philosophy

The Intoxication of Mythology (an Add!)

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“Living with these things all the time, I can see how there are certain universal patterns for these manifestations. A shaman among the Navajo or in the Congo will say things that sound remarkably similar to those of Nicholas Cusanus, Thomas Aquinas, or C. G. Jung, leading one to realise that these ranges of experiences are common to the human race. There are some people who close themselves away from them, some people who open themselves to them …”
-Joseph Campbell
“Living Myths: A Conversation with Joseph Campbell,” Parabola, Volume I, Issue 2, Spring 1976, p. 70

In this tumultuous world, where corrupt leaders continue to pursue their plans for the “New World Order,” the most prudent approach is to allow our strained minds to be guided by the wisdom of eminent thinkers and to find solace in uniting our bewildered souls.

Surreal Abstract Painting (“Dadaism in nature” or “Psychedelic Surrealism”. )

My anger has subsided somewhat since last week, given how my words might have been taken. Nevertheless, I’m completely drained and fed up! Especially after that so-called ceasefire, which is like leaving an injured monster in a room with inocent people and locking the door!

These days, death has become the norm. We can see that the lives (of others, of course!) are not so important, but as we all know, the grim reaper is lurking, waiting for us all, regardless of our wealth or status, around the world. So, it’s essential to remember this.

That’s why I turn to myth, as an addendum to my recent post, and death!

Carl Gustav Jung around 1960 in his house in Zurich. (Photo RUE DES ARCHIVES)

Here are some words by Carl Jung:

For example, I do not know for what reason the universe has come into being, and I shall never know. Therefore, I must drop this question as a scientific or intellectual problem. But if an idea about it is offered to me—in dreams or in mythic traditions—I ought to take note of it. …They (The foreknowledge) may be in accord with reality, and then again they may not. I have, however, learned that the views I have been able to form based on such hints from the unconscious have been most rewarding.
Naturally, I am not going to write a book of revelations about them, but I will acknowledge that I have a “myth” that encourages me to look deeper into this whole realm.
“Myths are the earliest form of science.”
When I speak of things after death, I am speaking out of inner prompting and can go no farther than to tell you dreams and myths related to this subject. Naturally, one can contend from the start that myths and dreams concerning the continuity of life after death are merely compensating fantasies inherent in our natures—all life desires eternity. The only argument I can adduce in answer to this is the myth itself.

~Carl Jung, The Atlantic Monthly, December 1962, From On Life after Death by C.G. Jung, via Carl Jung Depth Psychology Site

Sending love and peace!

The image at the top is a striking piece of digital art titled “Chakra” by DeviantArt user paranormalilly32. 

An Innocent Little Mistake!

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2007 The Card Trick by Jake Baddeley

As I reflect on my past life, the passing years prompt me to recall memories, and I see how I wish to revisit specific moments to alter them or improve them. I have led an adventurous life (as you may recall from my series of posts about my memories), and I acknowledge that I have made numerous mistakes, which I deeply regret. However, with guidance from great thinkers, I have learned to view these mistakes from a different perspective: The Value of Experience!

It is a prevalent issue for people around the world to avoid making mistakes. I, myself, am one of those who strive for perfection, and I recognise that it is misguided!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe says, “Geschlagener Quark macht breit, nicht fest!” (Beaten curd becomes broad, not strong!)

“If we look at the problems raised by Aristotle, we are astonished at his gift of observation. What incredible eyes the Greeks had for many things! Only they committed the mistake of being overhasty, of passing straightway from the phenomenon to the explanation of it, and thereby produced specific theories that are pretty inadequate. But this is the mistake of all time, and is still made in our own day.”

From Maxims & Reflections, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Science, 559

Additionally, Carl Gustav Jung reminds us that we can make mistakes and learn from them.

Whatever we look at, and however we look at it, we see only through our own eyes. For this reason, science is never made by one man but by many. The individual merely offers their contribution, and in this sense, I dare to speak only of my way of seeing things.
~Carl Jung, Modern man in Search of a Soul, p.84.

From carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/

Plato proposed that absolute knowledge can be gained through acquaintance, meaning through intellectual insight into the otherworldly Forms. Jung shared a similar notion regarding acquaintance with the archetypes of the “unus mundus” (one world), representing the primordial, unified reality from which all things originate. Nevertheless, in contrast to Plato, Jung asserted that archetypes cannot be perceived directly. Instead, we can comprehend their psychic significance, gaining at least a hint of absolute knowledge.

I believe we can make mistakes, but after each one, we should take a step back and carefully examine how and where it happened, then try to approach the experience more thoughtfully. Experience teaches us more than thousands of books ever could!

Jung inspired individuals to engage with the world and savour life, rather than rely solely on theoretical knowledge from books. He regarded the unconscious mind as a treasure trove of experiences accessible through reflection and symbolic language. Ultimately, Jung’s work emphasises that while books and knowledge are valuable, they shouldn’t overshadow the importance of direct experience and self-reflection. Genuine growth and understanding flourish when we engage with our surroundings and explore our inner lives.

Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books.
~ C.G. Jung; Letters Volume 1; Page 179.

Experience, not books, is what leads to understanding.
~Carl Jung, CW 12, Para 564

Thank you for reading; have a lovely holiday! 🙏🤗🌹💕

The Unconscious Mind!

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Sorry, it’s me again! I intended to share a brief message on Facebook, and I thought, why not just do it on my site, too? So here it is: We must look deeply around us and think twice. I send you all immense gratitude and wish you a lovely weekend.😁🤗💖🙏🦋🌹

Title image; Art by Andrew Ferez

From Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 7: Two Essays in Analytical Psychology,

via Carl Jung Depth Psychology and Craig Nelson

I must recall at this point a serious misunderstanding to which my readers often succumb, and doctors most commonly.
They invariably assume, for reasons unknown, that I never write about anything except my method of treatment.
This is far from being the case. I write about psychology.
I must, therefore, expressly emphasize that my method of treatment does not consist in causing my patients to indulge in strange fantasies for
the purpose of changing their personality and other nonsense of that kind.
I merely put it on record that there are certain cases where such a development occurs, not because I force anyone to it, but because it springs from inner necessity.
For many of my patients, these things are and must remain double Dutch.
Indeed, even if it were possible for them to tread this path, it
would be a disastrously wrong turning, and I would be the first to hold them back.
The way of the transcendent function is an individual destiny.
But on no account should one imagine that this way is equivalent to the life of a psychic anchorite, to alienation from the world.
Quite the contrary, for such a way is possible and profitable only when the specific worldly tasks which these individuals set themselves are carried out in reality.
Fantasies are no substitute for living; they are fruits of the spirit which fall to him who pays his tribute to life.

By Craig Nelson


The shirker experiences nothing but his own morbid fear, and it yields him no meaning.
Nor will this way ever be known to the man who has found his way back to Mother Church.
There is no doubt that the mysterium magnum is hidden in her forms, and in these, he can live his life sensibly.
Finally, the normal man will never be burdened, either, with this knowledge, for he is everlastingly content with the little that lies within his reach.
Wherefore I entreat my reader to understand that I write about things which actually happen and am not propounding methods of treatment.
~Carl Jung, CW 7, Pages 223-224

Friedrich Nietzsche’s Political View; A Look at the State.

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Recently, I saw a critical performance of Richard Wagner on German TV about his racism, presented by an Italian or Spanish artist whose name I have forgotten. However, this reminded me of Nietzsche’s distancing himself from Wagner due to his disgust towards specific individuals, even though Nietzsche was in love with his sister, Cosima. (The reason may also be that Nietzsche had a very close relationship with a man named Paul Rée, who was Jewish.)
For Nietzsche, the Tribschen period was far from idyllic. It was challenging as he constantly tested himself to meet Wagner’s expectations. He began writing his first book while regularly visiting the Wagners’ home in Tribschen, anxious about whether his work would satisfy Wagner. This era was marked by aspiration, vulnerability, and self-testing for Nietzsche. He was essentially an apprentice to a genius, experiencing a vital rite of passage in his creative journey.

Free AI Art
(On the top: Surreal Abstract Painting.)

Neither Nietzsche nor Wagner understood one another realistically. Nietzsche saw Wagner as a benevolent father but felt disappointed by his egotism. Conversely, Wagner viewed Nietzsche as a loyal son who became a rebellious thinker. Both pursued psychological needs that overshadowed their friendship and intimacy.

