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Well put Sunbug. Yes, I think holding on to your own trajectory is the hard part as you were just describing. And these times I believe are particularly challenging with Covid being a real disruptor that has affected everybody in a completely unexpected way. Still, as Joseph reminds us, if you have your bliss, I think in the final analysis you have something that can help to keep you going no matter what life throws at you. It doesn’t mean everything is going to work out the way you want it to or that life will be without sorrow, but it will mean you brought the best of yourself to it, and that alone I believe is worth everything. Here is a new little clip I hadn’t seen before until recently that Joseph articulates this idea quite well.
Bradley, thank you for this insightful refinement about disillusionment. No, I hadn’t thought about it within that particular context and was approaching it from a completely different perspective which you helped me better understand. Yes, this makes total sense; especially, as you pointed out that the “transcendent function” aspect evokes the alchemical process of transformation; and I would never have thought of the word: “Epiphany” as a descriptor.
As you just mentioned, this conversation has truly been a wonderful experience, thank you so much for all you’ve brought to it.
Sunbug, I think you make a great point about human perception; and how these kinds of lines can get really blurred; one that certainly applies to religion as opposed to more secular oriented thinking; (the interpretations of reality between “science and religion” I think would be a really great example here). The individual in a religious oriented culture is I think more often than not going to be guided by a certain system of core beliefs; what Joseph often referred to as a: “Thou Shalt” set of values, whereas the individual in a more secular culture is more likely going to be guided by their own personal value system judgements.
Joseph made a particular point of articulating this idea by emphasizing that we all have to live within some kind of system where one’s idea of “their own self-authority” comes up against this kind of close scrutiny. He mentions this is a major problem the individual has to work through as to how their life choices are going to be determined. There are a number of short clips where he addresses some of these issues, but I chose this one as it seemed the most directly related to the point I’m attempting to illustrate, although: Sunbug, Bradley, Juan, Stephen, or anyone else may have some other ideas they might want to throw in as to whether this jives with their point of view or not concerning this specific question regarding religion/secular: “reality/truth – illusion/disillusion”. There are certainly other dimensions of this issue one can address to be sure; but for now, this seemed the most relevant. (Although this area could certainly apply to other topical domains regarding mythic themes, ideas, philosophies and science; (especially in the West as opposed to Eastern Oriental religion and philosophy. And I don’t want to wander too far away from Bradley’s topic and Sunbug’s main query.)
Since this thread has become active again a little synchronicity has been added to the mix. Here is a link to an upcoming Dream-Summit with over a dozen speakers spread out over 4 days and it’s “Free”. Many of these people are well known to the Jungian community and will be time very well spent.
Bradley, after a night’s sleep it occurred to me that there may be others who are exploring their own inner terrain, (as it were), and since this is your area of expertise you might have thoughts or suggestions that might be of help to those who might want to expand their inner quest further.
For instance, Stephen and many of us have been talking about various tools we try and utilize like personal writing and dream work as just two examples, and of course getting better acquainted with Jungian themes as well as going further into Joseph Campbell material. (You may have particular books or authors you like, or perhaps certain techniques to open these kinds of things out more.)
Dennis Patrick Slattery, whom you probably already know has written extensively about these types of approaches in writing and has just mentioned a particular book on his blog he has been recently reading called: “Opening Up by Writing it down – How expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain” by James W. Pennebaker and Joshua M. Smith; and then of course there is his own great book about exploring one’s inner personal world called: “Riting Myth/Mythic Writing” – Plotting your Personal Story”. Sam Keen, whom Joseph collaborated with at Esalen for his yearly seminars wrote a great book with Anne Valley Fox called: “Your Mythic Journey”. These are just a few examples to give a better idea of my question to which these works mainly deal with concerning learning about one’s internal road map, you might say, in a way where the individual could frame these kinds of aspects of one’s inner life to get a better sense of their own inner personal dynamics that are at work instead of just regular straight forward Jungian material. Technique oriented kinds of things where a person can connect the dots or learn to read these blurred lines in a way they can call their own. Stephen Larsen’s: “The Mythic Imagination” is another work you may already be familiar with; but what are “your” favorites if you have any that come to mind.
