Archetypes, The Road to Wholeness- Musings on The Journey

I love to spend time reflecting on some of the basic observations and psychological “discoveries” that fueled Jung’s work. The concept of the archetypes, or the archetypal dimension of the psyche, was a discovery that opened Jung to a whole new way of imaging human psychological development and growth. His life changed as a result of that discovery, and he spent the rest of it delving deeper and deeper into the phenomenon he had come to recognize as an “eternal presence.” In the early 1970’s, when I “discovered” Jungian psychology, I too experienced my world, and my way of envisioning life, opening up and being released from whatever imaginary, personal and cultural confines I had labored under, up until that time. Yes, I was young, and there were enough complexes (“big, ripe juicy ones,” to quote Joe Wheelwright) to keep me busy with my own unraveling process for quite a while…However, what attracted and really “hooked” me in Jungian psychology was not the chance to work on my complexes. That was to come later. No, I was hooked by the possibility of something more, something profound beneath and surrounding my mundane world. This was the realm that I had known, but somehow never quite allowed myself to fully embrace. It was the energy behind my love of English literature (the field of my study at the time), and it was the energy that kept me dissatisfied yet continuing to search for my place in the world. Now there was a structure – just loose enough to gain my trust – for that knowing and energy.

Yes, the “looseness” of Jung’s theories was a definite draw for me. By that, I mean that Jung did not seem particularly interested in putting all of us human beings into a neat little theoretical box. He even said that each new analytic case should be seen as a new discovery of the unconscious. I must admit that psychology, up until this time, had held no real interest for me. Freud was far too limiting, reading him made me feel that I was, somehow, being lectured to, being told exactly what my dreams and fantasies meant, and I refused to buy it! The other psychological theories floating around at that time felt downright insulting to us humans as a whole (the ones floating around today give me the same feeling). How can wecome up with such horrid theories of ourselves?I was not going to allow my soaring imagination to be stuffed into a little box, and labeled in some way that sounded dangerously pathological. So, the idea that this side of my nature was a connection to a realm far greater than me, that archetypal patterns exist a priori, that they are latent potentials within all humans, in fact that my love of fairy tales and mythology might be my soul’s way of attempting to connect me back to that powerful primordial world…all of this gave me an opening into a world view that finally made sense! I took the leap into that opening, and I have basically “never looked back.”

The young person that I was would never have stepped into a psychological view that was all too ready to pathologize me, even if it made some sense. I was already a firm believer that the realm of the imagination was my saving grace from the dull world of the mid-twentieth century that I was born into, and the increasingly dangerous world of the late-twentieth century that I was maturing in. Jungian psychology made sense to my imagination, and the archetypal dimension of the psyche became my refuge from the storm of absolutes and black-and-white thinking that raged around me.

Lest any of you begin to think that I am ungrounded (as that last paragraph could seem, taken out of context), let me remind you of the seventh sentence of my first paragraph – “That was to come later” – in which I referred to Jung’s concept of complexes. Yes, I did do that very difficult and time consuming work with the complexes that held me back, and I continue to recognize and work with those nasty little buggers, but my point in this particular blog is this: The archetypal dimension of the psyche is what gave, and gives, me hope for myself and for the human race. It is that which we strive for, that which truly enlivens us, that which provides a beacon in the middle of the night sea journey. Had I not stumbled upon Jungian psychology, no doubt I would have found some other form of inspiration. As I have hinted, my imagination was strong, and I loved spending time in its company. But Jung is who I found, and my life’s journey has been colored by that finding ever since.

Jung often spoke of “modern times,” and frequently what he referred to seems to be absolutely relevant now, in 2012, perhaps as much as it was during Jung’s lifetime. However, it was his intention that we would continue to reflect on and develop our own theories and stories related to these profound discoveries that he brought to the forefront in psychological literature. I for one have found his “loose” framework to be a wonderful structure for my own psychological work, both personal and professional. In our current culture, today’s “modern times,” so much “doing” and outer accomplishment is expected of us, that many people feel they have lost touch with any source or spark that once kept them going. We have become all too efficient in our technological world, and must learn again how to nurture and encourage the soul’s longing to follow its own path. But how can we discover how to listen to the soul? It can seem a very small voice, and there is so much noise all around.

There are powerful forces at work beneath the surface in the human psyche, and when those forces are activated, we must respond. Of course, we can avoid that mandate, we can pretend we didn’t experience that force, although it may have hit us right in the face. But eventually, the duty to respond will catch us up. Going through our daily lives, we have an experience that, sometimes suddenly, takes us to a deeper place, and we hear the message of the soul. Those universal energies that Jung called archetypes have been tapped. This experience can throw us off our intended path for sure, but it also can provide us with new guidance and direction, and can give fuel to our lives when we had felt that we were stalling.

When that energy is activated, it is important that we take it seriously. Here are some small experiences in life, they can so easily be brushed aside, but they areexamples of the archetypal dimension speaking to us, and life can be so much more rich and meaningful if we listen and take heed! For example, if one goes to a movie, play or opera, and later can’t seem to forget a certain theme or character, perhaps that unforgettable thing is about an inner exploration that needs to take place. Or we, on “pure chance,” run into someone we once knew, and he tells us about his new pursuit – the very thing we were thinking of but hadn’t gotten around to yet! One should set off on the exploration, learn about the theme, read the history, research the myth, find and read all the poetry; then let the energy of this experience do its work. The “work” may take shape in astounding ways.  One finds oneself wanting to take on new ventures, becoming adventurous when once timid, or humanitarian when once self-serving. Or a young woman in her twenties decides to become a Jungian Analyst.

One of my favorite quotes from Jung is, “the right road to wholeness is filled with fateful detours and wrong turnings.” When we take inner as well as outer life seriously, the “wrong turnings” can be seen as ways to go back and pick up the parts of ourselves that we almost forgot we had – and sometimes they turn out to be the most rewarding of all!