[jamesn.]

Stephen, this is a wonderful creative approach for a New Year’s “to do” list, or for that matter an everyday kind of looking ahead list. And it reminds me of what we were talking about in discussion concerning Christmas reflections earlier in relation to seeking life’s meanings in the face of tragedy. In other words, going down deep inside and addressing some of the big questions that are driving us we may not be aware of and attempting to ferret them out and understand them.

I had several of these issues confront me in the last few weeks and began to realize something else was in play in the things I was seeing and experiencing that was trying to tell me something and I needed to listen. One was the sense of recurring themes as the Christmas season has now turned into a sort of reflective period where I attempt to become aware of anything that moves me emotionally and I ask myself why it does so. The last two years several movies kept coming across my radar with powerful emotional resonances that forced me to look inward and ask myself what it was that kept pulling at my sleeve, sometimes quite profoundly by reminding me of past painful experiences, while others had relationships to outward more interpersonal connections to my everyday life and made me think in terms of: things left undone, unaddressed, or yet to be discovered. And as these different issues began alchemically to cook and conjure up things I had not considered or thought of my perspective began to see things in a way I never had before.

Over the last few years since I retired, I’ve trying to go over my past and ask myself: “Have I done the things I wanted to, needed to, and felt gave my life meaning and purpose within my own context? And of course, there are going to be surprises when you ask yourself these kinds of things because life as Joseph reminds us, is not a dual “either or proposition”, and whatever meaning or purpose you give to it is up for you to decide. Or put another way, life doesn’t have a meaning it just “is”. And one way you can see this is with the symbol of the ouroboros, (a serpent that eats itself), or yet another with the message of the Buddha’s name- Tathagata: “the one thus come” or “life as it is”, and this (“isness” of existence), has nothing to do with a God, or a meaning, or a purpose, except what you bring to it.

Now we get to the psyche and getting in touch with what it’s attempting to communicate from your inner unconscious to your outer consciousness. And you can sense there is something going on inside that’s moving you, but that question is asking you to pay attention and you don’t really know what the question is. So, we start looking for clues, both in our dreams and in one’s everyday life that might point you in the direction the question is coming from. You and I were discussing “transformation” as one example in the earlier Christmas thread; and what was the answer to the question: “what would sustain someone in the face of horrific life tragedy so we could pick up the pieces and go on living?; so, a transformation of some kind is called for to meet the challenge that’s presented to us; like in the movie: “It’s a Wonderful Life”, where George Bailey got to see what his life would have been like if he were never born and is transformed from committing suicide. (But now there is the question of where you are going with your life after that?) In other words, you’ve achieved passage of this threshold – where to next? Because as Joseph also reminds us life is a series of thresholds, and each has a passage gate you have to deal with in order to achieve realization.

So now this year a new issue popped up on my radar when the movie: “Bucket List” came up, and so back to my original premise which your post so eloquently addresses. And as I go down this list; (which I hope everyone contemplates); it gives me food for thought because it asks me the vital question: Am I really listening and paying attention to what’s going on inside and what my life is showing me outside? Bucket List takes two old men at the end of their life in a hospital room who are strangers to each other, both with a bad prognosis who take on a bucket list quest. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson take you on a self-reflective excursion full of laughs, but at the same time you are always invited by the dialogue to consider your own mortality and asks if you have faced some of these issues as well.

One other issue surfaced that I have been thinking about for quite some time that was quite interesting was the understanding of impermanence. This one really got to me in an unusual way in that so many of us ask ourselves not only about legacy but about time. In other words, we ask ourselves: “What am I leaving behind that I was here?” What was my contribution, my gift, my story, and what does it mean toward the future of others?” And I got two answers; one was: “yes, it matters”; and the other; “not really”. The first had to do with one’s own sense of accomplishment and the relation of your life and its impact on others; and yes, I think that’s really important. But the other was much more difficult to pin down and put into words; and that’s the sense of timelessness and that nothing that exists can resist the power of change.

This was profoundly delivered to me in a most unusual way in the form of the landscape where I live; and how its former biographical landscape is not only being destroyed but replaced by an entirely new and very different narrative. (Taking a city and turning it into a convention and tourist destination would be the example here.) Not only destroyed, but the memory that informed it is now replaced with something like a fable-like fairytale in which very different commercial enterprises are being constructed to take their place. In other words, all the neighborhoods, landmarks, streets, and buildings are being torn down for newer structures with a totally different purpose in mind. So, what this means is that if someone has a family that has been located in a specific place for many generations or that a city has a legacy story that is passed down it no longer matters what that is because commercial and political power can alter any legacy or narrative at any time; because civilization is always: “a work in progress”; and nothing lasts forever.

So here is my point in relation to Joseph’s themes; the notion of legacy may have an outward physical symbol that can last for a very long time; but can also be gone in an instant with nothing left to show it was there or what it’s backstory was or what it had to say to future generations. For instance, even a graveyard; much less a monument; can have great meaning for those who know and understand it’s relevance to present and future generations; but “any legacy has to be kept alive” for it to have meaning and purpose for the present and for those who come after; (and that includes a myth as well). Last night for instance I even saw a special documentary about a dead language that was connected to Christianity for over 400 years that connected Islam to the Christian interpretation of God being taken out by a religious cleric who didn’t like what it symbolized. (It seems forever is not as long as it used to be.)  I think Joseph mentions something about this somewhere, but I can’t remember exactly what it was or where I came across it. This is as close as I could get. In other words, existence is all about being in the “here and now”, and not necessarily for the ages. At any rate, I hope my humble musings were not too confusing to navigate, and I think your topic is extremely relevant right now; especially concerning Covid and the new normal everyone is having to deal with. Happy New Year to you, my friend!