I’ve being reading a lot of Daryl Sharp’s books for a while now and one of the things I really like about his approach is he makes Jung’s ideas much more accessible with humor. Let’s face it, Jung is complex and complicated, and Joseph’s video clips; (like Psyche and Symbol for instance); come as close as anything I’ve seen to making Jung’s concepts understandable in day-to-day vernacular; yet putting these ideas to work in one’s life is definitely not an easy task to say the least.
Going to your local bookstore most often one is steered toward the self-help section with all kinds of new age material; (not that some of that isn’t helpful); but often one is left more confused when they leave than when they first arrived. One has to do the “inner work”, which often can be emotionally draining; and to find something one loves to do to express themselves is of course much more enjoyable but also at the same time can keep one from addressing the more difficult task at hand of looking at one’s unknown face and as Joseph said acknowledging that what you are dealing with is not always an enjoyable or pleasant thing to integrate into one’s life. But as you mentioned if we can accept and embrace that we are broken, perhaps finding those ladders out of those deep holes and mending those painful inner wounds that so desperately need our attention can produce the kind of alchemy we need to better understand how to navigate between all these blurry lines we have to confront in our day to day lives.
I really liked what you were talking about concerning the inner reconstruction one has to do to better understand that there are no illusions one can keep about oneself if they are to move forward. No superman or magic wizard is going to swoop in to save the day; but that doesn’t mean, as you suggested, that we can’t see the wonder in life if we can but figure out how to look for it in the proper way and bring that into our lives.
I won’t go on about this except to say since you deal with people who are struggling all the time you might have some things you like to recommend that you think might be helpful. And again, thank you so very much for such an enriching and rewarding discussion.
Bradley:
This may have been a bit of the mark as it addresses your response, and I’m so sorry to hear of your family’s experience with depression and suicide. Things are, as you say, getting better, but there is still so much stigma and self-loathing attached to these kinds of illness that we don’t encourage and help the suffer to learn how to see in the dark (as you have done, by the way) and let go of the idea that we need to be whole and unbroken. We become more whole when we are able to accept our brokenness; and we can then begin to build the ladders and supports that help us when we find ourselves in these places from time to time. Warm regards to you, James”
(Bradley, thank you so much for speaking directly to this aspect of the topic in such a profound and meaningful way for it addresses “exactly” what I was humbly attempting to get at. And you are most kind in the way you have done so.)
Bradley, so glad to be back with you, this is a great topic and one that addresses, at least in my mind how one thinks about some of Joseph’s major themes concerning how the individual interprets their inner world and their relationship to the outer world in which they are enclosed. Boundaries and the way we see them have much to do with the individual’s interpretation of their reality and how they navigate their life. And indeed, one could say these boundaries may be quite difficult to keep separate as they have a distinct ability to cross over each other throughout a human lifetime and the life crisis that are often a huge part of the dilemmas or gordian knots they must sort out.
Right from the beginning of the child’s evolutionary stages the individual is forming an identity and the way they see themselves which will have a distinct impact on their decision-making process throughout the course of their life. This process of inner growth continues through every type of decision they make will have to do with how they can navigate these inner lines that define where so many things begin and end. Also, there is the matter of how many of these definitions can change as well. (My name is so and so, I was a child and now I am coming into adulthood, what am I going to do with my life, and then later getting married and becoming a parent, and still later after that of coming into retirement.)
Conflicts between ideas of definitions and their resolution are also involved with the blurring of boundaries. I am a parent, but also part of a relationship which now becomes “a we” instead of an “I”; and (we) now have a child we are responsible for. Just the idea of marriage is enough to complicate this whole idea of what “me or I” represent; not to mention how the child understands who they are to become. (Relationships can really complicate self-perception matters even more so; but back to the individual identity.)
I think Joseph’s idea of the Hero and the alchemy involved of the individual becoming who they can be through the Journey/Adventure process; that of answering the individual’s inner “call” to seek this thing outlines at much of the root of the human dilemma. By that I mean that throughout one’s life there will be tests and problems to resolve with no clear lines of where one thing ends or another begins. There will be Dark Forests and no visible paths to follow, only the inner thing that drives you and you must follow this “Bliss” thing that gives you meaning and purpose; that is if you’ve chosen the “path that is no path” and much of the time you have absolutely no idea of the: “what, where, or how” all of this is going to turn out or where it will lead you or what you are doing. (As the famous baseball catcher, Yogi Berra, once said: “When you come to a fork in the road take it.”
