Carl Jung, The Red Book; Soul and God

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Francisco de Holanda – De aetatibus mundi imagines – 1545

I won’t bore you with a lengthy account of my personal life. Still, I will mention that my wife and I had to take care of our cute grandchildren all week due to the lack of support from the German government for kindergarten care and education (the two issues are assumed to be unimportant!). We are also facing a death (redemption!) in the family, which I will write about later.

Amidst all the chaos, I found solace in reading my “holy book”, The Red Book, by Dr. Jung, attempting to nourish my soul. I hope you can find some comfort in reading it, too.🙏

[H I ii(r) 2] Cap. ii (P. 130, 131, 132; Liber Primus, A Reader’s Edition)

On the second night, I called out to my soul (Nov. 14, 1913):

I am weary, my soul, my wondering has lasted too long, my search for myself outside myself. Now, I have gone through events and found you behind them, for I made discoveries on my erring through events, humanity, and the world. I found men. And you, my soul, I found again, first in images within men and then you yourself. I found you where I least expected you. You climbed out of a dark shaft. You announced yourself to me in advance in dreams (which were dark to me and which I sought to grasp in my own inadequate way). They burned in my heart, drove me to all the boldest acts of daring, and forced me to rise above myself. You let me see truths of which I had no previous inkling. You let me undertake journeys whose endless length would have scared me if the knowledge of them had not been secure in you.

I wandered for many years, so long that I forgot that I possessed a soul (I belonged to men and things. I did not belong to myself {Black Book 2}). Where were you all this time? Which Beyond sheltered you and gave you sanctuary? Oh, you must speak through me, that my speech and I are your symbol and expression! How should I decipher you?

Who are you, child? My dreams have represented you as a child and as a maiden (and I found you again only through the soul of the woman {Black Book 2}). I am ignorant of your mystery (Look! I bear a wound that is as yet not healed: my ambition to make an impression {Black Book 2}). Forgive me if I speak as in a dream, like a drunkard – are you God? Is God a child, a maiden? (I must tell myself most clearly: does He use the image of a child that lives in everyman’s soul? Were Horus, Tags, and Christ not children? Dionysus and Heracles were also divine children. Did Christ, the God of man, not called himself the son of man? What was his innermost thought when doing so? Should the daughter of man be God’s name {Black Book 2})? Forgive me if I bobble. No one else hears me. I speak to you quietly, and you know that I am neither a drunkard nor someone deranged, and my heart twists in pain from the wound, whose darkness delivers speeches full of mockery: “You are lying to yourself! You spoke so as to deceive others and make them believe in you. You want to be a prophet and chase after your ambition.” The wound still bleeds, and I am far from being able to pretend that I do not hear the mockery.

How strange it sounds to me to call you a child, you who still hold the all-without-end in your hand (how thick the earlier darkness was! How impetuous and egoistic my passion was, subjugated by all the diamonds of ambition, the desire for glory, greed, uncharitableness, and zeal! How ignorant I was at the time! Life tore me away, and I deliberately moved away from you, and I have done so far all these years. I recognise how good all of this was, but I thought you were lost, even though I sometimes thought I was lost. But you were not lost. I went on the way of the day. You went invisibly with me and guided me step by step, putting the pieces together meaningfully {Black Book 2}) and letting me see the whole in each part.

You took away where I thought to take hold and gave me where I did not expect anything. Time and again, you brought about fate from new and unexpected quarters. Where I sowed, you robbed me of the harvest, and where I did not sow, you gave it to me again where I would never have foreseen it. You upheld my belief when I was alone and near despair. At every decisive moment, you let me believe in myself.

I appreciate your being here. Have a lovely weekend.🙏💖🤗🌹🦋

31 thoughts on “Carl Jung, The Red Book; Soul and God”

  3. A joy to read and feast upon, thank you Aladin. It makes me want to reach for poetry’s pen and write something new. I’m so sorry to hear that you’re going through a difficult and challenging time. Sending much love and light across the ocean between us, Deborah.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I am much obliged to have your presence by my side, dear angel. I assume that such a sad situation will often come at my age, and once it is my turn, however, life must go on!
      Sending love across oceans and any distance.🙏🦋💖😘

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Oh how I enjoy reading The Red Book with you, master Aladin📕🌞 Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like Jung is speaking directly to God in this passage, is both frustrated but also grateful for the surprises he has experienced in life. God is mysterious, elusive. And so, perhaps the best place to look is within one’s self… The power that comes from looking within and finding one’s soul!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Excellent explained, dear mate. Though I must mention I still have a long way to go before getting that honoured title you gave me, I think Jung confronted himself with his own soul later in life. He wasn’t religious, and he always took Christ, and not the person Jesus, as the inner meaning of finding the Self. I can feel it well as I am nearing that period of life. You hit the mark, bro!🤙🖖🙏

      Liked by 1 person

  8. elainemansfield's avatar elainemansfield

    Never boring. There is little childcare here outside of limited school hours–unless family pays and it’s expensive.
    I love reading Jung’s conversation with the Divine Child. Active Imagination is a powerful practice for me, and Jung was obviously the Master of the Art.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. I’m so sorry that you and your wife are going through a tough time, Aladin, but I’m glad that you’ve found some solace in Jung’s writing. I haven’t read his Red Book and now might do so. His writing is beautiful and insightful, and though I don’t believe in a God, I do believe there is a sublime, unknowable mystery unfolding in our universe, of which we are a part and in which we have the power of choice and transformation. Wishing you much peace in the days to come.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I would say that Jung’s and mine perceptions are the same as yours.
      What Jung here calls God isn’t the same common religious concept. For Jung, the God archetype is the soul’s whole-making function that drives us toward giving ourselves totally to something or someone and initiates our desire for the absolute. It says to us: “Become who you are. Become all that you are!
      In one interview, he was asked if he believes in God; his answer is fascinating!
      The word ‘belief’ is a difficult thing for me. I don’t believe. I must have a reason for a certain hypothesis. Either I know a thing, and then I know it – I don’t need to believe it.
      Thanks for stopping by, dear Diana.🤗🙏

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Thank you, Aladin.

    As mentioned before, most of what I have I read from Jung is on your blog.

    He sounds searching, yet seems to come to find the solution in his own self and conclusion that god is where his own inner solution lies.

    So, really god is for lack of a better/alternative word.

    I am intrigued also that he intrinsically seems to know this god is in every man woman & child, regarless of all and any background/heritage.

    Be well dear friend! Existence is the world the word describes.

    xoxo💖🌺🎼xoxo

    Liked by 2 people

  12. I have never heard of this book, but I feel like I must have a read.

    Hang in there, friend. Life is long and God, whatever your version of God is, is good. Things have a way of coming around. Not so wonderful to hear when you’re in the thick of despair, but perhaps a little daylight can get in. Maybe a good old movie can help. Something to make you laugh. Have you ever watched The Princess Bride? You can watch it with the grandkids. xox

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much, my lovely Pam, for dropping by. The Red Book is a fascinating lecture that teaches us about our souls. However, I would suggest you first read some explanation about Dr. Jung and his works and ideas. He is an extraordinary man. 🙏🤗

      I have a lot of issues to solve, but taking a breath and watching good movies is a wonderful tip, dear friend. Thank you!🤙🥰😘

      Like

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