The Landscape of Jung's Unconscious

The contributions of the life and work of Carl Gustav Jung seem to be undervalued and misunderstood still today. Though most people recognize Jung as a pioneer in the science of psychology (literally the study of the Soul) he was mainly concerned with religious questions, and the psycho spiritual dynamics of the human being. At a time in which spirituality and experience were issues relegated to the Church, Jung was investigating and naming the deeper capacities and shifting realities of the human unconscious. This was considered heretical by theological standards, and only after his death, did some begin to recognize the religious impact of his work. Although as a psychiatrist Jung observed and analyzed the lives of clinical patients, his greatest source of understanding came from his own subjective experiences and self-inquiry. He observed his dreams, noticed feminine and masculine aspects within his associations, recognized the psyche's nature towards creativity, symbolism, integration between opposites, and opened up new language for navigating these forces. Contrary to what some thought, he explicitly declared his allegiance to Christianity, though recognized the Creator God as more than the dual force of goodness opposing evil. In his autobiography Memories, Dreams and Reflections (1961) he states, "I find that all my thoughts circle around God like the planets around the sun, and are irresistibly attracted to Him. I would feel it the grossest sin if I were to oppose any resistance to this force" (p xi). What I find so fascinating is that Jung tapped into the dynamics of the unknown hoping to become closer to the Mystery within. In doing so he opened a whole new way to see and deal with the self through introspection and reflection. I wonder if Jung read Heidegger and connected the psyche to Being? None-the-less his Jung's work on the individuation process is about establishing ones sense of complete Being, the Self. Indeed Jung brought to the world a greater understanding of the most primordial form of art seen through the mind's inner eye: the creativity of symbol and story for the purpose of reuniting us to Wholeness.