• To understand the concept of different archetypes
• To understand the concept of active imagination
Difference of Freudian unconscious and Jungian Collective unconscious
Though Jung's analytical psychology derives from Freud's psychoanalysis, there was contention, disagreement and disappointment shared between these two great thinkers, resulting in a rift between once great friends. Some key differences are presented below:
- Religion and mental illnesses:
While working with psychotics Jung encountered many religion symbols shown in paintings of patients but he did not criticized the religion rather he viewed religion as an integrated force of personality. He argued that psychosis is opposite of religion as it disintegrate the personality. Collective unconscious is the most frequently misunderstood concept, to understand this complex concept lets look into the contents of the collective unconscious that are called archetypes.
- Archetypes
“Basic elements of the Psyche that act as independent beings within a person represented by symbols”
Jung also called them dominants, imagos, mythological or primordial images, and a few other names. First book about archetypes and Jungian typology was written by Dr. Ajmal. Archetypes seem like different “jinns” living with in an individual. Like one jin is child other is wise old man and another is young lady and so on. Different personalities are living with in a person like:
• Shadow
• Child
• Great Mother
• Hero
• Wise Old Man
• Anima
• Animus
• Trickster
• Self
- The Shadow archetype
An archetype that displays only bad qualities, To explain this archetype Dr. Ajmal takes the Abu Qasim’s shoes story, in which old and shaggy shoes becomes his identity and presents the dark side of his life. It is the "dark side" of the ego, and the evil that we are capable of is often stored there. Actually, the shadow is amoral -- neither good nor bad, just like animals. An animal is capable of tender care for its young and vicious killing for food, but it doesn't choose to do either. It just does what it does. It is "innocent." But from our human perspective, the animal world looks rather brutal, inhuman, so the shadow becomes something of a garbage can for the parts of ourselves that we can't quite admit to. We can understand shadow with the reference of Freud’s “projection”, like we have shadow following us all the time and in the same way our bad qualities are following us like a shadow and we see our own evil characteristics in other people.
Symbols of the shadow include the snake (as in the garden of Eden), the dragon, monsters, and demons. It often guards the entrance to a cave or a pool of water, which is the collective unconscious. Next time you dream about wrestling with the devil, it may only be yourself you are wrestling with!
- The Child archetype
The Child archetype nurtures that part of us that yearns to be lighthearted and innocent, expecting the wonders of tomorrow, Fresh attitude, wishing for the basic needs and desires, the desire in it’s very pure form. This part of our nature contributes greatly to our ability to sense playfulness in our lives, balancing the seriousness of adult responsibilities. The balanced Child is a delight to be around because the energy that flows from this part of our personality is positively infectious and brings out the best in others, as well as in us.
- The Great Mother archetype
In Hinduism many “Devis” are found. In Christianity we can find Hazrat
Maryam, mother of Hazrat Iesaa (Jesus), who got the Devine status. The mother archetype is a particularly good example. All of our ancestors had mothers. So the mother archetype is our built-in ability to recognize a certain relationship, that of "mothering." Jung says that this is rather abstract, and we are likely to project the archetype out into the world and onto a particular person, usually our own mothers.
Mother can be nurturing and devouring at the same time, nurturing for her child and devouring for the external foes. Mother nurtures the child but scolds too. So looking at fairy tales we can find two types of mothers
Nurturing (Feeding mother)
Devouring (witch, step mother)
- The Hero archetype
Many archetypes are story characters. The hero is one of the main ones. He is the man personality and the defeater of evil dragons. Basically, he represents the ego -- we do tend to identify with the hero of the story and is often engaged in fighting the shadow, in the form of dragons and other monsters. The hero is, however, often optimist to the stupidity level. He is, after all, ignorant of the ways of the collective unconscious.
- The wise old man archetype
The hero is guided by the wise old man. This kind of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure that uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a mentor. Let’s understand this archetype of old wise man with the help of an incident narrated in Holy Quranan about Hazrat Khizar ((Alaihi Salaam) [18. Surah Al-Kahf : Ayah 60-82]
Musa alaihi salaam said to him: Shall I follow you on condition that you should teach me right knowledge of what you have been taught? He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: Surely you cannot have patience with me. And how can you have patience in that of which you have not got a comprehensive knowledge? He (Musa alaihi salaam) said: If Allah pleases, you will find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter. He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: If you would follow me, then do not question me about any thing until I myself speak to you about it.
So they went (their way) until when they embarked in the boat he made a hole in it. (Musa alaihi salaam) said: Have you made a hole in it to drown its inmates? Certainly you have done a grievous thing. He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: Did I not say that you will not be able to have patience with me? He (Musa alaihi salaam) said: Blame me not for what I forgot, and do not constrain me to a difficult thing in my affair. So they went on until, when they met a boy, He (Khizar alaihi salaam) slew him. (Musa alaihi salaam) said: Have you slain an innocent person otherwise than for manslaughter? Certainly you have done an evil thing.
