In a highly intoxicated and rather misled state, I was forced to read a chapter of Jung's book "Dreams", that stated this fact rather tenuously, and told me truths that I was already aware of. That the emotions that I feel would catch up with me, that the dreams I concealed would manifest themselves in my every-day behavior.
Here's the problem:
When I am conscious of my unconscious, what does that make it? When I am aware that I have emotions that suggest something, when I am knowledgable of the fact that I want something that my superego has to suppress, is it still a part of my unconscious?
I suppose that this is my one contention with psychology. As an individual, psychological theories about my unconscious mind tell me nothing- unless of course, I believe in my dreams. However, we know that dreams are very misleading in that they are symbols. Symbols wherein even people or actions may not make direct reference to people (or actions): rather to different people, and different actions. If I dream about a swan, and my best friend killing this swan - I could be dreaming about betrayal? Not by my best friend, but by someone else? Or maybe the swan represents something else, some other metaphor, in which case I'm interpreting it wrong?
My blue pants and I believe that when I begin to consciously evaluate a tenet of my unconscious mind, it ceases to be the latter, and it becomes a semi-former, a perpetuator of self doubt, that makes no sense to follow. I believe that my unconscious influences my actions and decisions in a very direct way, and that there is no point or purpose to be interpreting it unless I've been a) hypnotized or b) consuming psycho-hallucinogens.
However, Jung does put forth one theory that interests me considerably: the idea of a collective unconscious. Of an ancestrally inherited code of archetypal wavelengths, that is present in every human being, divorced from the personal unconscious mind that I referred to earlier.
What about this collective unconscious?
Maybe this is the annoying organ that imparts us with ideas about what's right and what's wrong. Maybe this is the little bit that suggests that it's bad to hurt someone, to complexify simple situations, to betray love, to make bad decisions and cause self-hurt. Maybe the unconscious mind is what makes me love someone, what makes me want to do well in school and what makes me want to stay strong for my family and the people I care about. Maybe the unconscious mind is everything worth knowing.
Or maybe I'm completely wrong. Maybe the unconscious mind dictates feelings that are more fundamental than ideas of right and wrong. Maybe the unconscious mind is what dictates why we look for magic, why we believe in God (or choose to reject our intuition). Maybe the unconscious mind is the motivator for why we always pursue happiness over pain, why we are curious, and why we like to make optimal decisions.
My own experiences tempt me strongly towards the latter.
This post is dedicated to NK and his delusions about dreaming.