Anyway, I found two paragraphs I’ve translated from one of his books, Menschliches, Allzumenschliches (Human, All Too Human). I present them to you because I believe they are very relevant to our “political” society today.

From the Book “Human, All Too Human”, Volume One

(No. 458) Guiding Spirits and their Tools.

We see great statesmen and generally all those who have to use many people to carry out their plans, sometimes proceed in this way, sometimes in that way: either they select very finely and carefully the people who suit their plans and then give them relatively great freedom because they know that the nature of these chosen people will lead them to where they themselves want them to go, or they choose poorly, even take what comes to hand, but form something suitable for their purposes out of every ton. This last type is the more violent; it also requires submissive tools, its knowledge of human nature is usually much less, and its contempt for human nature is greater than that of the first-mentioned minds. Still, the machine they construct generally works better than the machine from the workshop of the former.

Spiral to the Hole

(No. 460) The Great Man of the Masses.

The recipe for what the masses call a great man is easy to give. Whatever the circumstances, get them something they find very pleasant, or first put it into their heads that this and that would be very pleasant, and then give it to them. But not immediately at any price: you have to fight for it with the greatest effort or seem to be fighting for it. The masses must have the impression that there is a powerful, even indomitable willpower; at least, it must seem to be there. Everyone admires a strong will because no one has it, and everyone says to themselves that if they had it, there would be no limits to them and their egoism. If it turns out that such a firm will achieve something that the masses find very pleasant, people admire it once again and wish themselves luck instead of listening to the wishes of its greed. Moreover, he has all the qualities of the masses: the less they are ashamed of him, the more popular he is. So, He is violent, jealous, exploitative, scheming, flattering, grovelling, conceited (narcissist) or anything, depending on the circumstances.

A brief update: My challenging circumstances remain the same, but I’m relieved that my boss has exited the hospital. His blood tests are standard, yet he still cannot return to work. Therefore, I must continue managing things as the acting boss!
I am always grateful for your support and companionship, and I wish you all a lovely weekend.🙏💖

Let’s Expand the Mind Once (or) More!

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Hello, friends!
As I mentioned in my last post two weeks ago, I decided to take a break from sharing new posts to alleviate some pressure on myself. Unfortunately, my brief explanation about this decision led to misunderstandings among many of you, while a few friends grasped my point. So, to make it clear, I am not on holiday; I am working more than usual because my boss is still in the hospital. I appreciate your understanding!

Anyway, as you can see, I have a new post yet, though not something heavy. It’s light and deep, for sure! Simply put, as I’ve been reflecting on my experiences with WordPress over the past couple of years, I’ve realized that artists need inspiration to create art. However, that inspiration isn’t always readily available. This platform provides a wonderful opportunity for us to share our thoughts and feelings naturally rather than treating it like a mandatory series production we must complete out of obligation. Consequently, I have decided to give myself time and share my thoughts when I believe they are valuable. 🤗

I’m still experiencing a tough time because of my “Standby” position (Imagine waking up each day unsure if you can work from home or need to jump out and drive around!). I find it hard to focus on anything that could calm my restless mind, and I feel like losing my creative spark. I started working on the Egypt post, but it didn’t satisfy me, so I decided to share an instructive story and some charming videos about a great and knowledgeable thinker, Alan Watts.
I hope you will enjoy it, and I can take another break!!

Let’s examine our lives and our existence. It is not so difficult; we just need to loosen the tension in every muscle in our body, especially our brains, and surf around.

Alan Watts played a significant role in popularizing Zen Buddhism in the West, paving the way for traditional teachers like Soto priest Suzuki Roshi. However, Watts did not consider himself a Zen Buddhist. In a talk animated by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, he clarifies, “I am not a Zen Buddhist; I am not advocating Zen Buddhism or trying to convert anyone. I have nothing to sell.” He identifies himself simply as “an entertainer.” Is he joking?

Watts was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1945 and served until 1950. He was a complex character—a strict anti-dogmatist who found rigid doctrine irritating at best and profoundly oppressive and dehumanizing at worst.