Today, more than ever I think Joseph’s theme of the Left-Hand Path of the Hero has life restoring and vivifying qualities at a time when the world seems to be coming off its’ railings. This is very different from the Right Hand Path of the Village Compound, which is to say, if you have based your life decisions on what is talking to you from your insides; your bliss path of being true to yourself and your own value systems instead of what others are telling you what is right, then your life will reflect that.
So often I think people get tied up in emotional knots where lines and boundaries become so blurred they have no idea how to get out of the “House of Mirrors” they are enclosed in. They are deep in the Labyrinth Cave and have lost their Adriadne Thread and their Minotaur lies deep in the center waiting for them and they feel lost and alone with no way out. And I think Juan’s point about “Synchronicity” has an excellent connection to this topic point about boundaries and blurred lines.
So much of my life has been tied to this inner metamorphosis, and it wasn’t until late mid-life through an encounter with a “synchronistic moment” I came across Joseph Campbell, and a path forward opened up that I have been following ever since. Each of us has a story, and Joseph’s idea of a “personal myth”; (which is what much of this idea is about), was truly life changing. For some religion will work for them, but religion can also cause huge problems within human peaceful co-existence; not to mention the individual ideas about their own meaning and purpose.
Easter and May Day is always a difficult time for me; especially this year because it was 50 years ago my mother committed suicide; (the particulars I will not go into). And all these last few days there have been continuing clues tapping me on the shoulder as reminders I needed to revisit it; some from my family and the most powerful being the suicide of a famous music celebrity; (Naomi Judd); just before she and her daughter were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. More than ever it helped me to reconcile the relationship between one’s outer and inner world; that of the outer self-image of persona and the inner world of one’s own self-esteem and the questions that were posed from their results. I say this because both this person and my mother suffered from deep debilitating depression, and I had also suffered from this condition for much of my life as well. The good news is that Jung and Joseph have helped me in ways that none of the earlier treatment I had gotten as a child had even come close to working. And indeed this was definitely true for my mother as well for she slipped out of her treatment facility determined to end her pain after close to two decades of treatment. No one in my family was spared from the emotional turmoil that was connected to her life. (And Suicide and Depression has now become a major problem which is finally being talked about. But there are still many miles left to travel before society will truly understand the depths and seriousness of these issues that surround this aspect of the human condition.)
In my humble opinion Joseph Campbell’s themes offer real hope for the future, and I can only say how much his work has truly helped me over the years and will continue to do so until my journey’s end. This is a great way you have framed this subject Bradley, and I definitely look forward to what you and everyone has to say about it.
Monica, what a wonderful response you sent. I’ll put something up tomorrow as it’s late here; but in the meantime, I sent you a “private message” about something which you may find of interest. In case you are not familiar with this feature look at the left top corner of this page and you should see the message box. Just click on the particular private message and it should open that page for you. You can send a return message through that feature if you like. Again, what a great response you sent; thank you.
Since we were discussing Easter and one of the connections between Eastern and Western ideas of God and Religion and symbols and how they are interpreted; (say the difference between a concretized and a metaphoric or symbolic reference); Joseph gets into some of the finer points in this short clip.
Indeed, Monica and Stephen, I think Easter with the Crucifixion as a symbol of human suffering, but also of a psychological crisis, you now have evoked the: (transcendent function), the “tertium non datur”, the “Axium of Maria” or third reconciling thing that resolves the internal conflict and brings about a new state of consciousness or way of looking at or experiencing something which before had blocked or had prevented you from moving forward.
From Daryl Sharps lexicon:
“Axiom of Maria. A precept in alchemy: “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.”Jung used the axiom of Maria as a metaphor for the whole process of individuation. One is the original state of unconscious wholeness; two signifies the conflict between opposites; three points to a potential resolution; the third is the transcendent function; and the one as the fourth is a transformed state of consciousness, relatively whole and at peace.”
