CARL JUNG: MAN & HIS SYMBOLS

Fragments:

· The unconscious is no mere repository of the past but it is full of germs of future psychic situations & ideas.

· Today cannot turn into a real tomorrow if you believe that the future is just a repetition of the past.

· The therapeutic task may be the establishment of confidence rather than the demonstration of a clinical theory.

· It is not possible to see the analogy between a case of compulsion neurosis & that of a classical demonic possession without a working knowledge of both.

· The archetype is a tendency to form certain representations.

· The archetypes function like complexes & in this respect they come and go very much as they please; complexes modify or obstruct our conscious intentions in an embarrassing way. Both have numinous energy & fascination; complexes influence the person while archetypes give rise to religions, myths & philosophies.

· We are free to choose God or no God but if it can be demonstrated that the concept of God is beneficial then one should choose God.

· If you think life is "a tale told by an idiot" it will lower your resistance & you will despair.

· A symbol has no innate power, its numinosity exists only in the emotions or unconscious of the individual.

· A man cannot relate to women until he has separated the anima from the mother who is symbolized by the labyrinth. (Ariadne)

· Parental images evoke archetypes! They mediate.

· The beast in ‘Beauty & the Beast’ represents her own animal nature which she must recognize to overcome the one-sided development & education as a "good" person.

· Dionysus was a demigod. Orphism was an offshoot (less violent). Orphism taught immortality (as reincarnation) whereas Christ was divine & taught everlasting life after death.

· Those who have to learn to face death may have to relearn the old message that death is a mystery for which we must prepare ourselves in the same spirit of submission & humility as we once learned to prepare ourselves for life.

· Individualism is real only if the person is aware of it & cooperates as best he can, & submits to creative guidance.

· Not only dreams but some real events can anticipate the future in symbolic form.

· The Nashapi of Labrador are scattered & do not have tribal customs or collective religious beliefs & ceremonies. In his solitude he relies on inner voices & unconscious revelations; his inner soul he calls "my friend" or "Great Man".

· The shadow shows up as omissions, forgetfulness, impulsive or inadvertent acts. Shadow can be friend or enemy, it depends on ourselves. He is exactly like any human with whom one has to get along. Sometimes by giving in, sometimes by resisting, sometimes by giving love: the shadow becomes hostile when ignored or misunderstood.

· The Dionysian religion had orgiastic rites that implied the need for the initiate to abandon himself to his animal nature & thereby experience the full power of the earth mother.

· It is often impossible to tell whether promptings come from the shadow or the Self; this is known as contamination.

· When the shadow arises, God is needed to help carry you through!

· Do what you can but be ready to change course in a moment if the unconscious should clearly point in another direction. Maybe the Self wants the ego to have a free choice or manifest through these decisions.

· It is the anima that makes it possible to connect to the unconscious as symbolized in the Greek Sybil fathoming the divine will, or shamans sometimes wearing women's clothes.

· The anima can become a death demon by depressing the man to the point of suicide. A man's anima is formed by his mother. The anima mediates.

· All of one's qualities act like a committee.

· A personification of the Self can be a youth or an old man.

· The Self is only partly contained in our time zone & can be omnipresent, personified by the "Great Man" concept.

· Synchronistic events accompany the phases of individuation. Watch for such coincidences & record them.

· The only worthwhile adventure for modern man lies in the realm of the unconscious psyche.

· The process of individuation excludes imitation of others. People have copied in "outer" or ritualistic behaviour the religious experience of their leaders & have become petrified.

· The ego should continue to function in normal ways. One must remain an ordinary human being conscious of one's incompleteness in order to experience fully the unconscious contents & processes.

· A ritual or religious custom can spring from an unconscious revelation experienced by a single individual. There is a religious function in the psyche. Whatever power religious symbols have stems from them arising in the unconscious.

· You cannot know either spiritual reality (the unconscious) or physical reality (indeterminacy) in itself.

· In psychological terms, the mask transforms the wearer into an archetypal image. Ancient dancers would imitate the movements of particular animals, thus stealing their soul.

· Consciously or unconsciously, the artist gives form to the nature & values of his time which, in their turn, form him.

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