[jamesn.]

Stephen, how thoughtful of you, and as luck or synchronicity would have it, I just thinking about posting something and your message showed up on my email. Where I live last Christmas started off with a bombing downtown that took out half a city block; and indeed, several horrific ecological events have happened since then; (one was a flood, and the other a tornado), that have recently served as a reminder of how fragile life can be where a person can lose everything they have and still must go living.

So, what does this have to do with Christmas which is generally a joyous and happy occasion one might ask? Well, perhaps a lot of things as many stories that are told often inform us around this time of year. Two, I mentioned above from last year which are: Charles Dicken’s: “A Christmas Carol”; and the other was a movie that became a Christmas classic called: “It’s a wonderful life”; both deal with personal identity trauma where the individual is forced to confront that the way they have interpreted their life no longer fits the inner demands that are being called forth as a mirrored reflection that no longer works; and a drastic change is called for to meet this inner requirement that now must be met and wrestled with and assimilated so that a new way of living can be born anew.

Tragedies, traumas, catastrophes, calamities, and disasters may all vary by application and degree, but one thing they all have in common is they summon forth within the individual character what is within them to meet their challenge or ordeal that is required and must be dealt with to move forward. Now in the mythic realm the two summons or calls in these two stories present themselves in the form of visitations from guiding spirits who are to help advise them on what they are experiencing as the world they thought they once knew which is no longer the reality they are now asked to transcend and become another dimension of who they are meant to be. In other words, the soul within is demanding to be heard in the form of this experience the guiding spirit is describing; and the individual must make a choice on whether to accept the challenge and transform, or to deny the challenge and become a victim of their own inner demons.

There is a very insightful line in: “It’s a wonderful Life” that is a major pivot point to the entire plot in which Clarence, George Baily’s Guardian Angel reveals: “you’ve been given a great gift George, and that is the ability to see what your life would have been like if you had never been born” and follows that insight with another: “each life touches so many” and together these lines drive the entire rest of the experience. We are each an agent in one form or another that affects not only our own life, but the lives of others life as well, and that you can make a choice on whether to participate in this grand opera of joyful sorrow and sorrowful joy that all life (is); or accept the robotic safety of the wasteland and with that lose the heart’s inner song that’s been waiting to be awakened and sung.

Fortunately for the hero at the end of both tales they accept the message that has been offered and are transformed into a new sense of awareness that this “wonder-filled landscape” has been there waiting all along within the life they have already been living; instead of the nightmare they have been experiencing. But they have now been awakened to a new since of possibility within their own character to bring this awareness to life.

So, what does all this have to do with Joseph’s themes about myth and the individual? Well, he asks: “What would sustain me in the face of total disaster so that I could go on living and not crackup and quit.” If I came home and found my wife and children murdered, my house gone and losing everything thing I have, what would serve this function for me? I think all you have to do to get a sense of this right now is to turn on the news and to witness the devastation that Covid is causing; to see global conflicts of all sorts raging across the planet, to see immigrants and refugees desperately seeking some sort of asylum, to see homelessness and violence and crime with no end in sight. But what does all this have to do with Christmas you might ask?

At the end of the movie George realizes what he actually has and asks to return to the life he was living but with a renewed sense of awareness that within and behind the foreground of life’s difficulty lies the meaning and purpose of much we have been searching for. Saying that however it would be a mistake to think of this simplistic example as a one-size-fits-all solution to much of the world’s suffering and pain we witness every day, and indeed within our own individual circumstances. But that is not the point, and the answer herein I think lies within our ability to see and interpret our life within the context of what it presents to us; not something taken concretely, but metaphorically. In other words, we should ask ourselves: “What is my life defined by, and how do I respond to it?” And that by changing our perception, sometimes changing the world really means changing ourselves. So that when Joseph says: “The world is a mess, it’s always been a mess, and you are not going to change that.” He doesn’t mean don’t participate in the game; get in there and do your part if you feel that is your calling. But the answers you may be seeking may be coming from your own insides. And I think this is the takeaway message from these two Christmas stories.

 

[jamesn.]

Oh Sunbug; thank you so much for the way you opened this out for now we can start to explore the world of the “Trickster God”; the world of Fairytales and magic and solving riddles that refer to the psyche’s ability to dance back and forth between worlds. The Joker, (the Court Jester who always toed the line between humor and poking fun at egos but was tolerated because he served an important function lest things get out of hand). Indeed, Desiderius Erasmus wrote one of the most important literary works of European literature called: “In Praise of Folly”; which was a very short book about a Jester-like figure full of political dynamite because it tread the very fragile line between “church and state” with humor; (otherwise known then as the Catholic Church and the Right of Kings); and you could lose your head along the way by poking fun at either. He managed both with this book later opening the door to debates with Luther on what constitutes; “Free Will”.

The Tricksters realm of Clowns and riddles contains all sorts of doorways into man’s inner world. “Sanity” itself often looks for answers here as well from childhood tales of: Aesop’s Fables, Mother Goose, Hans Christian Anderson, or Brother’s Grimm to the final Dark “Exit” Gate; And we all use Guardian spirits to help guide us through our own inner sanctuaries to the light world of what we call “reality”; (or: “aren’t they really the same thing?” sometimes as Shakespeare often reminds us throughout his many plays and sometimes “conjures” up: “The Poet” as well. (But why do we always want to play?) I think is an interesting question as well.

