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NAVIGATING THE UNCONSCIOUS 1

Navigating the Unconscious:

Using Active Imagination and Shamanic Journeying To Achieve Psychic Integration

Stuart Oliver

Prescott College
NAVIGATING THE UNCONSCIOUS 2
Abstract

Based in the tenets of Jungian depth-psychology and theory of the collective unconscious, this

discussion explains how and why active imagination can be used as a tool for engaging the

transpersonal domain for the purpose of psychological healing, and the ways in which core-shamanism

can be complimentary to this practice. Evidence for the existence of and contents of the collective

unconscious is presented based on psychological and anthropological empirical precedents. The

comparison between Jung's active imagination technique and shamanic journeying has been made

before by Ryan (2002) and Thomason (2010), however, this analysis offers an in depth examination of

the theory and practice of active imagination and how it corresponds to the methods inherent to

shamanism.

Introduction

Sigmund Freud heralded the age of psychology, the study of the soul, with his theory of the

unconscious-an alternate dimension of reality that eludes our senses, yet produces powerful

manifestations in ordinary life. Freud believed the unconscious was an enormous repository of personal

experiences and repressed memories (latent content) which could be illuminated through the images

produced in dreams and through psychoanalysis, a process in which, in Freud's (1920) own words “the

patient talks, tells of his past experiences and present impressions, complains, confesses his wishes and

emotions” (p.8) as the analyst follows “a chain of thought leading into the patient's unconscious mind,

where painful memories, often from childhood, could be retrieved and released” (Myers, 2010, p. 439).

Freud also theorized that the unconscious voiced itself in dreams metaphorically.

Carl Jung, a young physician who also had a pronounced interest in mythology and philosophy,

became an avid follower and personal apprentice of Freud. Jung was a proponent of Freud's seminal

theory of the unconscious and became a valued colleague. However, in a watershed event that would

cause the two to part ways, Jung disagreed with Freud's interpretation of a powerful dream: Jung

dreamed he was in a house in modern times, descending a stairway onto floors that existed further and
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further back in time, ending up in a Neolithic cave surrounded by decaying bones. Whereas Freud

believed the symbols in Jung's dream were of a purely personal nature, Jung was convinced he had

experienced a profound insight into the nature the psyche. The dream became the springboard for

Jung's development of the theory of a collective unconscious, an alternate dimension encompassing all

human experience that defies the limits of material reality, yet is accessible through human

consciousness (Jung, 1971; Ryan, 2002). For the remainder of his life, Jung conducted an extensive

empirical study of this realm through his own journeys and analyzing the experiences of thousands of

patients. Though Jung believed the collective unconscious could be experienced in dreams, he also

developed a participatory strategy for accessing the personal and collective unconscious, which he

called active imagination. This was an intuitive, imagination-fueled method used to interact with

elements of the unconscious to resolve inner dysfunction, or complexes (Hannah, 1981; Jung, 1997).

Jung's supposed discovery of this transcendent mode of therapy was new to Western

civilization, but not without precedent. Through the proliferation of anthropological research and

modern revitalization of interest in spiritual practices of primordial animist cultures, it became clear

that Jung had actually rediscovered and reaffirmed the religion of shamanism, a rich and complex

methodology of accessing the transpersonal dimension for the purpose of healing which shows

remarkable similarity in animist cultures around the world (Harner, 2013; Ryan, 2002). Additionally,

the shamanic technique of cultivating a state of altered consciousness and interacting with the

collective unconscious (known to animists as the spirit world) bears key similarities to Jung's method

of active imagination. Furthermore, the nature of the encounters and impressions of the collective

unconscious experienced by Jung and his clients mirror those of shamanic practitioners, suggesting not

only that they journey to the same realm, but that that realm is real and empirically verifiable.