Watts wasn’t a strict Zen priest but learned a lot from Japanese Buddhist concepts, which he explains in the short section of the video above. He also found similar insights about the interconnectedness of all things in Daoism. Above, you’ll see a short animation by Eddie Rosas from The Simpsons, where Watts illustrates “Daoism in perfection” through a simple parable.

In this short animated parable by Steve Agnos below, he states, “The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity.” However, instead of illustrating a lesson about unity, he suggests that nature and reality are ultimately beyond our understanding. He argues that “it is really impossible to determine whether anything that occurs within it is good or bad.” Therefore, the most reasonable approach seems to avoid judging in either direction.

And how it can be easy to open our minds, honestly, to ourselves and use our brain to think over and not take the easy way to judge:

Alan Watts critiques the human tendency to make hasty judgments, as seen in this mastery “talk-animated” below by Tim McCourt and Wesley Louis of Westminster Arts & Film London. He explores personal identity and the ego’s separation from reality, emphasizing the theme of interconnectedness. Watts asserts it is “impossible to cut ourselves off from the social and natural environments; we are that.” To discover this truth, he encourages us to become “deep listeners” and to let go of embarrassment, shyness, and anxiety.

I am not selling anything, either! 😅 (unfortunately!!?), but I send my best wishes to you all. Have a lovely time and till then.🙏💖🌹

Source: OenCulture

We Are Free to Change the World; Hannah Arendt. The Meaning of Freedom (Democracy)!

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Sorry! I can’t simply ignore this issue or stop worrying about the current situation. Perhaps it’s because I was born and raised in a dictatorship, which gives me a deeper understanding of the coming danger than many of my friends here, who have mostly been born and live in freedom.

The question is, when a nation feels disappointed with its situation and confused about its future, how easily can its patriotism be aroused and nationalism used to heal its social wounds? It is not related to a country’s political governing and social freedom, as we observe it occurring in both directories and Western democratic nations. I often wonder why people tend to embrace nationalism during moments of last-ditch pride, frequently seen in contexts like football national cups (a common occurrence in South America), historical racism (as observed in German history), or in leaning on their ancient heritage (as seen with figures like Mussolini in Italy and the Persians, which still resonates today).

Through scientific understanding, our world has become dehumanized. Man feels himself isolated in the cosmos. He is no longer involved in nature and has lost his emotional participation in natural events, which hitherto had a symbolic meaning for him… He no longer has a bush-soul identifying him with a wild animal. His immediate communication with nature is gone forever, and the emotional energy it generated has sunk into the unconscious. (C. G. Jung 1948/1980, para 585)

In today’s world, and likely in the years to come, politics will inevitably influence our lives, whether we want it to or not. I don’t intend to denigrate anyone, but when a single individual holds leadership in one of the most influential roles in the world with vast authority, it raises alarms about the potential for tyranny. And I’m sure all friends here must admit that no one will be immune to that seduction!

The word “democracy” originates from the Greek terms “demos,” meaning “people,” and “kratos,” meaning “power.” Therefore, democracy can be understood as the “power of the people”—a form of governance that relies on the people’s will.
The idea of democracy derives its moral strength – and popular appeal – from two fundamental principles: 1- Individual Autonomy: This principle asserts that no one should be subject to rules others impose. People should be able to control their own lives within reasonable limits. 2- Equality: This principle holds that everyone should have the same opportunity to influence society’s decisions. Essentially, it emphasizes the disempowerment of concentrated power held by a single individual, transforming governance into a system where leaders serve the population rather than rule over them.

Lyndsey Stonebridge explains in her book “We Are Free To Change The World” (Hannah Arendt’s Lessons of Love and Disobedience): >In Arendt’s sense, having a free mind means turning away from dogma, political certainties, theoretical comfort zones, and satisfying ideologies. It means learning instead to cultivate the art of staying true to reality’s hazards, vulnerabilities, mysteries, and perplexities because, ultimately, that is our best chance of remaining human.<
She also reflects that fundamental questions about the human condition are not beside the point in dire political times; they are the point. How can we think straight amidst cynicism and mendacity? What is there left to love, to cherish, to fight for? How can we act to secure it best? What fences and bridges do we need to build to protect freedom, and which walls do we need to destroy?