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“Tertium non datur. The reconciling “third,” not logically foreseeable, characteristic of a resolution in a conflict situation when the tension between opposites has been held in consciousness. (See also transcendent function.) As a rule it occurs when the analysis has constellated the opposites so powerfully that a union or synthesis of the personality becomes an imperative necessity. . . . [This situation] requires a real solution and necessitates a third thing in which the opposites can unite. Here the logic of the intellect usually fails, for in a logical antithesis there is no third. The “solvent” can only be of an irrational nature. In nature the resolution of opposites is always an energic process: she acts symbolically in the truest sense of the word, doing something that expresses both sides, just as a waterfall visibly mediates between above and below.[The Conjunction,” CW 14, par. 705.]”
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Transcendent function: “A psychic function that arises from the tension between consciousness and the unconscious and supports their union. (See also opposites and tertium non datur.) When there is full parity of the opposites, attested by the ego’s absolute participation in both, this necessarily leads to a suspension of the will, for the will can no longer operate when every motive has an equally strong countermotive. Since life cannot tolerate a standstill, a damming up of vital energy results, and this would lead to an insupportable condition did not the tension of opposites produce a new, uniting function that transcends them. This function arises quite naturally from the regression of libido caused by the blockage.[Ibid., par. 824.]
The tendencies of the conscious and the unconscious are the two factors that together make up the transcendent function. It is called “transcendent” because it makes the transition from one attitude to another organically possible. [The Transcendent Function,” CW 8, par. 145.]
In a conflict situation, or a state of depression for which there is no apparent reason, the development of the transcendent function depends on becoming aware of unconscious material. This is most readily available in dreams, but because they are so difficult to understand Jung considered the method of active imagination-giving “form” to dreams, fantasies, etc.–to be more useful.
Once the unconscious content has been given form and the meaning of the formulation is understood, the question arises as to how the ego will relate to this position, and how the ego and the unconscious are to come to terms. This is the second and more important stage of the procedure, the bringing together of opposites for the production of a third: the transcendent function. At this stage it is no longer the unconscious that takes the lead, but the ego.[Ibid., par. 181.]
This process requires an ego that can maintain its standpoint in face of the counterposition of the unconscious. Both are of equal value. The confrontation between the two generates a tension charged with energy and creates a living, third essence.
From the activity of the unconscious there now emerges a new content, constellated by thesis and antithesis in equal measure and standing in a compensatory relation to both. It thus forms the middle ground on which the opposites can be united. If, for instance, we conceive the opposition to be sensuality versus spirituality, then the mediatory content born out of the unconscious provides a welcome means of expression for the spiritual thesis, because of its rich spiritual associations, and also for the sensual antithesis, because of its sensuous imagery. The ego, however, torn between thesis and antithesis, finds in the middle ground its own counterpart, its sole and unique means of expression, and it eagerly seizes on this in order to be delivered from its division. [“Definitions,” CW 6, par. 825.]
The transcendent function is essentially an aspect of the self-regulation of the psyche. It typically manifests symbolically and is experienced as a new attitude toward oneself and life. If the mediatory product remains intact, it forms the raw material for a process not of dissolution but of construction, in which thesis and antithesis both play their part. In this way it becomes a new content that governs the whole attitude, putting an end to the division and forcing the energy of the opposites into a common channel. The standstill is overcome and life can flow on with renewed power towards new goals.[Ibid., par. 827.]
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Daryl Sharp throughout a number of his books uses the “Crucifixion” as a symbol of the psychological; (i.e. conflict and transformation process); of the Libido through the use of the transcendent function by resolving or (holding the tension) between the two opposites that are tearing the individual apart emotionally “until a reconciling symbol or third thing emerges” that helps to resolve the conflict, crisis, or blockage that is suspending the movement or the flow of psychic energy.
One of the things that helped me so very much when I discovered Joseph Campbell when Bill Moyer’s: “The Power of Myth” appeared on PBS: (Public Television): was that I was having just such a crisis; and Joseph’s insights took the Christian mythos out of the strict concretized interpretation you both had mentioned and showed how a much larger and more symbolic realization was not only possible but preferable because it addressed a much wider range of spiritual and psychological themes and concerns. It removed so much of the guilt and strict: (either/or – “thou shalt”) interpretations of Christian doctrine and instead revealed much of their potential symbolic possibilities. Christ was not “out there somewhere” but “in you” as a spiritual dimension or aspect of the human psyche. That compassion and heart inspired connection of: “participating with joy in helping to address the suffering of others” was a major breakthrough as opposed to the guilt directed: “Mea Culpa”; (which he said in one interview turns an individual into a kind of: “suppliant worm”); now becomes an inspired reference for meaning, purpose and fulfilment. (Although this interpretation is probably a bit different than the Eastern concept of: Yin/Yang in Taoism that Stephen may have been referring to.)