He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: Did I not say to you that you will not be able to have patience with me? He (Musa alaihi salaam) said: If I ask you about anything after this, keep me not in your company; indeed you shall have (then) found an excuse in my case.
So they went on until when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they found in it a wall which was on the point of falling, so He (Khizar alaihi salaam) put it into a right state. (Musa alaihi salaam) said: If you had pleased, you might certainly have taken a recompense for it. He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: This shall be separation between me and you; now I will inform you of the significance of that with which you could not have patience. As for the boat, it belonged to (some) poor men who worked on the river and I wished that I should damage it, and there was behind them a king who seized every boat by force. And as for the boy, his parents were believers and we feared lest he should make disobedience and ingratitude to come upon them: So we desired that their Lord might give them in his place one better than him in purity and nearer to having compassion. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man; so your Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure, a mercy from your Lord, and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the significance of that with which you could not have patience.
- The Anima archetype
The anima is the female aspect present in the collective unconscious of men; the anima may be personified as a young helping girl, very spontaneous and intuitive. Anima is not of sexual nature rather it is spiritual and wisdom based aspect of personality. Usually young beautiful lady helps a prince in fairy tales. It is likely to be associated with deep emotionality and the force of life itself.
- The Animus archetype
A masculine personality found in women, usually represented by logical, rational, reality related thinking.
- The Trickster archetype
This archetype seems negative but is very important, often represented by a clown or a magician.
The trickster's role is to hamper the hero's progress and to generally make trouble. but the basic purpose to guide the hero after testing. In folklore, the trickster is embodied as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. For example many typical fairy tales have the King who wants to find the best groom for his daughter by ordering several trials
- The Self archetype
When an individual passes all tricksters’ exams, self emerges as a result. The goal of life is to realize the self. Self is the “Khudi” of Allama Iqbal. The self is an archetype that represents the superiority of all opposites, so that every aspect of your personality is expressed equally. You are then neither and both male and female, neither and both ego and shadow, neither and both good and bad, neither and both conscious and unconscious, neither and both an individual and the whole of creation. And yet, with no oppositions, there is no energy, and you cease to act. Of course, you no longer need to act.
How did Jung cheat? He said that my work is not to cure but to help in recognizing self but he also relied on dream analysis, Freud view all dream symbols as the manifestation of sexual desires but Jung gave different meanings to different symbols and he used the Active Imagination is a process of consciously dialoguing with our unconscious "for the production of those contents of the unconscious which lie, as it were, immediately below the threshold of consciousness and, when intensified, are the most likely to erupt spontaneously into the conscious mind.
• To understand the concept of active imagination
Difference of Freudian unconscious and Jungian Collective unconscious
Though Jung's analytical psychology derives from Freud's psychoanalysis, there was contention, disagreement and disappointment shared between these two great thinkers, resulting in a rift between once great friends. Some key differences are presented below:
- Religion and mental illnesses:
While working with psychotics Jung encountered many religion symbols shown in paintings of patients but he did not criticized the religion rather he viewed religion as an integrated force of personality. He argued that psychosis is opposite of religion as it disintegrate the personality. Collective unconscious is the most frequently misunderstood concept, to understand this complex concept lets look into the contents of the collective unconscious that are called archetypes.
- Archetypes
“Basic elements of the Psyche that act as independent beings within a person represented by symbols”
Jung also called them dominants, imagos, mythological or primordial images, and a few other names. First book about archetypes and Jungian typology was written by Dr. Ajmal. Archetypes seem like different “jinns” living with in an individual. Like one jin is child other is wise old man and another is young lady and so on. Different personalities are living with in a person like:
• Shadow
• Child
• Great Mother
• Hero
• Wise Old Man
• Anima
• Animus
• Trickster
• Self
- The Shadow archetype
An archetype that displays only bad qualities, To explain this archetype Dr. Ajmal takes the Abu Qasim’s shoes story, in which old and shaggy shoes becomes his identity and presents the dark side of his life. It is the "dark side" of the ego, and the evil that we are capable of is often stored there. Actually, the shadow is amoral -- neither good nor bad, just like animals. An animal is capable of tender care for its young and vicious killing for food, but it doesn't choose to do either. It just does what it does. It is "innocent." But from our human perspective, the animal world looks rather brutal, inhuman, so the shadow becomes something of a garbage can for the parts of ourselves that we can't quite admit to. We can understand shadow with the reference of Freud’s “projection”, like we have shadow following us all the time and in the same way our bad qualities are following us like a shadow and we see our own evil characteristics in other people.
Symbols of the shadow include the snake (as in the garden of Eden), the dragon, monsters, and demons. It often guards the entrance to a cave or a pool of water, which is the collective unconscious. Next time you dream about wrestling with the devil, it may only be yourself you are wrestling with!
- The Child archetype
The Child archetype nurtures that part of us that yearns to be lighthearted and innocent, expecting the wonders of tomorrow, Fresh attitude, wishing for the basic needs and desires, the desire in it’s very pure form. This part of our nature contributes greatly to our ability to sense playfulness in our lives, balancing the seriousness of adult responsibilities. The balanced Child is a delight to be around because the energy that flows from this part of our personality is positively infectious and brings out the best in others, as well as in us.
