ARE WE POSSESSED?--continued BLESSINGS IN DRAG Jung writes, “This state of possession shows itself almost without exception in the fact that the possessed identify themselves with the archetypal contents of their unconscious, and because they do not realize that the role which is being thrust upon them is the effect of new contents still to be understood, they exemplify these concretely in their own lives, thus becoming prophets and reformers [in the negative sense, such as falling into a megalomaniacal inflation]” People who have been swallowed up by the archetype and fallen into the unconscious, instead of shedding light on and integrating the meaning of the activated unconscious contents within themselves, are unwittingly acting out the mythic, symbolic dimension of “the role which is being thrust upon them” in concretized, literal form on the stage of life. The new contents are understood when we realize that the role which is coming through us has its origin in the collective unconscious itself, as if we are playing a role in a cosmic drama. In addition to bestowing upon us a choice of how we want to play this role, this realization snaps us out of personally identifying with the role as well. The part of us that has been unconsciously possessed becomes liberated, creating more consciousness in the process. When we become taken over by the unconscious, to quote Jung, “…the unconscious in large measure ousts and supplants the function of the conscious mind. The unconscious usurps the reality function and substitutes its own reality. Unconscious thoughts…manifest themselves in senseless, unshakable judgments upheld in the face of reality.” When we find ourselves ignoring factual evidence and holding a “magical” belief that we rationally know not to be true, we are under a spell, being “driven” by the unconscious, which is at that point in the driver’s seat. The psychic factors which make possession possible are suggestibility, lack of critical discernment, unwillingness or inability to self-reflect, fearfulness, propensity to superstition and prejudice. The contents that take us over when we are possessed by the unconscious appear as phobias, exaggerated affects, peculiar convictions, idiosyncrasies, stubborn plans, compulsions and obsessions, all of which are not open for discussion or correction. Demons work through our psyche, “managing our perceptions” in a way such that we aren’t able to see their influence. Demons bedazzle, bewitch, and bedevil consciousness in such a way that we become blind to our own underlying, assumed viewpoint. We fall under their spell when we become entranced by our own version of reality in such a way so as to think the world “objectively” exists as we perceive it, separate from our own mind. In other words, we fall under the power of the demons when we become fixated in our non-negotiable viewpoint and imagine that what we are seeing objectively exists, in solid form, outside of ourselves, in a way that applies to everyone. We then draw to ourselves all the evidence we need to prove to ourselves the seeming truth of our self-evident viewpoint, confirming our delusion that we are separate from and not participating in helping to create the very situation we find ourselves in, which we are ultimately creating. I call this “Aparticipatory Delusional Syndrome,” or ADS for short (please see my article “Delusions of Separation”). On the other hand, we break the spell of the demons when we realize that every moment of our experience is inseparable from our own consciousness, which is to recognize the fluid, non-objective and thus, “dreamlike nature” of reality. Just like figures in a dream, the demons are, ultimately speaking, our own energy, not separate from our own mind (please see my article “God the Imagination”). Just like a dream, the way we observe the world literally evokes the very world we are observing. This means that it is through our awareness itself that we can intervene in the underlying matrix of creation and find the leverage point where we can change the waking dream we are having, which is “evolution-in-action.” Interestingly, we wouldn’t have woken up and had this realization without the antagonistic co-operation of the demons, which is to say the demons are secretly allies in disguise, catalysts of consciousness appearing as adversaries, blessings in drag (please see my article “The Light of Darkness”). NOT THE ONLY ONE Jung writes, “The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate.” To the extent that we are not consciously working on integrating, via the process of individuation, the unconscious contents and conflicts that are activated within us, is the extent to which these psychic contents will manifest externally and be unconsciously acted out collectively in a literal, concrete way on the world stage. Jung comments, “One shouldn’t evade this conflict by escaping into a premature and anticipated state of redemption, otherwise one provokes it in the outside world. And that is of the devil.” An activated psychic content not realized consciously in the course of individuation manifests externally, where it gets “dreamed up” in, as, and through the outer world. To use Jung’s metaphor, the sponsor of this project(ion) is “the devil.” Jung says, “The world powers that rule over all mankind, for good or ill, are unconscious psychic factors…We are steeped in a world that was created by our own psyche.” This brings to mind various quotes in the Bible about “powers and principalities” that rule over humanity, which is the metaphysically equivalent expression of our psychological situation. The Gospel of Luke, for example, has the devil say that the kingdoms of the world are under his control (4:5-6). The Gospel of John speaks of the devil as “the ruler of the world.” (14:30, 16:11). The First Letter of John says that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.” (5:19). Paul speaks of Satan as “the god of this world.” (Gal. 1:4; Cor. 4:4). Whether we call it a demon or an unconscious psychic factor, the force that rules over us is created by and an expression of our own psyche. Reflecting upon the first World War, Jung says, “When fate, for four whole years, played out a war of monumental frightfulness on the stage of Europe – a war that nobody wanted – nobody dreamed of asking exactly who or what had caused the war and its continuation.” Similarly, in today’s “war on terror,” a war that nobody, or at least very few people