At any rate this is how what you were referencing caught my attention and spoke to how I understand it from what seems to be a Jungian perspective.
Monica, thank you for your very kind and thoughtful answers to my questions. Although I am now retired as a musician, race as well as religion always has an important backstory that should be explored in many cultures, and as an Afro-Latin/Brazilian percussionist that “weave” of the different cultural mosaics has always been a fascinating topic for me. The “Quilombos” for instance, most notably the legendary one in Palmaris, which was wiped out by the Portuguese military because they became such an embarrassment to the King back during the days of slavery was as a stark example of this evil that hopefully the human race will someday overcome. The favelas whose themes are so beautifully displayed in the yearly celebration of Carnival are a testament to this rich heritage, and indeed the Capoeira Dance as martial art as well as self-defense that was used by the slaves to defend themselves had a deep spiritual connection with this heritage as well.
The Candomble’/ Santeria – Orixas/Orishas or deities through which the spirits manifest themselves is a very different relationship to the devote or worshiper than the Catholic Christian, and as you mentioned the ceremonial and the cultural context is very different as well since much of it is West and Central African by heritage and indeed throughout much of its’ history in the Southern Hemisphere and Caribbean has been a source of spiritual refuge and nourishment as well as identity; often masked behind the Catholic Saints but celebrated and worshipped with the spiritual “shrines” embedded in many of the homes, each with a patron god or saint assigned to an individual through which one’s path and protection and spiritual divination is received or revealed. The spiritual ceremonies sometimes involved possession of the deity by the individual where the god being summoned actually becomes present within the individual consciousness. But this ceremonial aspect is often hidden in secret from public view.
The “folkloric rhythm systems” from these different African Tribes that have come down through this transatlantic crossing have had a deep impact and relationship to musical art-forms, one of the most notable here in the US are examples of American Jazz, Blues, Soul and Gospel music, as well as the Dance; and whose heritage can be traced all the way back to the slave trade especially visible in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Here in Nashville a new African American Museum of Music has just opened in the last year or so, but the pandemic has been a hurdle to overcome in seeing it and I’m very much looking forward to visiting it when the danger of the Covid protocols eases a bit more.
I’m so very sorry that the pandemic has wrecked such havoc in your country; I saw today in the news that the government in Shanghai, China has completely put the entire city on lockdown. Many of us here in the states are now getting our second booster because the new variant “ba.2” is starting to surge. These are difficult times to navigate for us all, and I hope your covid travail there will end soon.
As to my modest background as a Nashville percussionist this music was always an inspiration and I hope others will come to appreciate and know it better. Thank you again for your very kind reply and I hope your upcoming Carnival will be a joyful one.
Dr. Martinez, since part of your theme suggests something to do with the dance; (perhaps the dance of life) or perhaps the muses, I want to add an addendum that may open up a bit more what I was attempting to get at which is something Joseph Campbell said at the bottom of page 264 of Diane Osbon’s: “Reflections on the Art of Living – A Joseph Campbell Companion” when discussing what drives a dancer even in retirement when he said:
“The big shift that the dancer has to make in later years is that the dance is no longer to be thought of as something in the way of a performance or an exhibition, but rather. like a bird singing, just for itself, and only to the distance that the body feels it would be lovely to go. Out of that will come a life, because you are in the center of action of your psyche’s need and joy, and that will radiate into the rest of what you are doing. The whole world will join the dance. ” “All we really want to do is dance”.
Now this understanding raises these questions of: “What is it that is attempting to express itself, and why is this so? And what do we share with other human beings that establishes this common bond of (self-expression) throughout all the arts and indeed within all individuals? Is it a longing to connect with the human heart? Or is it a desire to reach something that cannot be put into words? Or is it a psychic reaction to a stimulus or all of the above?