(Oh; and don’t we love to dream and play with the characters we meet along the way). Speaking of: “Tolkien, and “Lord of the Rings” here is a beautiful link that was shared with us back in the older CoaHO Forums years ago. But be forewarned about entering this incredible multi-layered world; although being known as a “Tolkien” reference resource; it’s magic spell will pull you into it with some people being lost for days at time; some even much longer than that. And like Alice’s rabbit hole, looking glass, or Dorothy’s: “Magic Red Slippers” from the: Land of Oz; you may not want to return, but you’ve been through an ordeal to bring back the Boon of adulthood. Star Wars has this same type of realization too; of atonement with the father, with Luke rescuing his father from the dark side but also himself as well. These tales as children teach us valuable lessons that we must learn to incorporate further down the road; (but we must all return sometime from the world of enchantment and make-believe to the grownup world of responsibilities and nightmares that must be faced, and dealt with, and learned from; and then maybe we have brought something worthwhile back to share with others as we continue on to our journeys’ end).

[jamesn.]

Lollo; what a deeply thoughtful response; and I was very touched that I was helpful to you in some small way. Apparently, your crisis dilemma touched off something in my subconscious as well as I had dreams relating to my own inner journey which I will provide suggestions from that I hope you may find helpful as you look through your dream journal. Jungian analysis often deals with “transference” between both people involved because there is a dynamic interplay of cross-communication that may stimulate unconscious material in both people, (especially if emotional content is involved). Archetypes and Complexes are worthy of note here; and one such example is the “wounded healer” archetype. And your wonderful post was a prime example for “me” of this, and I will take a quote from: Daryl Sharp’s Lexicon that may help explain the relevance.

____________________________________________________________________________

Wounded Healer:
An archetypal dynamic that may be constellated in an analytic relationship.This term derives from the legend of Asclepius, a Greek doctor who in recognition of his own wounds established a sanctuary at Epidaurus where others could be healed of theirs.

Those seeking to be cured went through a process called incubation. First they had a cleansing bath, thought to have a purifying effect on the soul as well as the body. Uncontaminated by the body, the soul was free to commune with the gods. After preliminary sacrificial offerings, the incubants lay on a couch and went to sleep. If they were lucky, they had a healing dream; if they were luckier, a snake came in the night and bit them.

The wounded healer archetype can be schematized by a variation of the diagram used by Jung to illustrate the lines of communication in a relationship.[See “The Psychology of the Transference,” The Practice of Psychother-apy, CW 16, par. 422.

The drawing shows six double-headed arrows, indicating that communication can move in either direction-twelve ways in which information can pass between analyst and analysand.

According to this paradigm, the analyst’s wounds, although presumed to be relatively conscious after a lengthy personal analysis, live a shadowy existence. They can always be reconstellated in particular situations, and especially when working with someone whose wounds are similar. (They are the basis for countertransference reactions in analysis.)

Meanwhile, the wounded analysand’s inner healer is in the shadow but potentially available. The analysand’s wounds activate those of the analyst. The analyst reacts, identifies what is happening and in one way or another, consciously or unconsciously, passes this awareness back to the analysand.

In this model, the unconscious relationship between analyst and analysand is quite as important, in terms of the healing process, as what is consciously communicated. There are two other significant implications:

1) Healing can take place only if the analyst has an ongoing relationship with the unconscious. Otherwise, he or she may identify with the healer archetype, a common form of inflation.

2) Depth psychology is a dangerous profession, since the analyst is forever prone to being infected by the other’s wounds-or having his or her wounds reopened.

No analysis is capable of banishing all unconsciousness for ever. The analyst must go on learning endlessly, and never forget that each new case brings new problems to light and thus gives rise to unconscious assumptions that have never before been constellated. We could say, without too much exaggeration, that a good half of every treatment that probes at all deeply consists in the doctor’s examining himself, for only what he can put right in himself can he hope to put right in the patient. It is no loss, either, if he feels that the patient is hitting him, or even scoring off him: it is his own hurt that gives the measure of his power to heal. This, and nothing else, is the meaning of the Greek myth of the wounded physician. [“Fundamental Questions of Psychotherapy,” ibid. para. 239.]

______________________________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, the picture of the drawing of the “Transference diagram” from the quote did not appear, but it is readily visible in the link I left above to the online version of Sharp’s Lexicon which is a wonderful resource for Jungian terminology that many analysts use regularly.

The second thing that struck me in your response was about “The Call”; and one’s calling I think is not necessarily; (at least to me); a one-time affair; but more an inner connection to one’s true self that they are “yearning” for. Joseph talks about going where one’s: “Heart and Soul” want to go; and to “follow” that call. And to my way of thinking we as human beings are looking for that thing that gives us authenticity that tells us: “thou art that”. That: “tat tvan asi” that is mentioned in several places Joseph points to of the recognition this is my heart’s calling; this is what I was born to do; or my destiny calling that says: “this is what I was looking for that was missing from living the inauthentic life of the wasteland”. (And when you find it: “You Know”); and there is no guessing or question. And from a lot of the stories and tales that are often recounted: “it may often find you”; and the question I think is more about: “are you ready for it?”; are you paying attention to your path?; and are you listening to your heart that’s leading you forward? Self -doubt often gets in the way as well; when Joseph mentions: “Oh I couldn’t do that – I couldn’t be a writer or whatever it is that catches your attention, and you “refuse the invitation” to go on a journey you feel has major significance for you. That’s denial of your deep inner wish; and it may come back to haunt you in later life that you missed your moment of opportunity. Joseph says: “grab it and don’t be afraid”. So, keep looking if that is what your inner compass is telling you because you are “Following your star”; and don’t let anyone throw you off course or dissuade you of your mission. There are a lot of “virtue managers” out there who may attempt to do so; you know the ones who say that you should live a certain way; and that your way or what you are doing has no value.