The Contents of the Unconscious

Before embarking on our exposition of the techniques of active imagination and the

complimentary practice of shamanic journeying into the collective unconscious, we will discuss what
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one expects to find there. Jung's familiarity with mythology allowed him to recognize various ancient

motifs that seemed to present themselves spontaneously in the imagination. He called these motifs

archetypes, literally pre-existent forms, which Jung theorized were instinctual patterns of behavior,

mankind's psychic inheritance (Jung, 1971). Archetypes exist in a reality that transcends the material,

linear realm, and mold to fit our cultural perception, as is evident in their varied manifestations of

myth. Furthermore, archetypes present themselves in a manner that reflects our conscious disposition-if

an individual is fearful, an archetype may appear terrifying, but in happiness, the same archetype can

appear benevolent (Hannah, 1981). Early in his career, Jung treated a schizophrenic patient who

experienced spontaneous, complex delusions, which Jung later discovered in an obscure alchemical

manuscript. Since there was no possible way the patient could have possessed previous knowledge of

such a vision, Jung regarded this as proof that archetypal symbols are universally accessible, and that

furthermore, mental illness was commonly a result of a dysfunctional dynamic between the ego

(conscious) and the collective unconscious. In Jungian psychology, neurosis results from an unwanted

intrusion of unconscious contents into consciousness; “the psychotic...is under the direct influence of

the unconscious” (Jung, 1997, p.44). Additionally, in The Undiscovered Self (1957), Jung warns:

Separation from his instinctual side [the collective unconscious] inevitably plunges civilized

man into the conflict between conscious and unconscious, spirit and nature, knowledge and faith, a split

that becomes pathological the moment his consciousness is no longer able to neglect or suppress his

instinctual side (p.93).

Examining mythology and the dreams and imaginary visions of himself and his patients, Jung

(1971) identified the primary archetypes at work in the human psyche, which exist on a personal as

well as universal level. Among these, the shadow is of primary importance: it compensates for our

ordinary consciousness by containing all that we choose to ignore or suppress-to keep shrouded in

darkness. Similar to the unconscious itself, when the shadow's contents reach a high enough energy

level, they must be brought into awareness, or problems will inevitably ensue (Jung, 1971).
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Individually, it contains all our repressed, or censored, memories and qualities. In the collective

context, it is humanities' dark side: evil. Barbara Hannah (1981) maintains that the gruesome warring

violence of the last 2000 years is the unfortunate and inconvenient manifestation of the dark side of

ourselves that Christianity has denounced. Like any unconscious archetypal energy, the shadow ceases

to control us when we become aware of it, and may eventually be resolved through dialogue in dreams

of utilizing active imagination (Hannah, 1981; Jung, 1971, 1997).

The other principle archetypes are the anima and animus-masculine and feminine renderings of

the Latin word for soul. Jung (1971) posited that the anima represented the compensatory latent

feminine in man; the animus, the latent masculine in woman. This powerful soul energy is introduced

through our parents, and projected onto our lovers, precipitating a dynamic that figures prominently in

our romantic relationships (Jung, 1971). However, the animus or anima lie within the unconscious, and

much can be gained by recognizing, dialoguing with and expressing this compensatory archetype. In a

collective context, it is not difficult to see the results of subjugation of the universal anima (mother

earth) by an overbearing animus (patriarchal culture) in the form of environmental degradation (Jung,

1957). Conversely, shamanic cultures, which characteristically maintained a healthy balance among the

archetypes of the unconscious, maintained a harmonious and complimentary relationship with nature

(Harner, 2013; Ryan, 2002). As the orientation of the human psyche changed, so did society.

Presiding over the individual's various archetypal aspects is the Self (often differentiated by a

capital “s”), the transcendent totality of our entire being that “embraces not only the conscious but also

the unconscious psyche” (Jung, 1971, p.126). It appears in Eastern spiritual traditions as the Godhead,

in metaphysics as the higher self; Jungian scholars maintain that the power of Christianity hinges on the

projection of the Self onto the Christ figure (Hannah, 1981). This over-soul remains above and beyond

our comprehension-in fact, to identify with the Self is said to cause disastrous inflation of the ego

(Hannah, 1981; Jung, 1971). However, to transcend the ego in pursuit of alignment with the Self is the

goal of individuation, embracing “our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness,...becoming one's
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own self” (Jung, 1971, p.121). Individuation entails liberation from the dramatic interplay between the

elements of the unconscious; striking an internal balance and resolve. This is accomplished by bringing

the aforementioned archetypal elements into conscious awareness, and into a functional relationship

with each other. This is the goal of active imagination.

