Tag Archives: unconscious complexes

Jung’s ‘Mysticism’

“God goes on working as before, like an unknown quantity in the depths of the psyche. We do not even know the nature of the simplest thought, let alone the ultimate principles of the psyche. Also, we have no control over its inner life. Because this inner life is intrinsically free and not subject to our will and intentions, it may easily happen that the living thing chosen and defined by us will drop out of its setting, the man-made image, even against our will. Then perhaps we could say with Nietzsche, “God is dead.” Yet it is truer to say, “He has put off our image, and where shall we find him again?” The interregnum is full of danger, for the natural facts will raise their claim in the form of various isms, which are productive of nothing but anarchy and destruction because inflation and man’s hybris between them have elected to make the ego, in all its ridiculous paltriness, lord of the universe.Carl Jung

Because it contains our living history in symbolic imagery, Jung wrote that any serious inquiry into the unconscious leads straight into the religious problem. What he meant is not exactly what Stephen Hawking imagined as “knowing the mind of God” through the study of matter. It can’t be defined or measured as precisely as physicists might prefer; and though it can be described empirically, Hawking’s ideal is an intellectual paradigm with no psychological foundation to support it.  

Jung’s theory of different but equally valid psychic realities based on his types studies, the subjectivity of consciousness, the collective spirit of the times, the unconscious foundations of perception, the symbolic nature of the psyche, and the accidental and irrational realities of life make the study of the mind (and God) a very uncertain business. 

Behind Jung’s empiricism lay a wealth of experiences and intuitions which led to his studies of symbols. Because he based his analysis of them on a comparative historical foundation, they don’t really look like science to the standard formula of observation, experiment, repetition, and verification of the physical model (though, both forms of inquiry are intimately related). But, as he insisted, it’s the only way we can observe ourselves outside the subjective limitations of a subtly ever-changing consciousness yet bound to its own time and place. 

Unconscious complexes express our functioning through symbolic ideas, and Jung’s work was a conceptual attempt to relate us to the instinctual processes which push them into awareness. Emotions in general, and religious ones in particular, point to different needs than thought alone can perceive. Without some feeling-sense of how the psyche works — some concept of its irrationality — we’re stuck in the intellect with no relation to the psychic functions which would maintain our connection to natural reality.

Consciousness has changed considerably since the last generation of religious authorities instructed a believing flock on its accountability before God. Though lacking psychological knowledge, conscious devotion along with a philosophical mindset maintained the functional requirements with which nature outfitted us to contend with ourselves. But, the old metaphysical projections were not just static reflections of conscious development at a given point in time.

Inflated ideas of divine heritage were not only symbols of how we once conceived ourselves but images of what we would become. The unconscious contains our history as well the seeds of our futures. Today, the old symbols are a frightening revelation of an ego so enamored with itself that it would willfully and knowingly destroy all that would sustain it and its children while still maintaining the god-given right to do so.

Otherworldly fixations (yet based on unconscious religious images), along with our self-appointed, primitive, ego-based stewardship of the earth, have morphed into crimes against nature of cosmic proportion. Today, we’re contending with everything and everyone but our own inner natures.

The intuitive wisdom of the past was too subjectively and concretely conceived to apply to our modern conflicts. The new objectivity, however, is as literal and collective as the old view, though our values now shift to the material world — and with it, new forms of destruction.

The soul, the now-extinct and forgotten religious prototype of the individual’s relation to a greater natural reality, now lies buried beneath statistical averages and social norms: the only truth the rational viewpoint can connect with. The contemporary cult of the commercial mass-man reflects an inner disorientation, and no objective science can replace the soul’s value. 

The history of our mental functioning was the focus of Jung’s work. To discover new meaning in the old symbols requires a psychological/spiritual model. In a culture driven by scientific materialism, the history of who we really are is repressed and denied to such an extent that we no longer recognize our animal natures; though, our world predicament still echoes that time-worn ancient story.  

Self-confrontation was once the basis of religious conversion: the first-half charge of youth to forge its place in the world was eventually driven to reflect on a reality greater than its struggle with the external environment. The wisdom of the ages provided the reference points for that transition. Today, there are no ages of wisdom to submit to, no greater realities to accept or convert to. The new truth is a pre-packed conformity, marketed as progress, devoid of the history which alone informs where we are in our development.

The old road map no longer reflects the topography of inner life. Our GPS vision can’t pinpoint the intimate personal by-ways of the compulsions, phobias, depressions, anxieties, and over-consumption which now betray the soul’s repression. Understanding the changes in consciousness, especially in the last century, becomes more important with each new technological advancement.

The scientization of the soul can’t tame the beast in us any more than could the subjective half-truths of the former view. The soul doesn’t care about logic, statistics, or light-years. It’s function is the emotional stability of the individual. As Jung remarked: a million zeroes don’t add up to one.

The alien face of an objective history now stares back at us through Nietzsche’s dead god, the backward self-deception of commercialism, the needy diversions of technological obsession — “disorders” in those whose unconscious natures can’t and won’t be reconciled to a cultural norm which only accentuates them.

