Thread: Carl Jung on the Psyche

The late Swiss psychologist Carl Jung divided the psyche (which is also known as the mind) into two major sections: the consciousness and the unconscious. At the center of the psyche is an archetype called the self.
• As its name suggests, the consciousness consists of those things that we know. For example, I know that I am sitting in front of a computer. The ego is at the center of the consciousness.
• The unconsciousness contains the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious.
o The personal unconscious contains those things that I used to know but have since forgotten. For example, I don’t remember what I did on January 28, 2008. The personal unconscious is the source of our complexes – such as a mother or a father complex.
o The collective unconsciousness contains those things that we never knew. It is the source of archetypes. Although we can never know the true meaning of an archetype, we can still get some understanding of its meaning and significance. Symbols of these archetypes can appear in our dreams. There are all kinds of archetypes. They can appear as objects, animals, people and even actions.

When we begin the process of listening to our dreams and trying to understand what they mean, these archetypes often evolve over time as the dreamer begins the individuation process.
• When a person begins the process of trying to understand the meaning of his or her dreams, certain archetypes are encountered.
• One of the first archetypes is often the shadow. This is a person who is the same sex as the dreamer but is the opposite of the dreamer in some way.
• The anima or the animus is seen next.
• The anima is found in men. It is the female part of the man’s psyche and can potentially go through four stages of development: (1) the primitive woman, (2) the romantic woman, (3) the good woman and (4) the guide.
• So it is likewise for the animus, which is found in women. (1) There is the primitive man, (2) romantic man or the man of action, (3) the man with a message and (4) the guide.
• Eventually and typically after encountering numerous other archetypes, an archetype called the self may be appear.