Jung (as cited quoted by Ryan, 2002) believed that humans are endowed with an innate, natural

capacity for psychological self-healing, and the symbolic images encountered in the unconscious are

literally communications from nature, “the world itself speaking” (p.102). Humanity has typically

preserved these symbolic insights and practical, though numinous, lessons in the form of myth, which

serves to explain the power and significance that a given culture's myth holds to its people. In

Shamanism and the Psychology of C.G. Jung (2002), Robert E. Ryan refers to these insights as

“pathways engraved in the mind of humanity” (p.76), which link us directly to “the 2,000,000 year old

man who is in all of us” (p. 120). Indeed, Jung and anyone else taking a sojourn into the collective

unconscious will perceive the common occurrence of “primordial images” (Jung, 1971, p.123), existing

below the threshold of consciousness in timeless space. Jung (1971) contended that the deities of

antiquity were actually primordial archetypes personified and perceived through the lens of the

collective unconscious. Thus, it is evident why the collective unconscious would have been known to

animists as the “spirit-world,” a “land of ancestors” populated by man's symbolic progenitors (Ryan,

2002). Additionally, Jung felt the occurrence of theriomorphs (animals endowed with human-like

intelligence) and therioanthrops (part man-part animals) in the domain of altered-consciousness

“emanate from and represent that portion of our psychic life connecting back to our origins in instinct”

(Ryan, 2002, p. 104): appropriate regalia for the natural world consciously expressing itself. Here we

find a likely explanation for the source of the shaman's power animal. In his frequent journeys into the

collective unconscious, Jung himself acquired the counsel of a therioanthrop, “a pagan [who] brought

with him an Egypto-Hellenistic atmosphere with a Gnostic coloration” (Jung, 1997, p.29). Named

Philomen, he was an old man with the horns of a bull and the wings of a kingfisher, who functioned as
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a guru and to whom Jung owed some of his greatest insights (Jung, 1997).

There is also compelling evidence for the approximate terrain of the collective unconscious,

provided by thousands of shamanic practitioners, and documented by the father of neo-shamanism,

Michael Harner (2013) in his book Cave & Cosmos. Shamanic cosmology, like the collective

unconscious, shows uncanny similarity across time and culture, and Harner (2013) has proposed a

doctrine of Core-Shamanism, which professes key “assumptions about nature and humankind” (p.255).

Among them are the existence of three worlds: the lower-, or under-world, the domain of the

unconscious; the middle world, representing ordinary reality; and the upper world, the realm of the

super-conscious, or astral plane of existence (Harner, 2013). Journeying to the underworld elicits more

earthly, primordial encounters (such as locating an animal or plant guide), and journeying to the upper

world produces a more numinous, energetic effect (encounters with angels; visiting a crystal city)

(Harner, 2013). Both realms, however, bear commonalities in structure and content across thousands of

unique reports, which suggests they belong to Jung's collective unconscious. Furthermore, Harner's

(2013) anthropological analysis of ancient artifacts and oral tradition support the same conclusion. It is

interesting to note that, though there are marked similarities present in the terrain of the spirit-world,

the details are interpretive, contingent on the individual, a fact which Harner (2013) believes is

appropriate-the symbolic metaphors used by the collective unconscious are uniquely tailored to each

individual and correlated with his/her ability to navigate the altered state.

Anatomy of Active Imagination

Active imagination contrasts with passive fantasy in the results that naturally occur when the

individual engages the imaginal realm with expectancy and conscious participation (Jung, 1997). Jung

(1997) believed such an ability was an inherent human function, evident in the way children play for

fun, and in the art that people have always been prompted to create. Therefore, the manifestation of

unconscious contents can take the form of painting, sculpting, dancing, acting, and music; however, the

process is most often performed by writing, an apt media for capturing dialogue. Fundamentally, the
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participant begins by identifying the raw psychic energy of the emotion that accompanies the offending

complex. Intuitive prompts can provide a starting place, emanating from the auditory, visual, or sensate

dimension, depending on the natural disposition of the individual. Jung (1997) found dream material

the most helpful source of unconscious communication, fantasy material on which to base the process,

though differentiated from actual dreaming by virtue of conscious participation. The steps of the

process of active imagination vary slightly among Jungian analysts; listed are the 4-step instructions by

Jung's apprentice Maria Louise Von Franz (as cited by Johnson, 1986):

1. Empty the ego-mind

2. Let the unconscious flow into the vacuum,

3. Add the ethical element,

4. Integrate the imagination back into daily life.

In defining the transcendent function, the psyche's ability to reconcile the conscious and

unconscious, Jung (1997) states “consciousness possesses a threshold intensity which its contents must

have attained, so that all elements that are too weak remain in the unconscious” (p.43). Therefore, in

order to journey into the unconscious realm, it is necessary to lower the threshold of ordinary

consciousness to allow the weaker unconscious elements to pass through into our awareness.

