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A Swiss
psychiatrist and protege of Freud, Jung became the founder of
his own school known as analytical, or depth psychology, the science
of mapping out the inner workings of the psyche or soul. Jung’s
ideas laid the groundwork for important innovations such as the
Myers-Briggs Personality Tests, the lie detector test, 12-step
programs starting with AA and others. |
Theoretical
concepts important in Jungian dream work can be viewed on two levels:
The
Individual Level
Persona
"Mask"
or image one wants to present to the world
Shadow
Hidden or unconscious aspects of oneself, both good and
bad, which the ego has either repressed or never realized, both rejected
aspects of ones self as well as undeveloped potential.
The
Universal Level
Archetype
Contents of the Collective Unconscious which exercise a preformed
pattern for personal behavior
Mandala
Map that contains the dream and the life drama
The cornerstone
of Jung’s work lies in his recognition of the Collective Unconscious,
an evolutionary concept of a reservoir of latent images, not in one’s
personal unconscious but from the ancestral past, as well as pre-human
or animal ancestors. Not inherited, they are predispositions or potentialities
for experiencing and responding to the world. The more experience one
has, the greater are the chances that the latent images will become
manifested. A rich environment and opportunities for education and learning
are necessary for "individuating" (making conscious) all aspects
of the collective unconscious.
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Jung coined new words and phrases for his
theories and he postulated that everyone falls into categories
of psychological types:
- Extroverted or Introverted
- Thinking or Feeling
- Intuitive or Sensate
The Four Functions
"Synchronicity"
describes a-causal events that, when recognized, have significant
meaning.
Individuation
is the term Jung gave to the process of growing to one's fullest
human potential. It requires work. Not everyone will attempt to
grow in this way, but those who do will find that once started,
they cannot turn back! Dreams provide the quickest way to the
individuation process.
Jung studied Alchemy
and described a simple process he called Active
Imagination. Although alchemy is popularly regarded as
the science that sought to transmute base physical matter, many
of the medieval alchemists were more interested in developing
a discipline that would lead to the psychological and spiritual
transformation of the individual. C. G. Jung discovered in his
study of alchemical texts a symbolic and imaginal language that
expressed many of his own insights into psychological processes.
The alchemists practiced a kind of meditation similar to Jung`s
technique of active imagination, which enables one to dialogue
with the unconscious archetypal elements in the psyche.
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