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quadratura circuli, cross, etc. When it represents a complexio op-
positorum, a union of opposites, it can also appear as a united dual-
ity, in the form, for instance, of tao as the interplay of yang and yin,
or of the hostile brothers, or of the hero and his adversary (arch-
enemy, dragon), Faust and Mephistopheles, etc. Empirically, there-
fore, the self appears as a play of light and shadow, although con-
ceived as a totality and unity in which the opposites are united.43
Psychologically, uniting the opposites involves first recognizing
them in whatever conflict we are engaged in, and then holding the
tension between them. The extent to which we are successful in this
difficult and often lengthy endeavor the degree of wholeness we
experience can be called a manifestation of the Self, or, if one
prefers, the grace of God.
41
Ibid., par. 405.
42
 Transformation Symbolism in the Mass, Psychology and Religion, CW 11,
par. 396.
43
 Definitions, Psychological Types, CW 6, par. 790.
14
Personal Analysis
Analysis should release an experience that grips us or falls
upon us from above, an experience that has substance and body
such as those things which occurred to the ancients. If I were
going to symbolize it I would choose the Annunciation.44
You can appreciate the scope of Jung s work, and you can read eve-
rything he ever wrote, but the real opportunity offered by analytical
psychology only becomes apparent when you go into analysis.
That s when Jung s potentially healing message stops being merely
an interesting idea and becomes an experiential reality.
Analysis is not a suitable discipline for everyone, nor do all
benefit from it or need it. Although there may be as many ways of
practicing Jungian analysis as there are analysts, the process itself
facilitates healing because it relates what is going on in the uncon-
scious to what is happening in everyday life.
We generally seek a quick fix to our problems. We want an an-
swer, a prescription; we want our pain to be treated, our suffering
relieved. We want a solution, and we look for it from an outside
authority. This is a legitimate expectation for many physical ills,
but it doesn t work with psychological problems, where you are
obliged to take personal responsibility for the way things are. Then
you have to consider your shadow and everyone else s and all
the other complexes that drive you and your loved ones up the wall.
What people want and what they need are seldom the same
thing. You go into analysis hurting and with some goals and expec-
tations in mind. But pretty soon your personal agenda goes out the
window and you find yourself grappling with issues you hadn t
thought of and sore spots you didn t know were there or knew but
44
Jung, Seminar 1925, p. 111.
57
58 Personal Analysis
avoided thinking about. It is very exciting, all this new information
about yourself. It s inevitably inflating, and for a while you think
you have all the answers but it can also be quite painful, since
things generally get worse before they get better.
It has been said that analysis is only for an elite because it s ex-
pensive and time-consuming. It is true that analysis involves a good
deal of time and energy and it s not cheap. But I have worked with
teachers and taxi-drivers, doctors, actors, politicians, artists men
and women in just about every walk of life of whom not one was
independently wealthy. The fee they paid was no small matter, af-
fordable only by making sacrifices in other areas of their life. It is a
matter of priorities you put your money, your energy, into what
you value, and if you hurt enough you find a way.
Jungian analysis is not about improving yourself or making you
a better person. It is about becoming conscious of who you are, in-
cluding your strengths and weaknesses. Analysis is not something
that s done to you. It is a joint effort by two people focused on try-
ing to understand what makes you tick.
In the process of working on yourself you will change, and that
can create new problems. Others may not like who you become, or
you may no longer like them. Indeed, it may be that as many rela-
tionships break up through analysis as are cemented. When you
become aware of your complexes, and take back what you have
projected onto, say, a partner, you may discover there is not much
left to hold you together. A difficult experience, but the sooner you
realize you aren t in the right place, the better. Analysis makes it
possible to live one s experiential truth and accept the con-
sequences.
The particular circumstances that take a person into analysis are
as multitudinous as grains of sand on a beach. They are both as
unique and as similar as one grain of sand is to another. True, the
reasons are always related to one s personal psychology and life
situation. But behind such individual details there are general pat-
terns of thought and behavior that have been experienced and ex-
Personal Analysis 59
pressed since the beginning of mankind. An understanding of these
patterns, found the world over in myths, fairy tales and religions
manifestations of what Jung called the archetypes gives one a
perspective on mundane reality.
A knowledge of archetypes and archetypal patterns is a kind of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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