In other words when we dance or create are we re-creating the world or our life in such a way as to complete ourselves, (as in Jungian parlance or the artists inspiration?). Or answering the call of the human heart to know itself? Perhaps in some cases cupids’ bow has launched its’ arrow into the air; or perhaps in the larger sense the muses are having a bit of fun?
There are several versions of this song, but I like this one because it expresses a certain emotional sentiment in such a way that crosses cultural boundaries and touches on the human dilemma of loneliness and the desire and longing of the human heart to find meaning and human companionship. Manha de Carnival
Hello Dr. Martinez., I’m so very looking forward to this discussion. Especially since it gives me an opportunity to ask you about something concerning the dance, music, myth, of Brazil. Every year just before the Catholic celebration of Lent people come from around the world for Carnival, and celebrated all over the Caribbean, New Orleans and especially in Brazil. The combinations of cultures, religions, dance, (i.e. Samba), costumes and floats all combine for the world’s biggest street party as a kind of Bacchanal celebration just before the Catholic celebration of Ash Wednesday and the starting of Lent. As some people may already know the African religions were suppressed in the US, but both the Portuguese and the Spanish slave trade landowners let the slaves keep their religions such as: Santeria, (known as the Way of the Saints), and the Afro-Brazilian version called Candomble’, which are displayed through the elaborate costumes and floats and Samba percussion groups that parade down the boulevards and city streets enticing people to dance. The Favelas and the Barrios all have their floats, dancers, themed costumes competing for each city’s grand prize, and many of the communities prepare for this competition all year long. The symbolisms and mythic themes are chosen by each group and it is a source of great pride.
In 1959 a movie was made called: “Black Orpheus“, named after the Greek Myth of: “Orpheus and Euridice” and is played out against the backdrop of Carnival and the film not only won the Academy Award for best Foreign Film, but was responsible for introducing Brazilian music, (especially the Bossa Nova), to the world through composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, and Luis Bonfa’ which changed what we might now call Latin or Brazilian Jazz forever. It is also said that the Samba and Soccer are the two most important or favorite past times in the country, but you would probably know more about this than I would.
As a percussionist for many years my interest in this music and background were passionate and I was fortunate enough to participate in a Samba Jazz band as well as a few Latin Jazz ensembles here in the US for many years and this music has blessed my life beyond measure. The dances and cultures that they are connected to draw heavily from mythic forms because of both the European as well as the African cultures; so I wonder if you might share some of your thoughts in these areas if you feel they connect to your topic. (I have provided only a link to a very short clip about the film which may provide some background so as not to distract from the discussion.)
Again, a very warm welcome and so glad to have you here.
Sunbug, I was so deeply touched by your sharing of what I said that may have been helpful or in some way offered support. The creative life is tough, I don’t care what anybody says only the individual who seeks that call understands how difficult and somehow lonely at times it can be because you are in a way mid-wifeing your muse, in other words, trying to birth or bring forth something within you that not only has never been before, but at times you may not even know what it is that’s struggling to come out of you; and it can be at times an emotional ordeal. But that’s the job as they say, and if we are true to it we have to answer “that thing” that’s struggling to come out and be heard. I’m not telling you something you don’t already know, but yes, it’s an often solitary adventure/process but it also has it’s rewards because that thing is a part of you and that’s it’s beauty isn’t it?
And then there are all the naysayers: Both “inside” as well as outside, those voices whether internal or external daring you to bring it forth and criticizing you when you do. Oh, it’s a process alright, learning from sources to draw inspiration from and then you try to “build the house” as they say; you start the inner construction of trying to coax the muse to express itself to give it form to where you can see it’s happening. But your child is something special that never was before and that’s the reward isn’t it? It’s something that tells you from inside that all that inner stuff you endured and went through was worth it because it’s a reflection of you that was trying to come out. And: job “well done” when it does.
Sometimes these things are like our inner Dragon locking us down and like a mirror reflection tells us: “no, you can’t, you don’t know what you are doing”; but inside you know that’s “not so” but you still have to find a way to figure your way out of overcoming your challenge or hurdle or whatever it is that’s preventing you from entering: “The Garden”. Creatives understand this struggle because it’s not only universal but individually unique to each one of us.