Hannah Arendt closely examined the regimes of Hitler and Stalin, their functionaries, the ideology of scientific racism, and the role of propaganda in creating what she described as “a curiously varying mixture of gullibility and cynicism.” This mixture is how individuals are expected to respond to their leaders’ ever-changing lies. In her 1951 work, “Origins of Totalitarianism,” she elaborated that this combination of gullibility and cynicism is prevalent across all levels of totalitarian movements:

In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world, the masses had reached the point where they would simultaneously believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and nothing was true… The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.

It is important to recognize the significant danger of trusting someone who makes promises. Why do such individuals often resort to constant and blatant lying? One reason is that it serves as a way to control their subordinates completely. These followers may feel compelled to abandon their own integrity to echo outrageous falsehoods, subsequently becoming tied to the leader through feelings of shame and complicity. Professor Jacob T. Levy from McGill University highlights the insights of prominent thinkers like George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, and Vaclav Havel. He notes that they can help us identify a specific type of falsehood. He states that “saying something obviously untrue and forcing your subordinates to repeat it earnestly in their own words is a shocking demonstration of power over them. This practice was widespread in totalitarian regimes.”

“You can read my lips… Repeat my words as I repeat them! Doesn’t this sound familiar? Arendt and others noted— as Levy writes— that “being forced to repeat an obvious lie makes it clear that you’re powerless.” She also identified how an avalanche of lies can render a populace unable to resist, a phenomenon we now refer to as ” “gaslighting”:

The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth and truth be defamed as a lie, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world—and the category of truth versus falsehood is among the mental means to this end—is being destroyed.

However, time will reveal how a people or a nation can differentiate between right and wrong and how much their practice of democracy can help them recognize truth and falsehood. Democracy is not a gift that can be simply given; it requires thorough training to achieve its ultimate goal.

Thank you!

Sources:

The marginalia Open Culture

The Way We Go!

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The Dance of the Bacchants, by Charles Gleyre and Friedrich Nietzsche (Artwork: Mark Rothko)

Recently, I read a post on FB from a good friend, Scott D. Smith, about how we might have to get through Nietzsche to understand Dr. Jung better! I agree totally; though Dr. Jung’s works are not philosophical but psychological, Nietzsche has an immense influence on Jung’s doctrine work and his psychological analysis in general.

Nietzsche admired Greece and Greek mythology, often quoting Schopenhauer and using Hegelian ideas to discuss art. He connected ancient Greek tragedy with Richard Wagner’s opera. Let’s see what he meant by Dionysian.

Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and music, is associated with the Dionysian, a state of self-forgetting where individuals unite with others and nature. According to Nietzsche, the Apollonian and the Dionysian are essential to art creation. Dionysian art, particularly music, represents madness and drunkenness, appealing to primal human desires and mystical unity with nature.
In “The Birth of Tragedy” (1872), Nietzsche introduced the terms Apollonian and Dionysian to describe contrasting forces in art. The Apollonian represents a calm, rational art, while the Dionysian embodies intense emotion and ecstasy. Nietzsche believed these forces could come together to create a unique art form, as seen in the Greek tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles.

“The saying Yes to life even in its strangest and hardest problems; the will to life, rejoicing over its inexhaustibility even in the very sacrifice of its highest types – that is what I call Dionysian.”

Charles Gleyre La Danse des bacchantes. Wikimedia
The Dance of the Bacchantes, the last painting by Gleyre exhibited publicly in Paris (at the Salon of 1849)

I believe his thoughts are timeless, as humans almost permanently experience the same failures based on ignorance. Here he speaks:

“Now we see the struggle, pain, the destruction of appearances as necessary because
of the abundance of countless forms pressing into life because of the boundless
fecundity of the world will…That primal Dionysian delight experienced even in
the presence of pain is common to music and tragic myth.”
“Dionysian art wants to convince us of the eternal delight of existence… Now
struggle, pain, and destruction… are seen as necessary…Despite terror and pity
we rejoice in living not as individuals but as part of the life force with whose
procreative lust, we have become one.”
“the world is becoming and perishing, creation and destruction, without any
moral content, in eternal innocence.”
“Now, sure of united victory,
We celebrate the feast of feasts:
Friend Zarathustra has come, the guest of guests!
Now the world is full of laughter, the gruesome curtain is rent,
The wedding day has come for light and darkness.”
Nietzsche: Disciple of Dionysus

Sometimes, our strengths push us so far that we can no longer bear our weaknesses and decline from them.

