09-10-2009, 10:53 AM
Keith, a very well considered and poignant question.
Sadly, I cannot speak for anyone but myself. I consider the Shadow confrontation to be vital.
Jung very much considered that the Unconscious was where the healing process lay. To activate it, one had to descend into the dark realms of the Nigredo, often symbolized by the Crow. See for example, the title page image to Fulcanelli HERE - where the Sphinx, a hybrid of man and beast - is a symbol of the Alchemical process.
And recording one's dreams was (and remains) a vital discipline in the Jungian healing process. Hence the old Alchemical term "Dormiens Vigila" (Whilst sleeping, watch!).
But it is NOT a journey to be undertaken without great care. Normally one would need the help and assistance of a qualified Analyst and/or a teacher who has trod the spiral staircase before you. Experience (rather than theory) is the only meaningful qualification, I think.
And finally, I entirely agree with the extract you posted about the S shape between the Yin and Yang symbol. That is the magical place.
In my life I have been most fortunate to have had three fabulous teachers, one of whom was an outstanding Tai Chi master, another a remarkable "old school" Jungian Analyst (not all of them are btw) and the third, well, actually that was two, not one, and is another story for another time.
Significantly, three of these four were of the gentler sex.
Sadly, I cannot speak for anyone but myself. I consider the Shadow confrontation to be vital.
Jung very much considered that the Unconscious was where the healing process lay. To activate it, one had to descend into the dark realms of the Nigredo, often symbolized by the Crow. See for example, the title page image to Fulcanelli HERE - where the Sphinx, a hybrid of man and beast - is a symbol of the Alchemical process.
And recording one's dreams was (and remains) a vital discipline in the Jungian healing process. Hence the old Alchemical term "Dormiens Vigila" (Whilst sleeping, watch!).
But it is NOT a journey to be undertaken without great care. Normally one would need the help and assistance of a qualified Analyst and/or a teacher who has trod the spiral staircase before you. Experience (rather than theory) is the only meaningful qualification, I think.
And finally, I entirely agree with the extract you posted about the S shape between the Yin and Yang symbol. That is the magical place.
In my life I have been most fortunate to have had three fabulous teachers, one of whom was an outstanding Tai Chi master, another a remarkable "old school" Jungian Analyst (not all of them are btw) and the third, well, actually that was two, not one, and is another story for another time.
Significantly, three of these four were of the gentler sex.
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Carl Jung - Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14