Lesson 38 – Transforming Your Personality
“How difficult it is to reach anything approaching a moderate and relatively calm point of view in the midst of one’s emotions.”
CARL JUNG
The Structure Of The Psyche
To Carl Gustav Jung, the human psyche or mind has three levels. These are the consciousness, the personal Unconscious, and the Objective or Collective Unconscious. The Conscious aspect of the psyche is the Ego or Persona, the everyday familiar “I” with whom we readily identify, the decision-making active and aware part of the personality. The Unconscious is the source of all the fundamental symbols, psychic content, and ideas that emerge daily into the Consciousness. Among these are repressed memories, feelings, instincts, desires, intuition, and an immense wealth of knowledge, which is, for the most part, a closed door to Consciousness.
Some of these unconscious contents occasionally surface in the conscious aspect of the personality, particularly in the form of dreams. The Collective Unconscious is the most significant part of the psyche. Jung conceived of it as the underlying portion of an iceberg, the uppermost tip formed by the conscious Ego. The largest body of the iceberg, hidden from view by the water’s surface, is the Collective Unconscious.
The Unconscious is, therefore, the largest and most important part of the human mind. It is a level of psychic content deeper than the Consciousness and the Unconscious. It is called “collective” because it is generically present in all human beings. It contains material held collectively by everyone regardless of race, creed, and place of origin. These psychic contents have existed since the human race’s early beginnings; some may even transcend human experience.
The three levels of the personality, conscious and unconscious, are composed of the libido or psychic energy. This energy is released to the Consciousness through the constant tension between pairs of opposites in the deep Unconscious. The psyche is a non-physical space within the personality where “psychic phenomena” occur. The libido moves within this space in various movements, up and down, forward and backward, inward and outward. This “space” is the totality of the human personality, a kind of inner cosmos.
We cannot determine what the libido or psychic energy is. All we can say is that it is, it exists, and it can be seen under two aspects. One of these is energy manifested on the cosmic level of life, energy as a whole. The other is energy explicitly expressed in the human psyche. The principle of opposites is a primary characteristic of the psyche. To Jung, everything exists as a phenomenon of energy. But without the pre-existence of an antithesis, there could be no energy. There must always be height and depth, heat and cold, positive and negative, so that the order of equalization, energy, can occur.
All life is energy, and this energy depends on forces held in opposition. The greater the tension between the pairs of opposites, the greater the power released. This energy is generated through conflict within the person and is the active force within the psyche, dissipating in activity and recreated by emerging tensions between the opposites.
The energy released by the opposites can create a progression or a recession within the psyche. That is, it can be of a positive or negative nature. The progression phase of the psychic energy or libido happens when all is going well within the psyche, and the energy can creatively express itself in the external world. At this point, the individual experiences an exhilarated feeling of well-being, and all he does turns out well. The psychic energies are moving upwards and outwards at these times. However, should an obstacle appear, the flow of the libido is reversed, and the balance between the opposites cannot be maintained. The feeling of well-being is transformed into one of depression and confusion. All seems suddenly dark and without hope. Instead of harmony and joy, there is only discord and internal friction. The opposites, no longer in harmonious union, break apart and oppose one another. The conflict creates new energy, but this energy is no longer moving forward but downward into the deep unconscious. This is the regression phase of the libido, which causes it to expand within itself. The energy moves further down into the lower levels of the psyche, where it emerges in various negative manifestations.
The processes in the Collective Unconscious using the libido are manifested through the psychic forms known as archetypes. These are forms or images of a collective nature that occur all over the earth as parts of myths and, simultaneously, as independent and individual products of unconscious origin. These patterns of symbol formation recur throughout mankind in the various mythologies of the human race.
Archetypes have existed since the early beginnings of humanity, so they are based on the most fundamental structure of the psyche. What is most important to consider is that archetypes occur independently of Consciousness, almost as if they had a life of their own. They are concentrations of psychic energy that represent certain human and superhuman personalities or traits, and they exist entirely on their own.
