Today I thought I'd share the notes I took whilst doing research for my latest series on atheism, secular society and the move away from unconscious thought.
The statuettes (of gods) represent the unconscious mind
The unconscious is far greater than the conscious
It works in magical and mystical ways
To achieve human wholeness what we need is a marriage between the conscious and the unconscious
Perhaps it only seems to threatening and disorderly because we’ve become so threatened by it
In reality - we need it
VOCATUS ATQUE NON VOCATUS DEUS ADERIT - “Called or not called, the god will be there."
he religious question is inescapable, sooner or later the unconscious catches up with you
Freud worked mainly with neurotics and believed it was about talking to people so he could strengthen the rational ego so that it could deal with life
Jung spent a lot of his time in mental hospitals - true madness, psychosis - where the ego is overwhelmed by the violence of the unconscious
Only religion could mame the powers that take over the mind and guide yourself to spiritual health
Enchantment like allowing yourself to be taken away by the wind is the oldest form of medicine
‘We moderns are faced with the necessity of rediscovering the life of the spirit’
Jung sees dreams, fantasies and art as carrying messages from our psyche that point us to our own future and spiritual fulfilment
Religious values are expressions of psychic life
Not only do I leave the door open for the Christian message, but I consider it as central importance for the Christian man
It needs to be seen in a new light, in accordance with the contemporary spirit otherwise it stands apart from the times and has no effect on wholeness
The idea of God is an absolutely necessary psychological function of an irrational nature which has nothing whatsoever to do with Gods existence
The presence of God is present everywhere because it is an archetype
It’s use to recognise the idea of God consciously
I don’t need to believe in God, I know God
Religious belief give mythic, projected expression to our inner states
If religion and mysticism and art are all clues to our inner states, then they are equally instructive
Realising that religion is truly human, he sets aside human naturalism and brings forward the old mystical idea that the knowledge of god is the same thing as self-knowledge
For Jung, the knowledge of God means a condition of inner integration blessedness wisdom harmony with oneself and nature
My life is the story of the self realisation of the unconscious
What we are to our inward vision can only be explained by our inward myth and expresses life more precisely than does science
I can understand myself only in the light of inner happenings, it is these that make up the singularity of my life
Here is the link to the video - give it a watch if you can.
I'm going to delve deeper into Jung's ideas as well as religion and art's relationship. More to follow up on with regards to the series!
Thanks for reading,
P