God, Archtypes, and Jungian Psychology

Perna….
Taking that principle… generation to generation…. into the context of spiritual growth …. Jesus, for example came to usher in a new understanding, a new awareness, a new political, economic and social order, a new world view. He presented new evidence and modeled his belief system; others witnessed its impact and measured against what they already knew or had experienced for themselves.

Generations since his first coming have done the same and all generations to come will do the same until his second coming or beyond. Each generation will respond to familiar issues with new understandings and greater skill and wisdom.

What one believes…. drives one’s behaviours. So true…. What one expresses about oneself through their actions is what impacts the lives of others, for good or bad. ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ Behaviours only change when some value is gained from the active change.

Connecting with other’s ‘divine spark’ is what I’m looking for from discussions such as these too Perna. To learn and grow from the wisdom of others; that I might become more of what I believe I want to be; that I might act more and more in accordance with my beliefs rather than my doubts, habits and conditioning.

NW.... You spoke positively beautifully about God. My cup runs over.

Peace on earth....

yes... perma... wondering the same thing as NW??? who's they??

Love the poem.... can even hear the music.

(((chocolatelover))) i was hoping to at least get another ramble from you... (((smiles))) i guess i am the threadkiller aren't i? i always suspected so...

me again..... chocolate, you'd expressed an interest in Jungs' teachings.. here is something that may be of interest... mandalas are very interesting tools... they are practised the world over, native american tribes independantly developed their own ritual of sand paintings which correlate to mandalas of the East...

from Concerning Mandala Symbolism. C. G. Jung.
trans. from "Uber Mandalasymbolik,"
Gestaltungen des Unbewussten (Zurich, 1950)

The Sanskrit word mandala means 'circle.'
p. 71

The goal of contemplating the processes depicted in the mandala
is that the yogi shall become inwardly aware of the deity.
Through contemplation, he recognizes himself as God again, and
thus returns from the illusion of individual existence into the
universal totality of the divine state.
p. 73

[mandalas] ... are all based on the squaring of a circle. Their
basic motif is the premonition of a centre of personality, a
kind of central point within the psyche, to which everything is
related, by which everything is arranged, and which is itself a
source of energy. The energy of the central point is manifested
in the almost irresistible compulsion and urge to become what
one is, just as every organism is driven to assume the form that
is characteristic of its nature, no matter what the circumstances.
This centre is not felt or thought of as the ego but, if one may
so express it, as the self. Although the centre is represented
by an innermost point, it is surrounded by a periphery containing
everything that belongs to the self -- the paired opposites that
make up the total personality. This totality comprises consciousness
first of all, then the personal unconscious, and finally an
indefinitely large segment of the collective unconscious whose
archetypes are common to all mankind.
p. 73

Okay I’ll bite… lol. What should I pick up on… ‘God’s word’ coming from all sources. The plants and trees, the winged ones, the four legged and the upright alike. All things carry the energy, aura, reflection, distinction, impression of the Creator’s mark. God’s word in nature, God’s word in art, music, books. God’s word in science, academia, and religion. God’s word in the human experience. God’s word echoing in our hearts as we seek peace, joy, happiness, compassion, wisdom. Not limited to time and place and the page of men.

God exists as an experience one feels emotionally rather than an object one touches physically. – The spiritual, emotional experience of believing in God and resting in the peace that faith brings versus the intellectual experience of searching for evidence, for signs and wonders, for perfection on earth, for world peace and harmony to justify faith and frame a belief system.

I guess I’m not up to much more rambling than that.

This discussion has given me cause to want to explore how faith and a relationship with God helps people recover from mental illness. I know for me I’d be lost to my illness without my beliefs and faith in those beliefs. It’s my only source of calm when I battling in the storm.

If you don’t mind me probing…. what do you think you get out of your belief in God? What is the personal pay off you get from believing in God? How are your behaviours influenced? How is your recovery influenced? How does your belief in God serve your recovery from MI?

I sometimes feel I only have my faith to give me cause to stay alive. Faith I can be the mother my son deserves. Faith I will get well. Faith I will not be homeless or disabled for the rest of my life. Faith my life has purpose. Faith I can recover. My days are more about faith than any evidence I’m getting better.

My illness gets such a hold on me for periods of time that I can’t function much in the real world. One day in the real world costs me 2 days to recover from the anxiety and stress. Most days it is just me and my God passing the time of my life away. Prayer sustains me and meditation maintains me. But behaviours aren’t changing and my thinking is still warped when it comes to real life experiences. I pray my way through every interaction in real life and I talk my way through ever action I take.

I feel stuck sometimes. Faith to comfort me but still too sick to keep up with life let alone pursue any passions. Faith give me cause to try again each day, each week, each month…. But how long before I exhaust my faith. Can my faith be exhausted? I wonder that sometimes. If challenged… what would be my breaking point. What would give me cause to turn away from God? To run our of faith. Can faith be exhausted?