Of course, we happen to predict this way out, but we can’t change anything. And then we become cruel in that which we ought to guard within ourselves, and our greatness makes us barbarous.

This experience, which we are ultimately forced to pay for with our lives, symbolizes bad people’s effect on others and their time.

With the best they possess—they have within themselves—with that which only they can accomplish, they destroy too many weak, uncertain, unformed, and hesitant beings with the best they have and thus become harmful.

And it can even happen that they do nothing but cause harm because this oldest part of themselves is suddenly emptied, so to speak, only by beings who suffocate their logic and individuality in a glass of strong drink.

And they get drunk to such a point that they can’t help but break their whole body – hands, legs – in all the ways that their drunkenness will lead them.

Source: kwize

“‘Man is evil‘ – all the wisest have told me that to comfort me. Ah, if only it were still true today! For evil is man’s best strength. ‘Man must become better and more evil’ – thus, I teach. The most evil is necessary for the “Übermensch’s” best. It may have been good for that preacher of the little people to suffer and be burdened by man’s sin. But I rejoice in great sin as my great consolation. – But such things are not said for long ears. Neither does every word suit every mouth. These are subtle, remote things: sheep’s hooves should not reach for them!” Thus Spoke Zarathustra:

Let us think of the idea in its most terrible form: “existence as it is, without meaning or purpose, but inevitably returning, without a finale into nothingness: ‘the eternal return’. That is the extreme form of nihilism: nothingness (the ‘senseless’) eternal!”

And here, I add one of his poems, Last Will, translated from German.

Last Will

To die thus,
as I once saw him die -,
the friend who cast divine lightning and glances
into my dark youth.
Mutinous and deep,
a dancer in battle -,
the most cheerful among warriors,
the most difficult among victors,
Fate resting upon his doom, hard, thoughtful, premeditated –
trembling that he had won,
rejoicing that he had won while dying –
commanding as he died-
and he commanded that man should destroyed…
To die thus,
as I once saw him die:
Victorious, Destroying…

Thank you, as always, for your presence and stopping by. Have a peaceful weekend, everybody.🙏💖✌

Kahlil Gibran On Marriage!

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Today, I want to share something familiar, maybe ordinary, yet an important issue: Marriage! Of course, we can translate it into the modern language as a partnership, friendship, bedmate or lifemate, etc.
But the main point is how much a couple should merge into each other, how close they must be and how deep.

 Rene Magritte; Perfect Woman

I’ve had various experiences in the realm of relationships. I’ve had many different connections with different women, and you can imagine how much effort it took to understand the intricacies of this adorable gender. However, my current wife is the first and only one I’ve married. It took me about twenty-three years until to say “yes” and marry her and two more years to move in together. It wasn’t easy for either of us, but we’ve slowly but surely learned to respect each other’s boundaries and individualities over the years. We share one Life but have our own dreams, all while maintaining love and respect for each other.

I have spent my life trying to understand the crucial topic in psychology called individuality. I finally succeeded with the help of Dr. Jung. It is essential for discovering and proving my uniqueness.

With thanks to Lewis Lafontaine

As it turns out, Kahlil Gibran also agrees with me. Here, I share a part of his book, “The Prophet”, about Marriage. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks, and have a peaceful weekend.

Image on top: Wings // Sophie Black / #surreal #Photography

Sing and dance together and
be joyous, but let each one of you
be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone,
though they quiver with the same music.