Here is the thing I see as the hero path; it’s journey to find your life in all its glory and wealth of possibility and meaning; but it’s a dangerous one too; and you can get lost or fall off or get sidetracked or be challenged as to whether you are serious about following it through till you find it. And one of the secrets as I understand it is all the little things that happen along the way are part of the most important components that compose it’s meaning; and it’s “your meaning”; not someone that tells you have to follow a script or that there is only one way held together in a certain sequence. People lead complex and complicated lives full of all kinds of mistakes; but are you listening to your own insides and what they are telling you is the main question, I think. And yes; we need major help sometimes; but are you up for what’s calling you when you find it; and able to say: a hearty “Yes” to your path no matter where it leads, or whatever disappointments you may encounter when things don’t quite turn out the way you thought. And if you are thrown off your horse can you get back up and remount and continue on; because we know there are going to be hurdles and obstacles and demons and heartache; but we also know that our heart’s desire is worth it. There may be detours, road-stops, or reconfigurations involved as well. You may meet your future wife; you may have kids, you may lose people close to you; you may get fired from whatever job you have at the moment; and the possibilities are endless; but it’s all part of the grand opera of your life; and you may find at your journey’s end that all of this was its’ greatest reward.

Sorry to go on so much; but I have a real problem with “set-in-stone scripts” that tell you there is only one way the hero journey is revealed. And your determination to follow your own path has been such an inspiration to witness. And I hope my jumble of sincere suggestions may be helpful to you. Thank you for sharing your personal journey with me and I wish you much luck in your adventure from here. As a close here is a familiar clip from Bill Moyers: “The Power of Myth” taken from the JC foundation’s YouTube channel that contains dozens of small portions of Joseph’s lectures throughout the years. It’s a fabulous resource for learning about more of Joseph’s insights; and can be accessed by clicking on the foundation logo or link provided within the clip window. “Follow your Bliss”

[jamesn.]

Lollo; as an addendum I went looking and found something I want to add that may help further answer some of your questions.

On page 63; of Diane Osbon’s: “Reflections on the Art of Living – A Joseph Campbell Companion”; where Joseph is reflecting on his years where he dropped out and read for 5 years and here are some insights he got from that period.

_______________________________________

“I don’t know what it was during those five years, but I was convinced I would still be alive for a little while. I remember one time when I had a dollar bill in the top drawer of a little chest, and I knew as long as that was there I still had resources. It was great. I had no responsibilities, none. It was exciting—writing journals, trying to find out what I wanted. I still have those things. When I look at them now, I can’t believe it.

Actually, there were times when I almost thought—almost thought—“Jeez, I wish someone would tell me what I had to do,” that kind of thing. Freedom involves making decisions, and each decision is a destiny decision. It’s a very difficult to find in the outside world something that matches what the system inside you is yearning for. My feeling now is that I had a perfect life: what I needed came along just when I needed it. What I needed then was life without a job for five years. It was fundamental.

As Schopenhauer says, when you look back over your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it’s just a mess: one surprise after another. Then, later you see it was perfect. So, I have a theory that if you are on your own path things are going to come to you. Since it’s your path, and no one has ever been on it before, there is no precedent, so everything that happens is a surprise and is timely.”

_________________________________________

One last thing that might be of interest is this clip with Joseph discussing the “Left Hand Path” of the Hero’s Journey.

Hopefully all of this will be of extra help to you!

[jamesn.]

Hello Lollo, and welcome here, so glad to be here with you.

I was so impressed by your extremely thoughtful questions and the way you have approached your life. So far from what you have said, (at least to me), is that you are in a really good mental place to figure this out because life “is full of conflict”; and part of the hero’s journey is to become who you truly are; and that means inner conflicts are also “a source as well as a hurdle” for finding the answers that you may need. We all want to feel like we are making the “correct” choices; and “crossroads” are tough business because you are up against your own decision. Well, what if we don’t know which way to go or what we should do, and we are stuck not knowing what direction we should take and are looking for answers trying to read the road signs we may be missing?

There may be many suggestions to choose from, but all I can say is your post reminds me of something I remember Joseph said to Michael Toms in his book: “An Open Life”; on page 110, where they are talking about this same kind of life crisis:
_________________________

Joseph: “I think the individual has to find his own model. I found mine.”

Toms: “Isn’t it important to respect our own uniqueness?”

Joseph: “I think that’s the most important thing of all. That’s why, as I said, you really can’t follow a guru. You can’t ask somebody to give “The Reason”, but you can find one for yourself; you decide what the meaning of your life is to be. People talk about the meaning of life, there is no meaning of life—there are lots of meanings of different lives, and you must decide what you want your own to be.”

_________________________

We all need advice from time to time and sometimes sounding boards are a really good thing. But from my understanding much of Joseph’s message about “following one’s bliss” has to do with making decisions about following what one’s sense of their own eternity is; that deep sense as he said of being: “in it”; and if you follow your instincts that way doors will open where you did not know there were going to be doors because it is your life course you are considering; and part of the hero’s journey is into the dark forest where: “there is no path”; right? It is “your path”; and no one has been there before; because if there is a path: “it is not your path”. It’s a sort of alchemical cooking that’s going on inside you that’s leading you forward and as Joseph mentions: “all you get are little clues”; (sometimes an occasional helper); but in the end it’s your journey. And when you look back over your life it will inform you about who you are and the importance of your choices. So, to me this is not a question of out there somewhere but looking inside you for the answers you may need.

From your post it sounds like you have really good instincts for figuring this out; and others may have things to add; but you are the only one who knows if any of this resonates for you. (I really like the way you are thinking this through; so best of luck on what you decide; and again; a warm welcome here.)

[jamesn.]

You are extremely thoughtful to say that John; it means more than you know and I am deeply touched. Thank you so much for such kind words. Hopefully others will share some of their thoughts and impressions on this topic. All the very best to you.