- The Great Mother archetype
In Hinduism many “Devis” are found. In Christianity we can find Hazrat
Maryam, mother of Hazrat Iesaa (Jesus), who got the Devine status. The mother archetype is a particularly good example. All of our ancestors had mothers. So the mother archetype is our built-in ability to recognize a certain relationship, that of "mothering." Jung says that this is rather abstract, and we are likely to project the archetype out into the world and onto a particular person, usually our own mothers.
Mother can be nurturing and devouring at the same time, nurturing for her child and devouring for the external foes. Mother nurtures the child but scolds too. So looking at fairy tales we can find two types of mothers
Nurturing (Feeding mother)
Devouring (witch, step mother)
- The Hero archetype
Many archetypes are story characters. The hero is one of the main ones. He is the man personality and the defeater of evil dragons. Basically, he represents the ego -- we do tend to identify with the hero of the story and is often engaged in fighting the shadow, in the form of dragons and other monsters. The hero is, however, often optimist to the stupidity level. He is, after all, ignorant of the ways of the collective unconscious.
- The wise old man archetype
The hero is guided by the wise old man. This kind of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure that uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a mentor. Let’s understand this archetype of old wise man with the help of an incident narrated in Holy Quranan about Hazrat Khizar ((Alaihi Salaam) [18. Surah Al-Kahf : Ayah 60-82]
Musa alaihi salaam said to him: Shall I follow you on condition that you should teach me right knowledge of what you have been taught? He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: Surely you cannot have patience with me. And how can you have patience in that of which you have not got a comprehensive knowledge? He (Musa alaihi salaam) said: If Allah pleases, you will find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter. He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: If you would follow me, then do not question me about any thing until I myself speak to you about it.
So they went (their way) until when they embarked in the boat he made a hole in it. (Musa alaihi salaam) said: Have you made a hole in it to drown its inmates? Certainly you have done a grievous thing. He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: Did I not say that you will not be able to have patience with me? He (Musa alaihi salaam) said: Blame me not for what I forgot, and do not constrain me to a difficult thing in my affair. So they went on until, when they met a boy, He (Khizar alaihi salaam) slew him. (Musa alaihi salaam) said: Have you slain an innocent person otherwise than for manslaughter? Certainly you have done an evil thing.
He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: Did I not say to you that you will not be able to have patience with me? He (Musa alaihi salaam) said: If I ask you about anything after this, keep me not in your company; indeed you shall have (then) found an excuse in my case.
So they went on until when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they found in it a wall which was on the point of falling, so He (Khizar alaihi salaam) put it into a right state. (Musa alaihi salaam) said: If you had pleased, you might certainly have taken a recompense for it. He (Khizar alaihi salaam) said: This shall be separation between me and you; now I will inform you of the significance of that with which you could not have patience. As for the boat, it belonged to (some) poor men who worked on the river and I wished that I should damage it, and there was behind them a king who seized every boat by force. And as for the boy, his parents were believers and we feared lest he should make disobedience and ingratitude to come upon them: So we desired that their Lord might give them in his place one better than him in purity and nearer to having compassion. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man; so your Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure, a mercy from your Lord, and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the significance of that with which you could not have patience.
- The Anima archetype
The anima is the female aspect present in the collective unconscious of men; the anima may be personified as a young helping girl, very spontaneous and intuitive. Anima is not of sexual nature rather it is spiritual and wisdom based aspect of personality. Usually young beautiful lady helps a prince in fairy tales. It is likely to be associated with deep emotionality and the force of life itself.
- The Animus archetype
A masculine personality found in women, usually represented by logical, rational, reality related thinking.
- The Trickster archetype
This archetype seems negative but is very important, often represented by a clown or a magician.
The trickster's role is to hamper the hero's progress and to generally make trouble. but the basic purpose to guide the hero after testing. In folklore, the trickster is embodied as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. For example many typical fairy tales have the King who wants to find the best groom for his daughter by ordering several trials
- The Self archetype
When an individual passes all tricksters’ exams, self emerges as a result. The goal of life is to realize the self. Self is the “Khudi” of Allama Iqbal. The self is an archetype that represents the superiority of all opposites, so that every aspect of your personality is expressed equally. You are then neither and both male and female, neither and both ego and shadow, neither and both good and bad, neither and both conscious and unconscious, neither and both an individual and the whole of creation. And yet, with no oppositions, there is no energy, and you cease to act. Of course, you no longer need to act.
How did Jung cheat? He said that my work is not to cure but to help in recognizing self but he also relied on dream analysis, Freud view all dream symbols as the manifestation of sexual desires but Jung gave different meanings to different symbols and he used the Active Imagination is a process of consciously dialoguing with our unconscious "for the production of those contents of the unconscious which lie, as it were, immediately below the threshold of consciousness and, when intensified, are the most likely to erupt spontaneously into the conscious mind.