“Love is the only freedom in the world because it so elevates the spirit that the laws of humanity and the phenomena of nature do not alter its course_” Text and art by Kahlil Gibran

On Marriage, From the Book “The Prophet”

An illustration of Khalil Gibran. (Shutterstock)

Then Almitra spoke again and said: And what of Marriage, master?
And he answered, saying: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness.
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone, they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

The Mystery Of “Mana Personality” Part Seven

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Translated from volumes published by Lorenz Jung based on the edition “Gesammelte Werke” dtv.de The Symbols of Transformation (1952) and Aion (1950)

Here, I present another aspect of “Mana—Personality,” and honestly, I’m getting more and more excited to delve deeper and deeper into the subject! (The past episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,)
In this part, Jung continues explaining the concept of Mana and its impact on our lives from childhood to adulthood. He describes our inner try of separation from our parents, the process of growing up within a religious context, and the acknowledgement of God. He also provides an excellent explanation of our attitudes and behaviours towards authority figures and those in power.

via Carl Jung Depth Psychology with thanks to Craig Nelson

Individuation
The Mana Personality (P7)

By distinguishing the “I” from the archetype of the Mana Personality, one is now compelled – just as in the case of the anima – to make conscious those unconscious contents which are specific to the Mana Personality. Historically, the Mana Personality is always in possession of the secret name or of the special knowledge or the prerogative of a special action (quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi), in a word: of Individual Distinction. Becoming aware of the content that builds up the archetype of the Mana Personality means for the man the second and true liberation from the father, for the woman from the mother and thus the first feeling of her own individuality. This part of the process corresponds precisely to the intention of the concrete primitive initiations up to baptism, namely the separation from the >carnal< (or >animal<) parents and the rebirth >in novam infantiam<, into the state of immortality and spiritual childhood, as formulated by certain ancient mystery religions, including Christianity.

One may not identify with the Mana Personality, opting to view it as an extramundane ‘Father in Heaven’ embodying Absoluteness, which many find significant; if faith is achieved, this leads to an absolute dominance of the unconscious, causing the entire world to flow toward it.

The title image and this one by G R Z A ࿐

(Absolute means “detached”. To declare God to be absolute is to place him outside of all connection with man. Man cannot act on him, and he cannot act on man. Such a God would be a completely irrelevant thing. One can, therefore, only reasonably speak of a God who is relative to humans as is to God. The Christian conception of God as a “Father in heaven” expresses the relativity of God in exquisite form. Quite apart from the fact that man can make out less about God than an ant can about the contents of the British Museum, this urge to declare God absolute arises only from the fear that God might become ‘psychological’. That would, of course, be dangerous. An absolute God, on the other hand, is of no concern to us at all, whereas a “psychological” God would be real. This God could reach man. The Church seems to be a magical instrument to protect man from this eventuality, for it is said that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.)

The logical consequence of this is that only a miserable, inferior, useless and sin-laden bunch of people remains. As is well known, this solution has become a historical worldview. Since I am only moving on psychological ground here and have no inclination to dictate my eternal truths to the universe, I must critically note that if I push all the highest value onto the side of the unconscious and construct a summum bonum from it, I have found myself in the unpleasant position of also inventing a devil of equal weight and size who maintains the psychological balance of my summum bonum. But under no circumstances will my modesty allow me to identify myself with the devil. That would be too presumptuous and would also put me in unbearable opposition to my highest values. But I cannot afford that, given my moral deficit.

That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ — all these are undoubtedly great virtues.
~C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Carl Jung Depth Psychology

For psychological reasons, I would, therefore, recommend not constructing a God from the archetype of the Mana Personality, that is, not making it concrete, because, in this way, I avoid projecting my values ​​and non-values ​​onto God and the devil, and, in this way I preserve my human dignity, my own specific weight, which I need so much in order not to become the unresisting plaything of unconscious powers. When you deal with the visible world, you have to be crazy to assume that you are the master of this world. Here, the principle of non-resistance to all superior factors is naturally followed up to a certain individual limit. At this point, even the most peaceful citizen becomes a bloody revolutionary. Our bowing to law and state is a recommendable model for our general attitude toward the collective unconscious. (>Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. <) Our bowing would not be difficult up to this point. But there are also factors in the world to which our conscience does not necessarily say yes, and we bow before them. Why? It is practically more beneficial than the opposite. Likewise, there are factors in the unconscious where we have to be nothing but clever. (>Do not resist evil. < >Make friends for yourselves in the huts of unjust mammon. < >The children of the world are cleverer than the children of light<, ergo: >Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. <)

To be continued! 💖🙏🤗

The Mystery Of “Mana Personality” Part Six

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Translated from volumes published by Lorenz Jung based on the edition “Gesammelte Werke” dtv.de The Symbols of Transformation (1952) and Aion (1950)

Continuing the concept of Mana-Personality, Dr. Jung advises us not to underestimate the unconscious mind and even offers a prescription for better managing this issue. (I dearly share here the last parts, 1–2–3–4–5, if someone wants to check out!)🙏

As I read more from Dr. Jung, I find that the issues he discusses do not pertain to a specific time period; they are fundamental and timeless, as we can clearly observe them in the present.