[jamesn.]

John, you are most kind in your remarks concerning my references about “The Play”; for yes, that was exactly what I was attempting to express that Stephen so eloquently quoted. (He always seems to know where these things are to pull them out of the ethers, and Robert’s quotes were a great example as well.)

From the Greek Tragedies to Shakespeare to television Soap Operas; to the narratives in great music or great Fairy Tales or the great novels; as Joseph once remarked to Bill Moyers about the spiritual aspects of our lives: “Yes, these things do live in us indeed”; and another where he says: “Just as you can see on a New York street corner, these eternal figures like: “Beauty and the Beast”; waiting for the light to change they do live in our daily lives waiting to be summoned forth from deep within both our “personal and collective unconscious” as we look inside our psyche when they come to greet us and inform us about who we are.

We are only here for a brief moment in time; and what we do with the time we have makes all the difference because as “Robin Williams” character in Dead Poets: “John Keating”, also reminded us when he talked about: “Carpe Diem”: “we are food for worms”; and this game or dance with eternity; “this joyful/sorrowful participation in the lives of others that we partake in “is” the privilege of existence we leave behind that we were here; and is our: “verse” that both Joseph and Keating to his students were talking about.

As I mentioned a moment ago; these insights that Joseph refers to can save lives because so many people are in extreme emotional pain because they have lost their: “Ariadne’s Thread” or personal “Umbilical Cord” to their inner life; and many of us are lost in our own: “House of Mirrors or Labyrinth” and our inner world is in complete chaos or disarray; and we must find our way out; whether by doing battle with our inner Dragons or Minotaur’s, or listening to our Wounded Child. And these eternal mythic themes refer to these inner struggles we all have to deal with no matter what culture, no matter what psychological crisis they come from. As Joseph mentioned they are in us and when we find out what is ticking in us, we can get straightened out.

(Of course, a little humor along the way helps us as well; especially in the dark forest where all these unrealized things await us.) One can say that is the mission of the Hero; or one can say this is the task of life itself; but I think no matter how one thinks about it; “The Call to Adventure” is there; like a track waiting to be discovered. As he mentioned once: “The Fates lead him who will; others they drag”. And a life well lived by listening to that summons addresses our: “Raison d’ e^tre”. (Sorry for the bad typo.)

Anyway, this seems to be what all these things are saying to me. Sorry to gush on so; but these themes that Joseph refers to have helped me so much to find my way out of my own personal crisis within my inner cave; and continues to do so; and I am so very grateful for it.

And again, thank you for your very kind and thoughtful encouragement.

[jamesn.]

John, your response was most kind and deeply appreciated. And since we are at the deepest interaction level of human communication at a subliminal level when we play games, your post immediately struck me like a thunderbolt that “winning” is to me is of special importance. So let me introduce the idea of what winning means at an archetypal level, and all the different variations winning can have on the psyche; (especially when considering what “losing” can also mean), to whomever it effects; as either an “affect” of an archetypal image result; (we lost, or we won) and how the entire psyche interprets the results. Whole lives can be impacted by either. “But the goal of most games is usually to win.” So, we have a powerful archetypal force in “Play” that usually takes place between human beings.

Now if we take the idea of play and take it into a much deeper level where emotions rule; then again, we have endless possibilities because as Jung stated: (I can’t remember exactly where); “the mind is a curious thing”, and at the subconscious level it’s often difficult to tell exactly what kind of mischief gets stimulated by playing a game; depending on whether it’s with people or oneself. A child plays one way with the imagination; and adults often play other ways while assigning meaning to an outcome; (whether personal or abstract, emotional or detached), and now you’ve got psychic elements involved like the ego, shadow, anima/animus, and persona mask; and a whole system begins to move about while the game is in process; and then the end result produces an outcome that this system has to interpret.

Does this outcome produce something the individual is happy with, or does losing produce disappointment, both leaving a memory that can wind up in the landfill of the psyche; (that like Joseph mentioned can be conjured up by the Shadow from an emotional trigger in the form of something symbolic that the unconscious has buried, and the psyche has to process it before it delivers an emotional response. Sports are great for this kind of projection, but also serious emotional scars from a relationship trauma of some kind as well. My friend betrayed me, my team lost the championship, you want to play catch?, I’m going out to play – want to come? Let’s play that boardgame we use to as kids called Monopoly; how about checkers instead? Then there is that most important of games that of romance; (the game of courtship: “the game of love”; the dating game, the game that grabs you and will not let you rest until you have won. Or lost. The battle of the sexes where the ego gets involved and the heart is not necessarily in play.

And then there are the final results from the game of life; for after all life is a game, is it not? And we bring the meaning to whatever game we are playing. And like that wonderful line in: “The Dead Poet’s Society”; where high school English Teacher John Keating is talking about the meaning of Poetry and asks: “The powerful Play goes on; what will your verse be?” Or even a better revelation from Joseph Campbell.

Thank you again for your kindness; your input about games is a joy.

[jamesn.]

Hello John, it’s so nice to have you here among us. I’ll start off with something you just mentioned and see if I can pull something else into this discussion that I think may address both your question and what many others may be thinking about these days on a variety of issues; and that is “meaning”.

You asked:
“I wonder if anyone else might have thoughts about the intersection between riddles, games, and myth?”

And it just so happens I looked over at the page border and saw Joseph’s famous quote:
” I don’t think people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive”

_____________________________________________________________________________

A synchronistic moment for my answer perhaps, but I think very relevant none-the-less given the effect that Covid is having on society and that of the Christmas holidays swiftly approaching and politics stirring up everyone’s emotions. So; I want to dive a bit deeper into this subject and what might seem as a subjective approach, because this is a time of year emotions tend to run very high, and not only spiritual and mythic themes play into it; but personal interpretations and anxiety have a tendency to conjure up “crisis” points as well as: epiphanies, family gatherings, and over-stretched stomachs from eating too much.

