached the concept of the complex through CARL JUNG, 1917 some important and ground-breaking work he did on word association. He found that there were internal distractions which

interfered with he association of the subjects to the test words, so that their reaction time was longer for some

words than others. These responses tended to form

groups of ideas which were affectively toned and which he named complexes or ‘feeling-toned complexes’. The

word association test suggested the presence of many types of complex not merely, as Freud claimed, a core sexual complex, or Oedipus complex.

Complexes are determined by experience but also by

the individual’s way of reacting to that experience. A complex is in the main unconscious and has a

tendency to behave independently or autonomously so that the individual may feel that his behaviour is out of his control. We probably have all said at one time

or another when we have done something seemingly

out of character: ‘I don’t know what came over me’. This sense of autonomy is perhaps most marked in abnormal states of mind, and can be seen most clearly

in people who are ill; whom we sometimes think of as possessed, but complexes are parts of the psyche of us all.

Complexes have their roots in the collective unconscious and are tinged with archetypal contents. The problem for

the individual is not the existence of the complexes per experience wabi sabi, means

to conscious life. He thought that the ego was prone to making inappropriate choices or to one-sidedness, and that material arising from the unconscious could help

“ Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” CARL JUNG, LETTERS VOL. 1, PG 236-237

to bring a better balance to the individual and enable further development to take place.

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

SHADOW

in the personal unconscious with its roots in the collective unconscious and is the complex most easily

accessible to the conscious mind. It often possesses

relationship breaks down, it can result in a shallow

personality with little depth and with excessive concern for what other people think about him or her.

So while it can be troublesome, and may remain largely unconscious, the shadow is an important aspect of our psyche and part of what gives depth to

our personalities. The fascination which the differing, contrasting, or opposing aspects of personality hold for

us, is illustrated in such novels as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or The Picture of Dorian Gray.

you have to slow

The way in which we most immediately experience the

shadow is as we project it on to other people, so that we

can be fairly sure that traits which we cannot stand in

other people really belong to ourselves and that we are

trying to disown them. While difficult and painful, it is

important that we work at owning our shadow to bring

it into relationship with our persona, and so provide

some integration of these two complexes within our personality.

SHADOW

Parts of a Whole

SY M B O LS

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

SYMBOLS

For Jung the symbol is something which cannot be fully explained or understood but has the quality of both conscious and unconscious worlds. The symbol may be the agent of transformation which

Pare

brings about the development which was so important

an aspect of his thinking, and which leads towards

individuation as the goal towards which humans strive. The images contain what Jung termed “Bruchlinien,” breaking lines that split the pictures, apparently indicative of the patients” mental states. Jung here

wonders whether “unconscious symbolization has a meaning or aim at all or whether it is merely reactivated

stuff, i.e., relics of the past.” However, in the Red Book

Jung wrote that “if one accepts a symbol, it is as if a door opens leading into a new room whose existence one did not previously know . . . .Salvation is a long

road that leads through many gates. These gates are symbols.”

In 1939, its patron, Jung, delivered this lecture, in which

he stated that “Only the symbolic life can express the needs of the soul.”

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

ARCHETYPES

Jung noted that within the collective unconscious there exist a number of archetypes which we can all recognize. Jung wrote, “‘the term archetype is not meant to denote

an inherited idea, but rather an inherited mode of functioning, corresponding to the inborn way in which

the chick emerges from the egg, the bird builds its nest, a certain kind of wasp stings the motor ganglion of the caterpillar, and eels find their way to the Bermudas. In other words, it is a “pattern of behaviour”. This aspect

of the archetype, the purely biological one, is the proper concern of scientific psychology.”

The archetypes predispose us to approach life and to experience it in certain ways, according to patterns laid

down in the psyche. There are archetypal figures, such

as mother, father, child, archetypal events, such as birth,

death, separation, and archetypal objects such as water, the sun, the moon, snakes, and so on. These images find

expression in the psyche, in behaviour and in myths. It is only archetypal images that are capable of being

known and coming to consciousness, the archetypes themselves are deeply unconscious and unknowable.