Egyptian pantheons are good examples of archetypes. So are the forces of the Tree of Life. In themselves, the archetypes are only tendencies and potentialities, and they do not become significant in an individual’s life until they emerge outwardly in a specific form. Archetypes present themselves as facts, and when we come face to face with one, we observe an outpouring of psychic energy manifested materially. The tension that is created in the psyche as a result of the interaction between opposites is beyond the control of the individual. For this reason, it is said to be autonomous, independent of the guidance of the Consciousness.
The energy released can attract and gather together various psychic contents into constellations or “complexes.” These Jung called autonomous complexes. They are so solid and individualistic that they function as minor personalities within the total personality. In dreams, these psychic systems appear in personified form, sometimes as a man and others as a woman. The autonomous complexes’ best-known are the persona, the Shadow, the Animus, and the Anima.
The persona is the conscious aspect of the personality, the mask that the individual presents to the world and with which he or she identifies. Because it represents the person’s conscious attitudes, it must perforce rest solidly on the Unconscious, which is the diametrical opposite.
The negative qualities repressed by the individual, his antisocial urges, and his lack of discipline are concentrated in the Shadow, which is invariably identified with the weaker part of the personality. All the blunders an individual makes that he cannot explain, all the negative, impulsive actions that create havoc in human life, are the result of the Shadow’s inner work.
As the balancing element in the psyche, there is a feminine side in every man and a masculine side in every woman. In the man, the feminine side is personified in the unconscious, as in the Anima. In the woman, the masculine side is personified as the Animus. In dreams, men see the Anima as a woman, while women see the hate as a man. In contrast, the Shadow is always perceived as a figure of the same sex as the dreamer.
The Anima expresses itself in daily life with inexplicable moods of a petty, catty nature. The Animus, on the other hand, expresses itself in arbitrary belligerent opinions. In either case, the assertion of the undeveloped side of the personality is involved. For this reason, Anima and Animus are not negative aspects of the personality but an attempt by the Unconscious to balance it.
When an individual dreams of the Shadow, he sees it as a threatening figure trying to harm him somehow. The figure is always of the same sex as that of the dreamer. The Anima and Animus are seldom threatening. They seem always to try to assist the dreamer in some way. They always manifest as persons of the opposite sex. Dreams of the Shadow, the Animus, or Anima indicate that these autonomous complexes are being activated in the individual’s psyche for integration into the conscious personality. The process of integration was called, by Jung, Individuation.
The Individuation process can only be accomplished through either the Animus or the Anima since they represent the personification of the Unconscious in both males and females. In this sense, the Animus and Anima, as the symbol of the Unconscious and of all the archetypes, have the largest concentration of libido energy in the Psyche.
Before the Individuation process can be completed and the personality fully integrated, the forces of the Shadow and either the Anima or the Animus must be recognized and reconciled with the individual’s Consciousness.
At this point, the person realizes that his persona is, in reality, a very small part of his psyche and that most of his attitudes and traits are masks he wears to impress the world. He then comes face to face with his inner reality and becomes transformed in the process. Fundamentally, individuation aims to rid the personality of the false wrappings of the Persona and of the suggestive influence of the Anima or Animus.
When the Anima or Animus, as the Unconscious, becomes integrated into the Consciousness, its energies are transformed and bridge the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche. Here, the opposites that act within the psyche become integrated into a unified personality. This new force is known as the emerging Self.
The Self has been defined as an inner guiding factor different from the conscious personality and can be best grasped through the investigation of dreams. The now integrated Self appears in dreams as a superior being of the same sex as the individual. It becomes the regulating center that creates a constant extension and maturity of the personality.
Its emergence may be very slight or develop quite fully during a person’s lifetime. How it develops depends on how much the Ego is willing to listen to its messages. Those who do so become more complete human beings. But it must always be remembered that the Ego serves to light up the psyche. The Self can prod the Ego, but only the Ego can reach the full potentialities of its psyche.