Below the material, the metaphysical, the new intellect’s subjective objectivity, the dark mirrors of the soul seek the reflection of conscious light. Modern examples of the spiritual/emotional processes behind Jung’s symbolic view hold little value for the narrow commercial focus of our world-view today.

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The Funniest New TV Sit-Coms You’ll Never See

The new fall line-up is here. How and why certain shows are selected over others is a very complicated process involving everything from random questionnaires to very precisely targeted focus-groups — even the latest psychiatric techniques (with the possible exceptions of medication and electric shock) for guiding those who may have fantasies of over-indulging their individuality only to flee back to the safety of the norm.

The effectiveness of this winnowing process isn’t precisely quantified as yet, for it in turn rests upon a considerably more complicated process: the dark interplay between the unconscious complexes of network executives and the uncertain emotional projections of the collectorate they pander to.

Because you and I, as the unknown ‘quantum variable’ in every decision made for our collective viewing pleasure, have such limited personal options in what we see and don’t see, here are some new pilots that sailed over network heads:

What’s My Dysfunction?

This amusing re-take on the sixties game show, What’s My Line?, puts the fun back in dysfunction. Charismatic host Burf Burford mediates and mocks a panel of distinguished celebrities who compete through a series of questions to guess the peculiar mental afflictions of each week’s special guest. The pilot narrowly edged out two close contenders: I’m With Stupid: candid reality-conversations between carefully selected married couples vying for emotional one-upmanship and, Bottom-Feeders, a behind-the-scenes look at political campaigning.

Response was tepid. The majority felt that, while it was slightly amusing, it made a sport of mental illness and evoked discomfort, mostly about family members, colleagues and neighbors. In the end, the sensitivity of the subject hit ‘too close to home’ for most viewers. In segregated interviews, however, men described it as tedious and even ‘excruciating’ when compared to reality competition shows like, Naked Bachelorette, and Nude Bridal Wars, and lacked spontaneity. Execs nixed it in favor of Bared And Scared, and its stark portrayal of the bonds and boundaries defined in real-life marital relations.

Dr. Do-Little

He talks to animals but not the kind you’re thinking of. This farcical re-mix of the old My Three Sons motif features a modern-day psychiatrist/dad struggling to raise three offspring in the wake of a divorce. In the pilot, Dr. Abnorm Drowse is faced with the sole custody of marital fruits which have suddenly morphed into rotten teen-age couch-potatoes.

To top it off, they’re all precocious girls with very different notions than the traditional patriarchal values their father was raised with. All his psychiatric training and experience go hilariously awry as he tries helplessly to confront feminine puberty from the male perspective in the modern computer age. These predictably spell his demise as both parent and professional, and Dr. Dad soon discovers that the only prescription for self-esteem  is self-medication!

Christ On A Crimson Crutch

This irreverent spoof of conventional religion follows the antics of self-anointed sojourner and bhuddistic metaphor, Howie Greeve, as he wanders aimlessly across the country in search of a long-lost spiritual ideal. His quirky mixture of introverted/extraverted tendencies leads not to spiritual salvation, however, but to a comical series of gaffes and guffaws in the ‘drive-through’ relationships he encounters on his way.

Clumsy attempts to appeal to wider viewing audiences through the marriage of the adolescent road trip theme with the more mature search for the soul were not enough, however, to warrant a thumbs-up from either focus group. Most outside New Jersey felt that it was not a true picture of travel Americana but a circus-like caricature of commercialism and the fast-food communities that dominate rural life around interstate exits.

Madam President

This edgy new sit-com troubled network execs from the start. Studio audience response was split fifty-fifty; that is, until the last scene which introduces the surprise theme of this social experiment. The new POTUS is not just any female politician; there’s much more behind her interest in the LGBTQ community than liberal progressiveness and minority voter appeal. In fact, “she” fulfills all the categories  in LGBTQ, and not only did no one know — not even her husband — the crazy fall-out sends her PR agency scrambling to re-define sexual equality in a new post-gender age!

While the revealing final scene dipped approval ratings slightly, this in itself was not enough for execs to cancel it. Most women found it delightful; however, it was noted in tape reviews that many of the men who expressed distaste had ‘laughed a little too hard’ during the screening for it to be canned altogether. Though considered too controversial to be aired this fall, it was put on the back burner as a possible replacement for ‘clunkers’ which bottom out before spring re-runs.

Einstein’s Ghost

Nerdy social outcast and computer whiz, Ned Bungler, has a secret weapon when it comes to the over-bearing emotional compensations of school bullies. His personal spirit-guide is not just any old imaginary friend but the world-famous physicist who proved that space and time are relative. He communicates to Ned through his My-Phone, and you’ve never seen death, science, and the space-time continuum through such a foggy, fun-filled lens. It’s the new counter-intuitive, dual reality of psychic inter-facing in the digital age: asocial networking!

