Spellbound by Daniel Liberman
Tapping into the unconscious, understanding it – understanding why it can lead us astray from ourselves destructively but also understanding how we can tap into the unconscious and being to harness the power. To understand the unconscious we cannot use ‘language’ or rational thinking. We need something else.
The key to understanding unconscious can be found not in science but in fairy tales and tarot cards
- Unconscious is almost like an external force. Often thought supernatural (or when someone is ‘possessed by something’). A source of powers unknown to the conscious
- Being inspired was seen in the past as something beyond them (not something they could take credit for) Like a blessing
- Sometimes the unconscious is destructive, impulsive – overwhelming emotions that cloud judgement and prompt destructive impulses, or desires that run counter to the values of the conscious mind with an irresistible desire to fulfil them.
- A seething cauldron of competing and coopering drives. An orchestra without a conductor. A trojan horse, filled with different spirits.
- Creatives describe themselves as bystanders to whom the new ideas / solutions to problems reveal themselves
- Enthusiastic – from the greek ethos ‘possessed by a god’
- Ancient stories about magic are some of the best sources for understanding it
- Stories reveal our inner world
- The rational part of brain uses language
- The irrational subconscious cannot use language, it uses symbolism
- We chose the model that works best. It would be mentally exhausting to try to ‘understand’ all the process going on in the brain. We need something.
- Human brain needs stories to make sense of the world
- Things can’t just happen; they must happen for a reasons, stories give shape to events to give them meaning. Narratives are constructed in the subconscious
- Consciousness is a tiny boat floating on a vast sea of darkness (teeming with life, pushing the boat from beneath the surface
- Conscious planning can make things more likely to occur, but we also have to trust and hope that the unconscious cooperates and delivers what the ego wants. The subconscious being the source of inspiration.
- When the two are aligned, wonderful feeling. Fascination, in the zone.
- A scientific endeavour only has the tools to control our environment. We can delude ourselves into thinking that we can seek a safe life, predictable and follow to happiness. But happiness doesn’t work that way. Happiness needs love, friendship, beauty and creativity and science doesn’t help us with that. Myth, art poetry – works inspired but he subconscious can.
- Just like weightlifting, humans need obstacles to grow.
- And yet some obstacles are self-inflicted
- Freud noticed that many of the things that patients complained about were symptoms that appeared to be volitional – i.e. choices patients were making of their own free will!
- Goals can be pursued. Pursued despite interruption until completed. But does the unconscious pursue goals? What happens when it goes awry. What does the subconscious use if it cannot use language (stories?)
- Jung: The subconscious uses archetypes
- Archetypes are blueprints for big ideas – ideas that are so big that the conscious mind can only conceive of small pieces of them. At any one time.
- Peterson: archetypes are as old as trees.
- These ideas are fundamental to humanity and concern. The most important aspects of human existence.
- Story is built from archetypes are fundamental to our ability to understand the world.
- We make mistakes when the story we used to understand a series of events doesn’t line up with reality when the story has been detached from reality by intentional manipulation. (Link to: Surprise / free energy principle)
- Archetypes may help us transform information into meaning, but the difficult for the ego to understand, because they embody an alien way of thinking.
- Symbols are bridges across the chasm between the conscious and the unconscious Wells.
- They are things we can perceive with our senses that connects us to the invisible archetypes. Natural (e.g. sun or moon, or made, e.g. sword or shield)
- The nature of symbols is that the meaning cannot be consciously comprehend
- Stories about houses made of candy, we’re not quite sure what it means. It’ll stir in the subconscious.
- Symbols make energy stored in the unconscious available to the ego
- They are energy transformers.
- When the ego incorporates even a small amount of the unconscious material, it leads to enhanced energy, passion, and an increased capacity for work.
- Von Franz: “When the unconscious, learn to know, respect and accommodate one another, a person becomes whole, integrated calm, fertile, and happy.”
- As Jung writes “it is, as if one were digging an artisan well, and ran the risk of stumbling on a volcano”
- Subconscious is powerful and dangerous. We shouldn’t ignore it.
- But if we can find a way to accommodate the hidden forces we can accomplish far more. There are depths to within us, depths that hold riches
- To explore the depths we must enter the realm of irrational / use a different language.
- The goal is to find balance to bring unconscious contents into consciousness in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the ego.
- Meaning in life to be your true self.