This year has brought up a lot of intense emotions for just about everybody. As such, it has presented a rare opportunity to discuss the collective unconscious. This is a concept developed by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Jung postulated that everyone has a collection of unwanted (though not necessarily bad) thoughts, memories, and emotions buried deeply in the unconscious mind. He called this the shadow and believed that the more someone ignores their shadow, the more they are controlled by it. Some people are entirely possessed by their shadows. The proper thing to do, according to Jung, is to become aware of the shadow and work through everything in it. Doing so would make one whole by reconciling opposing aspects of the personality and bringing a deep sense of peace.
How can one find out what’s in one’s shadow? This can easily be done by looking at other people and observing how one responds. The things that most upset us in others are the things that we most dislike about ourselves. Therefore, observing oneself when feeling angered, saddened, or frustrated by what someone else does is an important self-awareness practice. Healing that part of the shadow means being free to choose one’s response to related external events rather than being forced into an unconscious reaction based on pain.
In addition to our own individual shadows, Jung stated that there is a collective unconscious created by what is left unobserved within ourselves. When large numbers of people fight (either verbally or physically), refuse to listen to or understand each other, and take sides as if preparing for war, that’s the collective unconscious in action. Healing both the personal and the collective unconscious is essential for the healing of individuals, families, societies, and, ultimately, the world. Tremendous pain often motivates one to pursue serious healing. Minor or even moderate pain can be tolerated for a lifetime but severe pain cannot. If there were ever a year that brought about enough pain to motivate entire populations to pursue personal and collective healing, it would be this year.
Will it pan out that way? It might. Every person who diligently pursues healing moves us all a little closer to that destination. Everyone who heals enough to respond to negativity with positivity, see the underlying pain in someone who is acting harshly, be fully present with those around them, and teach this to others who are interested in learning it acts as a beacon of light and hope. Light is brightest in the darkness and there has been a lot of darkness coming up all throughout this year. Unlearned lessons will be repeated until they’re learned and the situations through which they appear will become increasingly more unpleasant until the messages are received. Please, let’s prevent that from happening. Let’s all learn both our personal and collective lessons so that this will have been the first year of unprecedented growth rather than the first year of unprecedented downfall.