I guess I did do a ramble for ya there NW.

Do you ever think any of those things? How do you cope when you might be too sick to think straight. Is your faith right at hand to keep you from loosing hope? Where does your hope lie?

Don’t answer if you don’t want…. Just talking out load…. Thinking too much. Wondering too much.

Take care….

Thanks NW.... I'll catch up on this one next time. It does look like something I'd be interested to read.... cool.

Good morning All ... smiles and prayers

thanks again to everyone... this conversation is one ive desired for years.. it hasnt happened partly because i, myself was not prepared fully... not at a place in mind where it could be a comprehensible and learning experience..

and because there were few about who would participate and help me understand and grow... you/v each contributed valuable thoughts and together, we've come this far...

Chocolate, i didnt know i wanted to answer those questions until you asked... thank you..

(checks batteries on ramble control device) (everyones had good rambles, imo)

one thing that happens to me when i dream/think this way is the ramble... exploring unknown territory without maps ...

chocolat: </font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
...spiritual, emotional experience of believing in God and resting in the peace that faith brings versus the intellectual experience of searching for evidence, for signs and wonders, for perfection on earth, for world peace and harmony to justify faith and frame a belief system.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

a time to rest, a time to work... when all of humanity has ascended to its highest transcendant plane, the work will be complete..

i agree with a few others... Gods' Healing is miraculous...

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
...what do you think you get out of your belief in God?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Strength... i aquire the abilility to persevere.. physically and mentally ...

Peace/calm ... ive learned patience...

Love ... compassion, empathy...

Hope/Trust/Faith....

Acceptance... for a start...

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
What is the personal pay off you get from believing in God? How are your behaviours influenced?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

all of the above.. i find having connected with the sanctity of the Almighty, my behavior becomes magnified in the belief that my every motion, thought or statement is guarded and guided from above.. its like super-consiousness without the uncomfortable attachment of anxiety..

i am conciously aware of myself as an example at all times... in the beginning this was very awkward, but experience has made it more natural for me..

i meditate on Gods message and similar to the quote in your tagline, i simply try to walk in the beauty at all times, with each individual breath i take.. remaining concious of the abundant gifts God provided around me each moment.. including each breath of oxygen..

i accept an obligation by walking this path.. to example my faith as i go... to tap it at each turn, each decision, each interaction with each individual.. to apply Gods Love to all of my behavior.. (could go on...)

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
How is your recovery influenced? How does your belief in God serve your recovery from MI?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

my faith and Belief in God has calmed my soul, my mind, my heart, my world... its taken a series of epiphanies to reach this level.. my mental healing is a more rapid cycle than was the experience MI...

i believe i am still in recovery to some extent but i will say that miles have been crossed in a few short years...

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Do you ever think any of those things? How do you cope when you might be too sick to think straight. Is your faith right at hand to keep you from loosing hope? Where does your hope lie?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

yes, i think of these things often, probably more than any other thing... yes, my faith is right at hand... at times when so depressed it is hard to find, or even, i choose not to reach for it... i wait for the severest effects to subside.. then, there is my faith, patiently waiting for me to take hold of...

i really only need to imagine what it is inside me that crys for healing... there is where my hope and faith reside... split from the seed of darkness and co-existing side by side with the demons that have rocked my life... my faith was born of the need to heal..

gonna try uploading a few drawings..

first is a graphic depicting the healing centers of the human body...

this is a female energy/aura/chakra image..

each point of light corresponds as to a healing center as presented in this image.. following from the crown downward..

by fixating and meditating on these centers, one can heal the metaphysical aspects of one's condition...

I don't picture my "metaphysical aspects" as being capable of being broken.

ok.... if it aint broke, dont fix it? (((smiles)))

I think metaphysical aspects just "grow". I can't see how they can be hurt? Believing one is a god/Christ/whatever is a medical problem not part of one's true metaphysical self, for example. And that's the only sort of thing I can think of that you might mean by something metaphysical needing to "heal"? Most errors and hurts are "physical" in nature, to one's thinking, emotions, body but are not true metaphysical. One's Spirit is always "true"? Just buried if you will. The only example I can think of right away, sorry, is hiding one's light under a bushel basket. The light isn't hurt by that, doesn't cease to exist, just appears to cease or be hurt, etc.

native american sand painting..

"Career" mandala ...

example of Sanskrit mandala...

Persian rug (mandala) ...

Rose window.. west of Notre Dame of Paris...13th Century

the mandala is a universal symbol.. probably in the tile of your kitchen floor or the pattern of wallpaper in your moms' house... in designs all around us...

the Earth is a mandala...

link

Milky Way Galaxy..

link

Stonehenge...

Aztec Sunstone...

Hurricane Katrina...