I have mentioned the biological, instinctual pole of the archetype, but Jung perceived the concept as a

spectrum, there being an opposing, spiritual pole which also has an enormous impact on behaviour. Archetypes

have a fascinating, numinous quality to them which

makes them difficult to ignore, and attracts people to venerate or worship archetypal images.

the

p oet ry

ARCHETYPES

Parts of a Whole

SY M B O LS

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

SYMBOLS

Interpretation of

For Jung the symbol is something which cannot be fully explained or understood but has the quality of both conscious and unconscious worlds.

PHILEMON, CARL JUNG, 1925

The symbol may be the agent of transformation which

Pare

brings about the development which was so important

an aspect of his thinking, and which leads towards

wonders whether “unconscious symbolization has a meaning or aim at all or whether it is merely reactivated

stuff, i.e., relics of the past.” However, in the Red Book

Jung wrote that “if one accepts a symbol, it is as if a door opens leading into a new room whose existence one did not previously know . . . .Salvation is a long

road that leads through many gates. These gates are symbols.”

In 1939, its patron, Jung, delivered this lecture, in which

he stated that “Only the symbolic life can express the needs of the soul.”

“ There is good reason for supposing that the archetypes are the unconscious images of the instincts themselves, in other words, that they are patterns of instinctual behaviour.” CA R L J U N G, T H E A RC H E T Y P E S A N D T H E C O L L ECT I V E U N C O N SC I O U S

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

ARCHETYPES

Jung noted that within the collective unconscious there exist a number of archetypes which we can all recognize. Jung wrote, “‘the term archetype is not meant to denote

an inherited idea, but rather an inherited mode of functioning, corresponding to the inborn way in which

of the archetype, the purely biological one, is the proper concern of scientific psychology.”

The archetypes predispose us to approach life and to experience it in certain ways, according to patterns laid

down in the psyche. There are archetypal figures, such

as mother, father, child, archetypal events, such as birth,

death, separation, and archetypal objects such as water, the sun, the moon, snakes, and so on. These images find

expression in the psyche, in behaviour and in myths. It is only archetypal images that are capable of being

known and coming to consciousness, the archetypes themselves are deeply unconscious and unknowable.

I have mentioned the biological, instinctual pole of the archetype, but Jung perceived the concept as a

spectrum, there being an opposing, spiritual pole which also has an enormous impact on behaviour. Archetypes

have a fascinating, numinous quality to them which

makes them difficult to ignore, and attracts people to venerate or worship archetypal images.

the

p oet ry

ARCHETYPES

Parts of a Whole

Who looks outside

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Carl Jung

Who looks inside

DREAMS

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

DREAMS

“The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach.” However, noticing the underlying similarity of

inseparable mixing of conscious and unconscious mind

working at the same time, Jung finds that “A great (art) work is like a dream; for all its apparent obviousness

it does not explain itself and is never unequivocal. ” (1978). Here we draw the important connection

between a therapist analyzing a dream, and an audience appreciating a work of art. “A dream … presents an

image in much the same way as nature allows a plant

to grow, and we must draw our own conclusions…. As

we perceive (the art) we are able to let the work of art act upon us as it acted upon the artist. To grasp (the art work’s) meaning, we must allow it to shape us as it once shaped (the artist.)”

The analogy of dream and art is not to say that we

should see art as an analytical object, but we must

approach art as we approach the delicate and unique

personality of the artist. In an abstract sense, Jung

sees the artist and the created art as one entity – he rhetorically claims that “It is not Goethe whom

creates Faust, but Faust which creates Goethe.” The art and its artist come united under the creative mind

and soul, where they define each other and in turn establish themselves. The artist and the work would

never be meaningful independent of one another.

Their nicks, ch i ps,

Similar relationship exists between the dream and its dreamer: “No dream symbol can be separated from the individual who dreams it, and there is no definite or straightforward interpretation of any dream.”