want, we need to dream of asking exactly who or what has caused this war and its continuation. Jung continues, “Nobody realized that European man was possessed by something that robbed him of all free will. And this state of unconscious possession will continue undeterred until we Europeans become scared of our ‘god-almightiness’ [inflation]. Such a change can begin only with individuals, for the masses are blind brutes, as we know to our cost.” The real carrier of life is the individual. Real transformation doesn’t come through mass movements, or new legislation, but via change within the individual. Speaking about the effects of being identified with, possessed and inflated by the unconscious, Jung writes, “Everything that exceeds a certain human size evokes equally inhuman powers in man’s unconscious. Totalitarian demons are called forth.” As a result of becoming overly one-sided in a multi-sided universe, “totalitarian demons” are “dreamed up” both within the unconscious, and, synchronistically, out in the world. Events in the outer world are symbolic reflections of what we are dreaming inside of ourselves (please see my article “Catching the Bug of Synchronicity”). What this means is that the most effective way to change the world is to change ourselves. Jung writes, “…the historic events of our time have painted a picture of man’s psychic reality in indelible colors of blood and fire, and given him an object lesson which he will never be able to forget if – and this is the great question – he has today acquired enough consciousness to keep up with the furious pace of the devil within him.” Will we, each one of us, be able to mediate, channel and transform the archetypal, daemonic energy which is flowing through us into creativity such that we can constructively build a new world? This is the question upon whose answer rests the future survival or destruction of the world as we know it. Jung says, “mankind, because of its scientific and technological development, has in increasing measure delivered itself over to the danger of possession…Man’s worst sin is unconsciousness…When shall we…in all seriousness seek ways and means to exorcize him, to rescue him from possession and unconsciousness, and make this the most vital task of civilization?” When shall we make “the most vital task of civilization” the exorcism of the demons that are possessing us? In other words, when shall we make our most vital task “waking up?” Jung saw this present-day manifestation of the daemonic as an archetypal expression of the potentially catastrophic upheavals that accompany the great transitions from one age to the next. When an archetype like the daemonic appears, both within ourselves and out in the world, things become critical, with possibilities for both good and evil alike. How things actually turn out depends upon how consciousness responds to the situation. During a collective manifestation of the daemonic, such as we have today, the great danger is a mass movement where millions, or even billions of people fall into their unconscious together, igniting a psychic epidemic which spawns an apocalyptic war that ravages life on earth and destroys the biosphere of the planet (see my article “Archetypal Dimensions of World Events”). To quote Jung, “The unconscious works sometimes with most amazing cunning, arranging certain fatal situations, fatal experiences, which make people wake up.” Catastrophe can only be avoided if enough people wake up to what is being revealed to us as we act out the unconscious, and then connect with each other so as to de-activate, assimilate, and transform the potentially deleterious effects of the activated daemon. We can then, under the guidance of the Self, our intrinsic wholeness, help each other to usher in a new era of sustainable peace, understanding and mutual co-operation. Our very continued existence as a species on this beautiful planet depends upon this realization. To be pessimistic and think that we can’t change the trajectory of our species’ suicidal, trance-like behavior is to be under a spell, to have fallen under a “demon’s curse.” Having fallen under such a spell, we only strengthen and solidify our spell-bound convict-ion by acting as if there are no other possible outcomes. Pessimism is food for the demons (please see my article “Our Situation is Dire, and There’s no Need for Pessimism”). It is crazy to not invest our creative energy into envisioning that we can “come together,” and just as crazy to imagine that we can’t. If we aren’t investing our creative imagination in ways for us to heal and wake up, then what are we thinking? Just like in a dream at night, when enough of us become lucid in the waking dream of life, we can connect with each other and put our lucidity together, changing the world in positive ways in the process (please see my article “Lucid Dreaming”). If people tell me I am a “dreamer” when I profess these idealistic and seemingly naïve beliefs, I will simply say, to quote the late John Lennon, “I am not the only one.” There are ever-expanding numbers of us – millions? billions? — around the planet who in various ways are being drafted by the Self to be channels for a deeper process of awakening, enabling a vast range of entirely new and previously unimagined possibilities to become available to us. The universe is dreaming itself awake through us. When enough of us simply recognize the deeper, archetypal pattern that is happening, i.e., that the universe is waking itself up through us, we can “come together,” I “imagine,” and help each other to deepen and stabilize our mutually shared awakening, what I call “dreaming ourselves awake.” As wounded healers, shamans, dreamers, and artists whose canvas is life itself, we can collaboratively create an “Art-Happening Called Global Awakening.” The real demon is our own ego-clinging. To the extent we are under the seeming influence of a demon is the extent to which we are clinging and grasping, trying to hold onto our concept of ourselves as a discrete and separate self, when in actuality there is nothing (no “thing”) to hold onto. To the extent we are clinging or grasping, we have fallen into the self-reinforcing, habitual pattern of contracting against ourselves, and in so doing we are blocking our own light. We can, in this very moment, step out of our own way and let our light shine.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:52:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015