Watch for this one to air sooner than later. The youngsters’ enthusiasm clearly suggested an untapped market, though some targets complained at the lack of zombies and vampires. These could easily be worked into the scripts according to network evaluations. Oldsters’ desires to keep up with fashionable trends (at least among the less cynical) unpredictably criss-crossed the generational divide; the only hitch is working the zombie/vampire gambit into a senior format.

Read here for a serious account of mid-life with the aid of Jung’s psychology.

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The Psychology of C.G. Jung: It’s All In How You Look At It

Confusion and misunderstanding are almost similes for Jung’s psychology. Is it a science? If so, what kind is it? To understand his ideas, an overview of the unconscious psyche and natural law is helpful. Because they’re synonymous and function in a counter-intuitive way, Jung’s approach was not causal or rational from the common perspective. I would like to share some of my understanding of his method.

Because consciousness is under the influence of unseen forces, their effects can only be inferred. Just as physicists infer the existence of unseen bodies in space by their effects on visible ones, when considering unconscious effects Jung employed an indirect method called the phenomenological approach. The products of the mind comprise its study and consist of observable phenomena which are the result of unconscious effects on our thinking.

Since the basic qualities of consciousness are focus and direction, it excludes information not relevant to its attention at a given time. Jung compared it to a searchlight in a forest and the illumination of a small area in the darkness. What is beyond it still exists, though not until the light moves can it be seen. When it moves, what was formerly lit fades back into darkness. Just as in a forest, what is outside its beam works according to natural processes.

Biology has proven that all natural processes are purposeful. Despite what ego tells us, the human animal is no less the product of purposive nature than any other observable phenomenon. Jung’s method began with natural science, and he worked honestly to make it consistent with its discoveries.

His model differs from the causal approach, because psychology is the study of the psyche observing itself. It doesn’t have the luxury of an objective standpoint outside itself as natural science does. Since the unconscious organizes ideas differently than consciousness, its language is not directly accessible.

To work round the problem, to achieve a perspective beyond a subjective one, Jung used a comparative approach. As comparative anatomy studies differences and similarities in the structures of animals to arrive at common heritage and form a concept of evolution, Jung used the vantage-point of history to lend an “outside” perspective to psychic development.

To bridge the difficulty of direct measurement in natural science, he adapted its laws by formulating them in a way particular to the individual. By viewing it as a “relatively closed system” he showed the general laws of energy to apply to the psyche also.

Psychic energy could be measured in terms of value. A value represents a sum of psychic energy, and estimates of its relative importance in the individual could be determined by the frequency and intensity with which certain unconscious complexes of ideas intruded into the conscious “field.” These ideas are “feeling-toned”, emotionally charged, and their intensity and frequency measures their value.

His association tests validated the phenomena, and he found that the complexes revolved around instinctive functions. Like comparative anatomy discovered, they conform to the general laws of nature. The estimates of value provided an objective assessment, though relative to the individual.

In the course of Jung’s broad analytic experience he observed patterns in the ideas and dreams of his patients. They conformed in a remarkable way to those in religion, myth, philosophy, and literature which comprised his comparative material. They emerged as forms of thought which could be reduced to a fundamental few in comparison with the swarming, chaotic buzz (think statistics) of qualitative description. These forms are perceptible through recurring themes which reflect instinctive, pre-determined modes of perception and experience and their unconscious organization — the mind’s structure.

Jung compared his patients’ dreams with his historical studies of ideas. These included direct observations of primitive African cultures as well as American Indians in the western United States. Something emerged which was completely outside the bounds of what science regarded as material for research: the psyche had a religious function; he found that the value (the intensity and frequency of the intrusion of that complex of ideas) was one of such significance in the constitution of the mind, it required investigation.

His experience with his patients confirmed his research. This historical aspect of the psyche, developed through religious and philosophical ideas, conditions consciousness as powerfully as the objective outer world; indeed, it was the objective inner world.

Owing to his intellectual integrity, Jung allowed the material he compared and collated to “shape itself” according to the conformities reflected in it. He didn’t begin with a theory and adapt his own ideas to it. He may have begun with certain intuitive ones, but he strove to make them compatible with the material. This is the way of natural science. He wrote that a “mode of observation” had “reality-significance” if it produced results.

His method differs from statistical evaluation for reasons I hope are evident. Recent developments in neuroscience, which relies on instruments to record the data of brain processes, are just now beginning to discover “facts” which Jung observed over a century ago. Is his method too complicated for them? I doubt that. It’s more likely attributable to their focus. Is it working? Their own statistics suggest otherwise.

How many “scientific” studies only reinforce what intuition and common sense tell us? We’re so focused on the material value of  the “scientific method,” so in awe of our intellects for having conceived it, we can’t see around it. These unseen influences are psychic phenomenon: material for the psychological empiricist.

The comparative method enabled Jung to see around the facade of modern ego, peer into the history of the mind, and allow consciousness to observe its own development. It lent an important perspective to subjective value and historical conditioning — as well as the important role of religious and philosophical ideas in our development.

 

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