Workings of the Psyche
“If one focuses attention on the unconscious without rash assumptions or emotional rejection, it often breaks through in a flow of helpful symbolic images. But not always. Sometimes it first offers a series of painful realisations of what is wrong with oneself and one’s conscious attitude. Then one must begin the process by swelling all sorts of bitter truths.”
Marie-Louise von Franz, The Process of Individuation, in Man and his Symbols, ed. C.G. Jung, New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1988, p.167
The images shown here are examples of how the psyche expresses itself. They were produced spontaneously over the course of a year. The first image had been forgotten. Then, next ones appeared as if from nowhere. Only later did I put them together as a journey of transformation.
There are times when we go through challenges and hardships and cannot describe in words what is happening. Sometimes life events lend themselves to explaining the inner chaos; at other times, there is nothing that can account for the confusion, deadness, or sense of suffocation. Yet it all feels real, and deeply uncomfortable in its realness.
Images are often a blessing in disguise. Drawing —or imagining and staying with them, without the need to interpret—is often crucial. We stay with the image, side by side, and let it live within us. By giving it mental space, we allow the image to interact with our inner world, and there is a good chance that something like a chemical reaction will take place.
This process gives rise to another image, and perhaps another. Until we feel we are done. Something has shifted, and we know—just know—that one of the inner processes has come to its conclusion. We have moved around one ring of the spiral.
It is felt in our bodies, felt in our minds, and begins to show itself in the outer world.
It may manifest in the way we think, speak, move, and relate to ourselves and to others.
We need to trust our intuition, our images, and our ability to contain the tension that not knowing usually brings.
We need to give ourselves time.
The solutions usually appear after a long period of quiet gestation.
Trust. Draw. Revisit. Draw some more. Breathe.
Post scriptum
I use the plural “we” here unapologetically. While it is generally wise to speak from the “I” perspective, there are universal processes that we, as human beings, go through. Whether we consciously choose to focus our attention on them or not, they are present.