Madness – Divine and Otherwise

The second in a two part series on Unconscious Processes on Display

 The Red Book was first published in 2009,  even though it was written and illustrated  from 1914 to 1930 by C. G. Jung.   this unique work reveals the non-rational aspect of this extraordinary man’s mind .  It is the personal exploration of the inner world of a brilliant, accomplished, and well educated man, seen in the context of his culture.   The Red Book provides insight into the primitive aspects of mind that produce our dreams, spirituality, religion, and love. This is a book of dreams, visions, and self-analysis.  Its symbols date from past centuries – long before TV, advertising, or the internet began to change the world. 

For the last 70 years this beautiful book has lingered unread in a vault in Switzerland.   

 

 
I recently heard the editor of The Red Book, Sonu Shamdasani, speak at UCLA.   He explains the book as an exploration of one man’s irrational mind.  Some might say it is a study of Jung’s madness – though  Jung wasn’t mad.   He could always separate himself from his images and dreams and return to daily life to function with clarity.   Crazy people do not have this ability – they are often unable to perceive reality .  It appears that Jung did what any of us could do: he studied his internal process with gusto.

Jung pursued his own subconscious depths with intriguing results.  Reading the book inspired me to look for more of myself, to search for the meaning of my personal symbols.  Such self scrutiny requires me to take myself very seriously, which is oddly disturbing and scary.

Dreams and fantasies tell us so much about ourselves.  They reveal the secrets to our souls, once we know how to decipher them.  They typically pass under the radar of our consciousness and remain unexamined by our reason.  Dreams offer unsolicited images that are clues to our deepest emotional truths.  Our challenge is to decipher their meaning given their context.

Non-rational parts of our minds can be spooky and frighten us. It can me fascinating yet scary to start noticing our irrational sides. Yet we all have crazy parts. These irrational aspects of our psyche work steadily, hidden from our view. Working according to their own special  logic they are not easily deterred from their goals.  

I find my craziness frightening; no doubt so is yours.  However, I don't find my clients craziness scary. Experience has shown me that it is dangerous to pretend we are governed by reason when we are not. It is safer to learn about our crazy parts, to see how they effects us, so that we can  manage them better.

Jung was a brave and brilliant man. He studied the images and narratives that came to his irrational mind and was able to examine his mind from numerous perspectives. Nonetheless, he kept this work  private for fear of appearing insane.

 

Looking at the Red Book prompted me to take myself more seriously.  It suggests a way to consider your own inner world with a flourish.

 Here are some ideas for constructive introspection:

• Keep a pad by your bed to write down your dreams; put it on your nightstand every night as a reminder
• When you are first waking up, keep your eyes closed and look inward toward you dream
• Grab for bits of your dream,rehearsing key elements over and over before opening your eyes
• Write down notes when you are first waking up - in bed or on the toilet.
• Think about your dreams while you are in your bed, bathroom, shower or going to work
• Look for details, story lines and associations to flesh out the stories in your dreams
• Talk to someone about your dreams
• Paint your dreams

Paying attention to your inner world  lets you know more of what's going on beneath the surface.

Comments

[Dr. Meyer]

Welcome to a whole world of self exploration. Glad to be of value.

[Claudia Liliana/rasamalai]

This post is amazing and truly inspiring, thank you so much!
It is very exciting to learn about this book, are parts of it available to be viewed online? I love the drawings.
I hope to start some of the exercises you suggest here as time allows me to.
Thank you so much!
I'm reading your blog backwards to catch up on all I've missed so far! I hope to jump to the new posts once I reach the start. :)

[Dr. Meyer]

Try to play with your daydreams. Maybe draw them or write out a story. Then search for common emotional themes. Our day dreams are sometimes easier to understand than our night dreams because we are less "unconscious" when we have them.

[Dr. Meyer]

That is a wonderful quote and often so true!

[pb]

ah, and one of my favorite quotes is of Jung...

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed."

[pb]

thank you for this. really really.

recently, in a session of psychotherapy, i admitted that coming into myself, embracing that madness, so to speak, is so frightening. my counselor affirmed that and thank you for this post, again.

on so many levels... and i think i am less afraid of what III will find than i am of how embracing that 'madness', even if especially in an effort to understand and manage it, will affect my relationships. some part of me knows and longs to let my relationship with my own self blossom toward a brilliance i wouldn't otherwise acknowledge exists. and then comes the catch 22 about loving one's self enough to be in loving relationships... and is the fear about the conditionality of the love i experience in my attachments even relevant?

i don't often remember my sleep dreams. i am an avid day-dreamer, though. how can i use that activity to connect more?

[Dr. Meyer]

Good news and bad news. Your active dream life suggests a lively, creative mind which is good. Frequent nightmares however suggest that you have a lot of fears, perhaps more than you know. Your challenge is to learn more about your fears. First off, try to discover whether these are old fears from childhood or newer fears. Your next challenge is to find a way to address these fears, ideally examining and discussing them in a safe relationship. Old fears often persist in our minds, even once the dangers have disappeared. Should you think of seeking professional help, I have found Jungian therapists to be particularly good at understanding dreams. I will write a new post on nightmares in the next few days; so lookout for it.

[Julia]

What does it mean if I'm having recurring nightmares... is something wrong with me?