Whereas our external world continues to develop rapidly, our internal world is often neglected and left in the dark. As Carl Jung observed, inner forces which are not made conscious, will still find their way to the outside world. However, when this happens involuntarily, they will emerge in an unpredictable manner, whereby it is not only the individual who is affected by these unconscious elements, instead, through projections, the world will become the victim of the divided individual. As a result, when such a division is widespread, Jung observed that the world itself will become divided. Therefore, Jung argued that a split between the conscious and the unconscious world might even lead to mass psychosis, in particular in a world where symbolic images no longer protect society from unsound ideas and ideologies.
Jung noticed that he himself was also experiencing a split between his own conscious and unconscious world. Throughout the exploration of his initial fantasies and dreams, an exploration which Jung documented throughout the Black Books and the Red Book, Jung attempted to reconnect with his own unconscious world and his own soul. This was not an easy journey, and Jung’s discoveries can teach us a lot about how we might attempt to reconnect with our own unconscious world and the soul. Moreover, as discussed throughout this book with the help of the ideas of Ernest Becker and Joseph Campbell, I believe that Jung’s personal journey might be the source of a new myth for the 21st century; a myth characterized by the rebirth of the soul within each unique individual.
Link to the Book: Carl Jung and the Rebirth of the Soul