In order to bring the Individuation process into reality, the individual must be willing to surrender consciously to the power of the Unconscious. Instead of trying to determine what he should do in a given situation, the person should simply listen to learn what the Self, the inner totality of the psyche, wants him or her to do in each particular situation.
The subjective experience of Individuation gives the feeling that some supernatural force is actively interfering in the individual’s life positively and creatively. Sometimes, it seems the Unconscious was leading the way by a secret design. But for this to occur, the individual has to realize that fulfilling one’s destiny is the greatest of human achievements, and material considerations must always take a backseat in the development of the psyche.
To Jung, dreams seemed to follow an arrangement or pattern. He identified this pattern of dreams as the Differentiation process. Since dreams produce different scenes and images every night, if we are not careful observers of our dreams, we fail to perceive their patterns.
But if we watch our dreams over a long period, we will find that the same symbols reappear. If we then attempt to interpret the dreams’ imagery, we will begin to observe hidden regulating tendencies at work, which creates a slow but discernible psychic growth. This growth is what Jung called the Individuation process.
The integration that results from the Incorporation process is also achieved in Kabbalah through work in the Tree of Life, which is a symbol of the integrated Self. Adam Kadmon, or the Cosmic Man, is both God manifested on the cosmic level and the perfected human being in Malkuth, or the material world.
As we have seen, work on the Tree must be accomplished by balancing opposite spheres. The tension between these opposites releases the psychic energies necessary to change the material world. These changes, which first occur within the individual’s psyche, are released through the power of the archetypes symbolized by the forces of the Tree: the Divine Names and the various angelic beings.
These forces exist in the human Collective Unconscious and predate the conscious aspect of the personality. They are as authentic as the world around us, or perhaps more real, because they are not mere parts of the Persona of the world but the basis of our very soul.
The imagery of dreams occurs in what is known as the Astral World. As we saw earlier, the Astral is the world of mind, and therefore, its substance is the libido or psychic energy. This is the same imagery used in meditation and in all work on the Tree. Therefore, practical work in Kabbalah is a conscious effort to contact the archetypes and autonomous complexes of the Collective Unconscious.
It is then an Individuation process conducted by the conscious part of the personality instead of the Unconscious, which works primarily through dreams. That is why work on the Tree must be devoid of selfish intentions, as it adds to the confusion and stagnation of the Persona or conscious Ego. Material considerations can only be used in conjunction with the Tree when they help in the individual’s spiritual development. Otherwise, the Qliphotic forces of the Tree, which can be equated with the sinister influence of the Shadow, will then come into being.
Man’s god, as Adam Kadmon, is his own Self, an intrinsic part of his soul, which flows outwardly from within the Unconscious to enrich his life and give it true meaning. Once the Self has emerged into the conscious personality, the now integrated Consciousness can use the vast symbology of the mind to make things happen according to his will. At this point, he will be one with the Self, that is, with the God within, and all the powers of that infinite force will also be his to wield.
Mind happens in a space-time continuum that exists beyond physical reality. All human events take place along different segments of this continuum. They co-exist in time but on various points of space. Past, present and future blend in the continuum and extend into infinity.
Being eternal and the overseer of Mind, the Self can perceive all events happening along the continuum in their proper segment of time and space. Its infinite vision allows it to see the beginning and end of the universe simultaneously. When the Self has been fully integrated into the outer Consciousness, it can project through to the individual what will happen and when. This is the power we know as clairvoyance and clairaudience.
Apparent coincidences are points of contact between the Unconscious of one person and the Unconscious of another. When you dream about someone you have not seen in a long time and meet her the next day, or when you think about someone and the telephone rings and that person is on the other end of the line, you face a “meaningful” coincidence.
That is, your Unconscious and that of the other person came in contact before your actual meeting or conversation. The force of the contact was so strong as to work its way through to the conscious mind. That is why you thought about or dreamt about that person. Jung called these “meaningful” coincidences synchronicity, synchronized events engineered by the Unconscious. Hunches, premonitions, and wishes that come true are all synchronized events.