So, I’ll start with a little story from last year’s holiday experiences, and how the same themes I experienced then resurfaced
the other night in a deep discussion about a tragedy on the news many are still talking about concerning the Oxford shooting. Wow, you might say, what in the world is he talking about? (That’s a hell of a leap from riddles, games, and myths!)

So last year I was deep in thought for a number of days about mythic themes, personal myths, Christmas stories, and what these things are attempting to communicate to us in reference to Joseph’s ideas. I remember Joseph use to set aside his birthday to celebrate his own personal myth with giving seminars with Sam Keen in helping others to connect and figure out what their own mythic stories were. And I thought to myself; “what if I just pay attention to what stories I run into during this time and see what they have to tell me about who I am.” (You know; what kinds of memories are conjured up and what kinds of moods they put me in and let these stories work on me.) Well three stories in particular we usually run into annually just nailed me to the wall because of the way I applied them, so, I’ll try and explain what I’m getting at.

Two had to with transformation, value systems, and personal history; and the third was a metaphor delivered by an upcoming movie commercial called: “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”. Sounds strange I know, but bear with me because all three deal with some sort of deep psychological condition that separates them from reality. The first I will call: “Finding Scrooge”; because it had to do with 3 visitations; each delivering a message about his life that he must assimilate to save himself from living a life that had lost its’ meaning. The second one I will call: “Finding Clarence”; because it had to with a visitation of a second-class Angel trying to get his wings and charged with helping George Bailey from committing suicide by showing him who he really was instead of being a failure and the real beauty of the life he was living no matter how bad things seemed.

Now the third was a bit different because it involved a script writer who had made an earlier film about Don Quixote years ago and went back to the village where it was filmed to see if the character who was originally a cobbler and had played Quixote was still around. Well, it turns out he had been so psychologically immersed in the character he literally fell into a psychosis with the role; and became the character and saw this director as Sancho Panza. So; the adventure really starts there; but along the way the underlying themes begin to reveal themselves; and just like the book the viewer is informed about who they are underneath the perceived or normal landscape in which everything is playing out. (There is also a play within a play as the movie’s actual Director, Terry Guilliam; went through a whole series of obstacles which took 10 years to actually make the film. (A true quest within itself) But I digress.

So less than a week ago this horrific student tragedy occurred by a young student who had lost touch with reality; and whose parents were clueless. And the understanding that ties all of these dynamics together is this mythic landscape behind the scenes is not the same as the everyday one we inhabit; and how we as individuals interpret the life we are living is transformed. By that, what I’m attempting to illustrate is that when “myth” and landscape interact the psyche gets involved; and how we as individuals see reality and who we are; (as opposed to who we think we are); the contextual meaning of our lives; because of this experience becomes translated and transformed.

A rather clumsy attempt at description I know; but let me provide a couple of short clips that might help to smooth this out so I can make my point.

First George Bailey and Clarence explained in a reminiscence by Jimmy Stewart and Johnny Carson.

And then another one in a promo clip of the film about Don Quixote modernized.

___________________________________________________________________________

So, the world we are experiencing right now is going through horrendous change; yet the values being expressed are both mythical and timeless or universal in the messages they are delivering. And whether by poignant story, humorous insight, or deep tragedy these things connect us as human beings in ways we can barely understand on levels most of the time we can hardly even sense much less comprehend, and yet we become transformed. Just like Ebenezer Scrooge, George Bailey, or the mythical Don Quixote, although experience in itself may be the initial goal provides deep meaning along the way, like Carl Jung hints at about individuation. (In other words what we are experiencing is not about reaching a particular destination or accomplishing a mission in a larger sense, but both the rapture and experience of being alive which “bring” us the meaning we are seeking as we look back over it; (that is if we’ve been paying attention and doing our best; because in the end that’s what the myths are telling us to do for the most part anyway). Sorry for going on so much but you get the general idea I hope.

So, again my apologies if I’ve taken this topic too far away from James Joyce; but I think right now we need Joseph Campbell’s work more than ever. And these little stories were for me an example of just how profound his insights have been for me to see things in a different way. For in a time where the uncertainty of Covid, the unstable state of politics, global warming and climate change, or the individual psychological calamities that may lie waiting for some unknown trigger to take any one of us into unknown dimensions we must find our way out of; the breadcrumb trails he has left behind for us offer: hope, joy, and possibility to what could otherwise seem so very difficult to attain.

I’ll leave you with one more mystical tale for the holidays that may add a bit of cheer to end this with. It’s one you may already be familiar with; but I use to post it in Michael Lambert’s Christmas thread every year back on the old CoaHO; and I think symbolizes much of what these Forums represent looking forward. It’s a song about something very special that happened on Christmas Eve a long time ago. Merry Christmas to everyone as the holidays approach.

Again; so glad to have you here among us and thank you so much for the work you are doing with the Foundation. Merry Christmas

[jamesn.]

Kristina; I love the way you express things and you have been most kind and generous in sharing your thoughts. I will certainly look forward to any future discussions. All the very best to you.

[jamesn.]

Kristina; my apologies for such a late reply but I wanted some time to digest and mull over your wonderful insights concerning “Temenos” and the approach the psyche takes in digesting and integrating the unknown and unrealized content that is presenting a blockage that it must assimilate to move forward; and indeed; you offer a great way to think about this task.

You stated:

” This is why we need our temenos, to place all that which we have previously censored and not given voice to, so it can be held, witnessed and integrated.”

