“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.”
― Carl Gustav Jung
I have known about Carl Jung since I was a kid. I don’t remember how or why I got introduced to him but I knew that he was someone who knew what he was talking about. It was probably because as a kid, I maintained a diary. This diary had a bunch of quotes from people whose words resonated with me. Whenever I came across a quote I liked, I would pull out this diary and note it down. There were no intentions except that their words made me feel seen. Over time, I forgot about that diary but still loved finding quotes through books or Google searches and continued to include them in my literary work. However, this meant that I forgot who Carl Jung was or what were his contributions to the world.
For those who don’t know much about Carl Jung, he was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. His work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies. Among the central concepts of analytical psychology is individuation—the lifelong psychological process of differentiation of the self out of each individual’s conscious and unconscious elements. Jung considered it to be the main task of human development. He created some of the best-known psychological concepts, including synchronicity, archetypal phenomena, the collective unconscious, the psychological complex and extraversion, and introversion.
The MBTI, used by major universities and institutions around the world, is based on the influential theory of psychological types proposed by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in 1921. Several therapeutic methodologies have since been influenced by his work that helps people deal with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Despite his contributions to the world of psychology, Carl Jung faced a lot of criticism from his circle, including his long-time friend, Freud. Why? Because his theories were based on an experience he had when he experienced something that no one had a word for. His experience was too “mystical” for the gatekeepers of psychology to comprehend. In his time, no one knew what to call his experiences except for a mental disorder. Today, it’s called “Spiritual Emergence”. A summary of what he experienced can be found in (The Holy Grail of the Unconscious).
I can’t read the Red or the Black books that he wrote because, for me, they will only remind me of my experiences. But, I also don’t need to because just a couple of his quotes from that book were enough to tell me what he experienced. The man devoted his life to the field of psychology and his work continues to help those who struggle with their own psyche.
I have tried multiple therapies but after a while, none seemed to work for me. Until someone introduced me to a therapy type that resonated so much that I started to finally see the difference in me. Internal Family Systems therapy which helps so many people deal with their unconscious was inspired by Carl Jung’s research on archetypes that he experienced during his experiences.
I felt so much validation and happiness today when I realized why that therapy had worked for me. It was because this therapy type was influenced by the works of someone who went through the experience that I did. I want to dance from the top of the mountains today because I finally can say that I did not lose it. I was just getting in touch with my unconscious without realizing what it held.
Dear Reader, if you or your loved one is going through an experience that you can’t explain, hold on. You’re totally normal and you’re completely fine. You’re just getting in touch with your inner world that had been hiding from you for the longest time. It just asks you to witness it and live your life with your truth.
The awakening turns into an emergency when our outer world is not in alignment with our inner world. The more you heal yourself and the more you live your truth, the more balanced and happy you will feel. Stop hiding from yourself and stop hiding your truth. You will be able to guide yourself to the other side.
Find an Internal Family Systems therapist and allow that person to guide you. Seek help from a cranial sacral/somatic experience therapist to release the stuck emotions from your body. If you feel that you can trust them, give them and yourself a chance. Write down or draw or find any other creative outlet to let out whatever it is that you’re experiencing or feeling to make the unconscious conscious. Your inner world wants you to acknowledge it. It’s asking you to stop ignoring it. Embrace it and let the healing begin.
“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.”
― Carl Gustav Jung
Musings 