So, I believe following his concepts can heal our ailing society. He did an excellent job of helping us understand our inner unknown.
Let’s read another chapter of this Mana riddle.

Individuation
The Mana Personality (P6)

The Mana personality develops historically into a heroic figure and a god-man (according to popular belief, the highest Christian king could cure epilepsy with his Mana by laying on hands), whose earthly figure is the priest. The analysts can tell us something about how much the doctor is still a man-personality. Insofar as the “I” apparently draws the power belonging to the anima to itself, the ego becomes a mana personality. This development is an almost regular occurrence. I have never seen a more or less advanced development process of this kind where identification with the archetype of the Mana personality did not take place, at least temporarily. And it is the most natural thing in the world that should happen this way because not only you do expect it yourself, but everyone else expects it too. One can hardly help but admire oneself a little because one has seen deeper than others, and the others have such a need to find somewhere a tangible hero or a superior wise man, a leader and father, an unquestionable authority, that they are very willing to build temples and burn incense to even petty gods. It is not just the lamentable foolishness of the uncritical followers but a psychological law of nature that what was before will always be again. And this will always be the case as long as consciousness does not interrupt the naive concretization of the archetypes. I do not know whether it is desirable for consciousness to alter the eternal laws; I only know that it sometimes alters them and that this measure is a vital necessity for certain people, which, however, does not prevent them from placing themselves on the throne of the father in order to make the old rule come true once again. Indeed, it is difficult to see how one could escape the overwhelming power of the archetypes.

Johfra Bosschart Occult Surrealist

I don’t believe that one can escape this overwhelming power. One can only change one’s attitude towards it and thereby prevent oneself from naively falling into an archetype and then being forced to play a role at the expense of one’s humanity. Being obsessed with an archetype turns a person into a mere collective figure, a kind of Mask behind which humanity can no longer develop but instead increasingly atrophies. One must, therefore, be aware of the danger of falling prey to the dominant Mana personality. The danger is not only that one becomes the FatherMask oneself but also that one falls prey to this Mask if someone else wears it. In this sense, master and student are the same.

The dissolution of the anima means that one has gained insight into the driving forces of the unconscious, but not that we have rendered these forces ineffective ourselves. They can attack us again in a new form at any time. And they will inevitably do so again if there is a gap in the conscious attitude. Power stays against power. When the “I” assumes power over the unconscious, the unconscious reacts with a subtle attack, in this case, with the dominance of the Mana personality, whose enormous prestige captivates the “I”. The only way to protect oneself against this is to fully admit one’s own weakness in the face of the forces of the unconscious. In this way, we do not oppose the unconscious with power, and as a result, we do not provoke the unconscious either.

Illustration: Nikolai Zaitsev

It may sound strange to the reader when I speak of the unconscious, so to speak, in a personal way. I do not want to provoke condemnation by thinking of the unconscious as personal. The unconscious consists of natural processes that lie beyond the human-personal. Only our consciousness is >personal<. So when I talk about >provoking<, I don’t mean that the unconscious is somehow offended and – like the old gods – does something to someone out of jealousy or vengeance. I often mean something like a psychological diet error that upsets my digestion. The unconscious reacts automatically, like my stomach, which figuratively takes revenge on me. If I assume power over the unconscious, that is a psychological dietary error, an unsatisfactory attitude that is best avoided in the interest of one’s own well-being. My unpoetic comparison is, however, a little too mild considering the far-reaching and devastating moral effects of a disturbed unconscious. In this respect, I would prefer to speak of the vengeance of offended gods.

To be continued! 💕🖖💖