Because the Self functions freely along the space-time continuum, it is not concerned with the past, present, and future. To the Self, things are simply what they are. And because it has most of the energies of the psyche at its disposal, it can make things happen and change them at will. Affecting present and future events to the Self is simply transforming psychic energy into material happenings.
The urge towards Individuation and the integration of the psyche is present in all individuals. It may find expression in a variety of ways. Religious feeling is only one of these expressions. Art, the unity of the family, and all creative instincts are part of this urge. In those individuals who are deeply influenced by the Shadow complex, this urge becomes perverted and is often expressed in a violent or destructive form.
One of the most common ways that the need for Individuation expresses itself in an individual is through an overwhelming love for another person. When passion goes beyond the natural measure of love, its ultimate aim is the mystery of becoming whole, and that is why when a person falls deeply in love, he or she feels that the only worthwhile thing in life is becoming one with the object of love.
Very often, the loved individual is the physical counterpart of his or her lover’s anima or animus, reflecting that particular archetype’s intrinsic qualities. When this happens, it is said that the two lovers are soul mates; they are perfect complements of each other’s souls. Human soul mates are the counterparts of the Shekinah and Her divine spouse, and when they meet in this world, their union is full of joy and spiritual fulfillment.
Working towards spiritual development in kabbalah can be equated with the Jungian individuation process. However, while individuation can never be influenced directly by the conscious personality, kabbalistic work is solely in the hands of the individual practitioner. The Unconscious still serves as a guide, but the Consciousness steers the course. This is a significant difference that again underlines the importance of informed care in the practical Kabbalah.
DEATH
If natural selection has seen fit to develop the Mind in Mankind, and the Mind has proven to be the most valuable asset in the evolutionary process, why seek to destroy it through death? After all, nature always preserves valuable traits and highly adaptable Species. Is there anything more functional in nature than the human Mind? Why destroy it through death? Why bother to develop it through millions of years of careful evolution only to discard it with the disintegration of the body? This makes no sense, mainly if we consider nature’s meticulous thriftiness in energy conservation. If the Mind is unbounded energy in the sense that it is a separate entity from the body, then it must indeed be preserved when the body itself disappears.
The idea of a disembodied Mind immediately presents the paradox of how it can have any sensory experience when it is no longer associated with a brain with a complex sensory apparatus. How can it see, hear, and feel without physical senses? However, the paradox is solved if we accept that the mind exists independently of the brain.
Because then we can ascribe conscious states to the disembodied Mind. Suppose the Mind and brain are conceptually distinct. In that case, there is no problem in accepting that there may be cognitive activities such as thinking, imagining, believing, and feeling in the absence of a brain. One may still ask how the disembodied Mind can have perceptual experiences without sense organs and a nervous system.
DREAMING
The answer may be found in the dream state. When we dream, we seem to see with our eyes closed and hear even though we are surrounded by silence. Lame Deer, a Sioux Medicine Man, said, “What you see with eyes shut is what counts.” He was referring to the landscape of the Mind, the world we perceive in dreams, which has no parallels in the world of the senses. With its conceptual reality, this dream world may be seen as the world of the Mind, the astral world described by the mystics.
However, one may still ponder that the dreamer is still very much alive and that the activity of his brain may account for his dreams. Yet when we sleep, stimuli from the sense organs are cut off or, at any rate, fail to have the same effects on the brain.
If we conceive of the world of dreams as the world of the Mind, does that mean that the disembodied Mind cannot perceive the physical world after the body’s death? To aid us with this problem, we can consider the many reported cases of persons who have found themselves outside their bodies while awake. During this spontaneous occurrence, a person can see his or her body and surroundings without using the physical senses.
These people report a strong sense of awareness while they remain outside their bodies. They often seem to be floating above it and can feel the same sensations naturally in their embodied states. Many of these cases are reported by persons with severe illnesses or accidents. Still, some seem to occur for no particular reason when the individual feels healthy and comfortable. It is almost as if the part of the person who left the body is the absolute personality, the true Mind, while the body itself is simply a shell left temporarily by its occupant.