My Approach
Why I Think Carl Jung's Analytical Psychology Is Important for 21st Century People
Carl Jung (1875 - 1961) was one of the founders of modern depth psychology.
Although initially a fellow worker of Sigmund Freud's, Jung ultimately developed his own highly original psychology. Unlike Freud, Jung emphasized what he called individuation, the force in life that moves an individual to become truly and uniquely themselves. Jung stressed that this was a journey towards wholeness, not perfection, and that it is a one-of-a-kind journey that is distinctive for every human being. An important part of that journey is coming to terms with the unacknowledged parts of ourselves that live in the unconscious. For Jung, the meaning we are seeking is inside us…but we need the right kind of help to free it up, and to make it part of our conscious selves.
When it comes to the unconscious, unacknowledged parts of ourselves, Jung definitely believed (as most cultures have throughout the history of the human race) that dreams can be more intelligent and more perceptive than the conscious mind. He held a similar conviction that the unconscious can reveal itself in artwork and products of the imagination. For this reason, I encourage clients to try to remember their dreams, and draw, paint or sculpt as a part of the therapeutic process. For the unconscious reveals itself just as truly through the very basic drawings and paintings of a non-artist as it does through the works of Da Vinci, Michelangelo or Picasso.
What dreams, art and all the varied religious and cultural expressions of humanity have in common is that they all utilize symbols. A true symbol is a very personal, unique expression that emerges from the unconscious, and that also has its roots in the common experience of all human beings--like the “Enso”, or circle. In some way or other, it points the way to a goal on the way to the wholeness that the psyche is striving to reach.
More on the Psychological Meaning of the Circle
The “Enso” appears in many forms, for instance: in Tibetan mandalas; the “urobouros”, a serpent holding its tail in its mouth dating far back into the Greek and Egyptian worlds; the Chinese “Great Pole”, or what we today call the yin-yang symbol -- and many others. Carl Jung noted its presence in North American aboriginal and other ancient cultures as the “sun wheel”, an ancient symbol of cosmic wholeness predating the invention of the familiar physical wheel by many thousands of years.