And later you add:

“When we make chaos or depression an ally and hold it close like a dear, beloved companion, the less power it has over us. It only wants to be seen. To be recognized and acknowledged.”

____________________________________________________________________________

There are several ways to think about this challenge which as you suggest is often seen as something separate or apart of who and what we are; but as you wisely point out that it really is an unrealized part of ourselves that is asking to be; as you put it; “recognized and acknowledged”; and given a voice so to speak; at the table around which other parts of our psyche are asking for our attention as well.

One of the things I think is often left out of the conversation; or put another way; utilized as a tool for realization that the “transcendent function” will often ask for is a “symbol”; which like a tool becomes a mechanism to aid in this process. (The “Alchemists” of old were very aware of the cooking process that often took place to separate the: “gold from the base matter”; metaphorically speaking; otherwise known as the: “Prima Materia” in spiritual concerns and used symbols to utilize this process as well. For instance; we know Jung liked Mandala’s; and here is one type that has not always been recognized that I think is a great example for what we are discussing called the: “Mandorla”; that is a little bit different for contemplative purposes you may have thoughts on.

To further add to this idea about symbolic imaging in Diane Osbon’s: “Reflections on the Art of Living”; (on pages 155-158); Joseph goes into great detail about how one might envision and utilize a specific symbol to evoke this neglected part of ourselves and give it a voice; which is the double triangle of the Jewish: “Star of David”; as a psychological device and means of transition from one mental and emotional state to another. In other words; to work through the blockage so that the psychic energy of the libido can resume its’ natural flow until the next crisis presents itself; because as Jung reminds us; “We are in a constant state of becoming”; which understood another way; is to know that life is built on conflict; and we live in a world of opposites and are not going to prevent suffering but must learn how to navigate it.

So; we have crisis and chaos all around us; but by accepting this fact the challenge of harmonizing our conflicts promotes the growth our psyche is asking for to give life meaning and purpose in a universe that has no meaning; (we bring the meaning to it). In other words; if understood properly; he is saying your obstruction can become the means by which realization can be achieved.

______________________________________________________________________________

“On page 157 Joseph states:

“When you find yourself blocked by a concretized symbol; (also read experience); from your childhood, meditation is a systematic discipline that will solve your problem. The function of meditation, ideally, would be to transcend the concretized response and deliver the message.

The first thing I’d do would be to think, “What are, specifically, the symbols that are still active, still touching me this way?” What are the symbols? There’s a great context of symbols in the world. Not all of them are the ones that afflict you. When you do find the symbol that is blocking you, find some mode of thinking and experience that matches in its’ importance for you what the symbol meant. You cannot get rid of a symbol if you haven’t found that to which it refers.

If you find in your heart a center of experience for which the symbol has been substituted, the symbol will dissolve. Think, “Of what is it the metaphor?” When you find that, the symbol will lose its’ blocking force, or it will become a guide.

This is the “knowing” part of “to know, to love, to serve.” If you’re in trouble with this part because you do not know what this thing refers to, then it will push you around. I’m very, very sure of that.

To dissolve such a concretization as an adult, you need to find what the reference is of the symbol is. When that is found, you will have the elucidation. The symbol will move into place, and you can regard it with pleasure: as something that guides you to the realization of what its message is., instead of a roadblock. This is an important point. That is the downward-pointed triangle. It is either an obstruction or the field through which the realization is to come.”

(The upward pointing triangle represents aspiration; the downward pointed triangle represents obstruction. This symbol represents the threshold which must be broken through to attain the realization you are seeking. Additional text mine.)

_________________________________________________________________________

From Daryl Sharp’s Jungian Lexicon:

“Temenos. A Greek word meaning a sacred, protected space; psychologically, descriptive of both a personal container and the sense of privacy that surrounds an analytical relationship.

Jung believed that the need to establish or preserve a temenos is often indicated by drawings or dream images of a quaternary nature, such as mandalas.

The symbol of the mandala has exactly this meaning of a holy place, a temenos, to protect the centre. And it is a symbol which is one of the most important motifs in the objectivation of unconscious images. It is a means of protecting the centre of the personality from being drawn out and from being influenced from outside. [“The Tavistock Lectures,” CW 18, par. 410.]

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.]

__________________________________________________________________________

So now we come to your wonderful insights which suggest that by listening and nurturing the: “wounded child or archetype” that is demanding to heard you are not only giving it voice but are claiming it as part of your lost inheritance. And these are only a few aids that suggest how one might think about this; but I so much agree with what you added; and appreciate the very thoughtful way you offered it. This exchange has been a joy to participate in; and I look forward to any other thoughts that you, Stephen, or anyone else might want to add.

Again; my apologies for my late reply but it really did take all this time to work through it; and I hope this addition did not take your original topic too far off course.

[jamesn.]

A warm welcome to the Forums Kristina.

What a wonderful discussion this is you and Stephen are exploring and I would like to introduce another possible form of “chaos” which to me would represent an emotional “crisis” of one sort or another and to bring in the Jungian idea or concept of the: “Transcendent Function”; which I will leave a couple of descriptions below taken from Daryl Sharp’s Jungian Lexicon. But before doing that I want to briefly touch base on a couple of things that might help to clarify what I think is the connecting factor which would unite both your and Jung’s concepts relating to what not only Stephen alluded to; but also your idea of “harmonizing”.

______________________

Stephen:
“Returning the topic of chaos as precursor to creativity, my sense is that chaos, in the alchemical sense, suggests formlessness – everything swirling about, which can be especially disconcerting in terms of one’s personal circumstances – while creativity, in a sense, gives form to that formlessness

. . . or, at least, to a portion of that formlessness.”