I often wondered when will this constant emergence of new problems ever end? But it doesn’t, or at least in the way we would like it to. But our inner child/dragon keeps pushing us on, and within the conflicts often times lie the answers, (well, sounds correct doesn’t it?). But all I can say is that when I got to point where I felt “the thing” had expressed itself; then I could move on. Each art form and each situation has it’s own challenges and I hope I’m not sounding like I understand what you as a creative are going through; but I’m just saying that for me there were times in the forest where I had absolutely no idea where I was or what I needed to do next.
I’ll stop here; but I was so moved by your thoughtful response I just wanted to say thank you and the best of luck with your project. Namaste
Sunbug, your two responses were magnificent, and the way you express them puts the reader right there with you. Thank you so much for your kind and generous efforts in including me in some of your thoughts and I was deeply moved by your personal struggle to give wings to your muse “and” the connection to (your story).
“Story” for me is huge because it links personal myth to inner narrative and its’ connection to “The Call” of the human heart and the demands of the Adventure each must take to answer it. In reference to your kind question the answer is “Yes”; I’m definitely making headway with the inner Minotaur/Dragon/Monster/ sometimes “wounded child” who resides deep in the Labyrinth cave that’s asking to be heard. And your kind sharing of your adventure is an important reminder we all have private inner dreams that yearn and long to be fulfilled if we are to be whole and fulfill who we were meant to be. So rich in detail your story was and also a reminder of the courage in the face of others which must be found to bring it to fruition.
The Labyrinth is an ancient motif that has several forms in different cultures usually as a maze sometimes depicting the connection between the underworld and the light world, but the mythic figure of the Minotaur is Greek as we know, that often finds it’s expression in the Shadow of human response, both collective and personal. When Picasso painted Guernica as a symbol of the horrific Nazi bombing of innocent of people in that small Spanish Basque town by Franco, (which now by the way has a tapestry of it hanging on the wall of the United Nations), it was to express the outrage of what we now call “genocide”, and the Minotaur is one of central figures depicting man’s brutal nature, but there were also other depictions that Picasso created of the Minotaur and Joseph talks about this with a few short descriptions that can be found; (if you haven’t seen them already); in his wonderful book: “The Ecstasy of Being”, on pages 82, 83, & 86 complete with pictures of two of them.
Modern versions could be seen as an expression of this aspect of human nature every time you see a “bully”; like the recent incident at the Academy Awards called: “The Slap”; but more importantly in the unspeakable nightmare now playing out in Ukraine. Anger, rage, shame, are just a few of its’ forms that take shape in the acts of violence or toxic behavior that aims to wound or to destroy found in human nature throughout human history and it is archetypal both in symbol and in expression and it must be controlled as Jung feared when he said: “the world hangs by a thread”. (A note to Putin and others like him for they are many and take many forms in everyday life.)
It’s not always about fear but can be about anxiety and complexes, your inner anxieties, your guilt, your desire to do things you normally would not do or say but feel “compelled” to do so. Emotions, feelings, dreams, symbols, and yes, creative expression are roads of revelation to what they mean in Jungian parlance. This is “Dionysus” in a manner of speaking, and yes creativity lives here also. “The Devil made me do that, I don’t know what came over me.” That’s a complex in full expression because as the saying goes: “complexes have us” just as much as they live in us as archetypal expressions of content in the unconscious. And they are both “collective as well as personal” as you suggested and can take many forms and you are not going to get rid of some of them so you must learn to either “negotiate” with them or listen to them, but our individuation path or process asks that: “you get to know them”, as Joseph suggests when he says when confronting your shadow: “yes, it is I”.
So, for me after 45 years of a wonderful musical creative life and that process of achievement to live that life has now changed into a process of meaning and of dealing with all that emotional baggage that’s been buried deep in the cave over the years that needs to be confronted and listened to and crucified by and wept with and healed by. Because a Minotaur can come roaring into my light world depriving me of some of my best years, and I don’t want to miss that transformation instead of listening to that sad mournful echo of: “if only” instead of: “I lived”.
(Leigh, I know will have some wonderful things to offer and I am excited to hear everything she has to say. But before I wind up thank you again for sharing such wonderfully insightful responses. The muses must be smiling.)