ANIMA / ANIMUS

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

ANIMA / ANIMUS

As a person develops a gender identity, such as that of being male, they repress the aspects of their personality which might be considered to be feminine, such as empathy in social situations. The next two complexes in the personal unconscious are perhaps the most difficult to understand and the most contentious. Jung conceived of there being at another

psychic level a contrasexual archetype, designated as

anima in the man and animus in the woman. These

figures are derived in part from the archetypes of the feminine and masculine, and in part from the individual’s own life experience with members of the

opposite sex beginning with mother and father. They inhabit the unconscious depths as a compensation for the one-sided attitude of consciousness and a way of rounding out the experience of belonging to one sex or the other.

Just as happens with the shadow, these archetypes are met with firstly in projected form. They carry with them

the numinous quality which accounts for falling in love at first sight, which one can think of as a projection in a man on to an unknown woman of an archetypal image and the woman then becomes fascinating and immensely appealing.

While he was influenced by the gender-based thinking of his time, Jung recognised that the “masculine” aspects

of the psyche such as autonomy, separateness, and aggression were not superior to the “feminine” aspects

such as nurturance, relatedness, and empathy. Rather, they form two halves of a whole, both of which belong

to every individual, and neither of which is superior

to the other. One can see this as a development of the emphasis on the masculine psyche in Freud’s work. These complexes need to be related to in their “otherness”, and connect the ego to the objective psyche.

peeling, and other forms of attritions are a

testament

DREAMS

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

DREAMS

Interpretation of PHILEMON, CARL JUNG,

“The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was 1925 soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach.” However, noticing the underlying similarity of

inseparable mixing of conscious and unconscious mind

working at the same time, Jung finds that “A great (art) work is like a dream; for all its apparent obviousness

it does not explain itself and is never unequivocal. ” (1978). Here we draw the important connection

between a therapist analyzing a dream, and an audience appreciating a work of art. “A dream … presents an

image in much the same way as nature allows a plant

to grow, and we must draw our own conclusions…. As

we perceive (the art) we are able to let the work of art act upon us as it acted upon the artist. To grasp (the art work’s) meaning, we must allow it to shape us as it once shaped (the artist.)”

The analogy of dream and art is not to say that we

should see art as an analytical object, but we must

approach art as we approach the delicate and unique

personality of the artist. In an abstract sense, Jung

sees the artist and the created art as one entity – he rhetorically claims that “It is not Goethe whom

creates Faust, but Faust which creates Goethe.” The art and its artist come united under the creative mind

and soul, where they define each other and in turn establish themselves. The artist and the work would

never be meaningful independent of one another.

Their nicks, ch i ps,

“ He said I treated thoughts as if I generated them myself, but in his view thoughts were like animals in the forest, or people in a room, or birds in the air.” CA R L J U N G, M E M O R I E S, D R E A M S, R E F L ECT I O N S

ANIMA / ANIMUS

Parts of a Whole

UNCONSCIOUS REALM

ANIMA / ANIMUS

psychic level a contrasexual archetype, designated as

anima in the man and animus in the woman. These

figures are derived in part from the archetypes of the feminine and masculine, and in part from the individual’s own life experience with members of the

Just as happens with the shadow, these archetypes are met with firstly in projected form. They carry with them

While he was influenced by the gender-based thinking of his time, Jung recognised that the “masculine” aspects

of the psyche such as autonomy, separateness, and aggression were not superior to the “feminine” aspects

such as nurturance, relatedness, and empathy. Rather, they form two halves of a whole, both of which belong

to every individual, and neither of which is superior

peeling, and other forms of attritions are a

testament

In all chaos there is a cosmos,

—Carl Jung —Carl Jung

in all disorder a secret

Sources Academy of Ideas. “Carl Jung and the Spiritual Problem of the Modern Individual.” Last modified June 14, 2017. https://academyofideas.com/2017/06/carl-jung-spiritual-problem-modern-individual/

Academy of Ideas. “Introduction to Carl Jung – Individuation, the Persona, the Shadow and the Self.” Last modified February 13, 2016. https://academyofideas.com/2016/02/introduction-to-carl-jung-individuation-the-shadow-the-persona-and-the-self/ Hopwood, Ann. “Jung’s Model of the Psyche.” Retreived October 7, 2006. Koren, Leonard. Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. California: Imferfect Publishing, 1994 and 2008.