__________

Kristina:
“What I’m hearing in your response is how important it is to ground our mercurial function. To give it form, a vessel of containment. But paradoxically, the more we are an empty vessel, the more we can create a holding space for our own discoveries.

It begs us to ask, ‘Where is the sacred thread of ritual in my life? Where’s the emotional alchemy?’ Because venturing into the unknown can come at such an extortionate cost, we must know where the vessel is, which can contain the shattering.

It’s our duty to create this alchemical vessel – the temenos – the sacred container for our experiences.”

____________________________________________________________________________

So I’m going to start with the idea of a “personal crisis” in which the individual flow of psychic energy has become “blocked” if you will; or put another way a situation or circumstance that the individual cannot consciously “resolve” that has created some sort of emotional chaotic turmoil which is causing a state of depression or extreme anxiety; and the psyche is at work attempting to unravel or sort out it’s meaning or resolution. So looking at the resolution of internal conflict as in say (depression) as described below one can see the connection with the (transcendent function) which I will leave a separate description afterward.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Depression:
A psychological state characterized by lack of energy. (See also abaissement du niveau mental, final, libido, night sea journey and regression.) Energy not available to consciousness does not simply vanish. It regresses and stirs up unconscious contents (fantasies, memories, wishes, etc.) that for the sake of psychological health need to be brought to light and examined.

Depression should therefore be regarded as an unconscious compensation whose content must be made conscious if it is to be fully effective. This can only be done by consciously regressing along with the depressive tendency and integrating the memories so activated into the conscious mind-which was what the depression was aiming at in the first place.[“The Sacrifice,” CW 5, par. 625.]

Depression is not necessarily pathological. It often foreshadows a renewal of the personality or a burst of creative activity. There are moments in human life when a new page is turned. New interests and tendencies appear which have hitherto received no attention, or there is a sudden change of personality (a so-called mutation of character). During the incubation period of such a change we can often observe a loss of conscious energy: the new development has drawn off the energy it needs from consciousness. This lowering of energy can be seen most clearly before the onset of certain psychoses and also in the empty stillness which precedes creative work.[“The Psychology of the Transference,” CW 16, par. 373.]

_______________________________________________________________________________

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.]
___________________________________________________________________________________

So now we come to uniting these ideas with what both you and Stephen were discussing concerning what I would interpret as the chaotic/conflict/ resolution process of the the psyche’s ability to “harmonize” or create a symbolic image or connecting idea or thought that either “relativizes” or resolves the conflict or blockage that is causing the problem so the flow of psychic energy; (i.e. libido); can move forward and resume it’s normal function.

Here is what I would interpret as a Jungian/Campbell expression of this concept that one would utilize within the individuation process of alchemy or vessel say like in a temenos situation or within one’s personal dream-state of internal conscious/unconscious transformation.

My apologies if my description is a bit clumsy; and I realize this may not be exactly what you were alluding to earlier; but it struck me as relative to some of the general ideas you might be addressing and was curious as to your thoughts or impressions.

Again; a warm welcome here and thanks for your very insightful ideas.

[jamesn.]

Oh absolutely; I realize quite often I’m in the middle of a dream. Last night I had a whole series where I drifted in and out of these different theme dreams; (aware that sometimes I was watching while I was actually in them; other times I’m merely an observer from the outside). The series last night; around 4 or 5 dreams; revolved around a symbolic commercial healthcare company which was trying to fight against the corruption of the government to control quality; (usually the other way around in normal life right?). I would wake up every so often and do a restroom trip and then go back to sleep and this symbol would pick right back up and another scenario would start. I’ve been experiencing a lot of political animosity lately concerning the spread of toxic behavior for the coming election; so that may explain why it was a political dream. So this one was a bit unusual.

Sometimes I will have dreams which revolve around a theme like traveling through something like buildings or rooms and ending up somewhere before I wake up; sometimes there will people I will interact with; sometimes not. But my actual awareness of consciously having a choice to interact to determine it’s outcome is not usually present; (in other words most of the time I’m observing from the outside; the dream gets to a certain place and then I awake).

At any rate sometimes like the other night something symbolic will appear and I will wake up; or the dream will just resolve itself and I will become aware that it’s morning and organize my thoughts for the coming day. However; there are many times something will bring me to semi-consciousness and I will purposely play out different scenarios of the dream sequence to get at it’s meaning. Much of my sleeping patterns vary widely from a few hours in several series of varied scenes; other times longer more storied versions lasting 5 to 6 hours or more. (It all depends on what I’m processing at the time and if it has intense emotional significance for me or not.)

My awareness and participation within these different situations varies also. Sometimes I will get up and look up something on the computer I’ve just dreamed about; go back to sleep and pick up something similar in my dreams again; or other times I will just jot something down on my note pad about it so I will remember it for the next day to go over it. (I have a big pile of these notes I go over all the time to get a sense of what’s at work on me internally. But to your questions; I try to keep track of these things and analyze what they may be telling me; and emotions of course play a part in the processing. This was one of the reasons the “archetype and core complex” configuration rang me like a bell when I first came across it. (All the Mario Jacoby material deals a lot with this type of complex/theme based approach.) I hope this helps.

[jamesn.]

Stephen ; thanks again for your clarity. Although my dream obviously didn’t fit what the thread needed; I do think your idea about broadening out and creating other threads might be something worth exploring. Thanks again for your helpful advice. Maybe others will join in and offer some of their ideas as well.

____________________________________________________________________________________

An addendum to the above. After I responded I laid down and went to sleep where upon I got a resolution to the message from the earlier dream I mentioned. My dream this time reminded me complexes are: “tone-based”; and I’m pretty sure that is what the reference was to the word: “voice”. (Carl Jung: “The mind is a curious thing.”)

 

[Author]

Posts