Accordingly, the first step in active imagination is to subvert the control of the ego. Ego-consciousness,

by nature, safeguards against thought-forms that could be overwhelming to conscious awareness,

therefore, it would be prudent at this point to iterate the dangers involved in active imagination. Jung

(1997) warns of three dangers: one, that in a process of free-association (without directed intention),

“the patient gets caught in the sterile circle of his own complexes, from which he is...unable to escape”

(p. 42); two, the patient is so intoxicated by his own fantasies and no real insight is gained; and three,

most importantly, that “the subliminal contents already possess such a high energy charge that, when

afforded an outlet by active imagination, they may overpower the conscious mind and take possession

of the personality” (p.43). Henceforth, the method should not be considered by mentally unstable
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individuals, and should always be performed with the counsel of a suitable therapist (Jung, 1997).

Jung's context for active imagination is secular; the complimentary method of shamanic

journeying is decidedly spiritual. In order to mitigate the dangers of communication with the

unconscious (or, in shamanic terminology, to avoid offending the inhabitants of the spirit world), it is

beneficial to invoke an attitude of sacredness to the procedure. This is where Jung's method can be

improved upon by shamanic techniques. Animist rituals are designed to lower the threshold of

consciousness by virtue of intention, devotion, and reverence. This serves to create the necessary

“break with the universe of daily life” (Eliade, as quoted by Ryan, 2012, p.115) and suspend the

authority of the conscious mind. Modern psychologists believe expectation and the power of belief (the

placebo effect) account for much of the success in ritual healing (Thomason, 2010). Prayer, material

offerings and authentic gratitude prepare the conscious mind to receive revelatory, inspiring insight,

and precipitate the appropriate context through which one may perceive archetypes. Animist cultures

employ initiatory rites such as exhaustive dance, drumming, fasting, and ingestion of powerful

hallucinogens to transcend normal awareness and allow the contents of the unconscious to be revealed

(Ryan, 2002). Drumming is the most ubiquitous tool for altering consciousness, and modern scientific

studies (as cited by Thomason, 2010) have proven that playing of a rapid rhythm (180-300 beats per

minute) for ten minutes or more (auditory driving) can dramatically transform brain-wave patterns,

inducing a trance-like hypnotic state. Dancing is also a traditional tool of transformation: to identify

one's power animal, or spirit-guide, Harner (2013) advises the initiate to dance until the mannerisms of

a particular animal appear, effectively causing the primordial contents of the collective unconscious to

manifest into material reality. Repeating ceremonial rituals to induce active imagination, regardless of

how elaborate, also serves as a conscious trigger, entraining a pattern into the mind precipitating a

chronic experience.

In shamanism, the process of vesting the ego is known as shamanic death, a spontaneous
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initiatory experience that causes gruesome visions of dismemberment, decomposition, or being

consumed by theriomorphs or therioanthrops; metaphorically being consumed by the primordial

archetypes of the collective unconscious (Ryan, 2002). Shamanic death often involved grave physical

illness with no known cure, and the shaman’s ability to recover became the source of his/her power,

hence the wounded healer complex (Groesbeck, 1989). This required locating and enlisting the help of

a spirit-guide, and hinged on the ability to communicate with the entities of the spirit-world. All forms

of disease, physical and mental, were believed to emanate from the unconscious in pre-Western

shamanic societies, and the shaman would bargain with these transpersonal forces on behalf of

members of the community, over which collective archetypes had universal control. Jung's own path of

shamanic initiation, involving mysterious illnesses and revelatory visions, is well documented by

scholars (Ryan, 2002; Groesbeck, 1989), and his contribution to the healing arts is known throughout

the world, making him the penultimate modern Western equivalent of a shaman. At times, Jung (2002)

reported feeling like a “medicine man to his tribe” (p.7).

Fortunately, the rigors of shamanic initiation are not a prerequisite for active imagination;

adherence to the underlying principles is sufficient to embark on a meaningful journey of psychological

healing. However, believing in the autonomous reality of the emanations of the imagination poses a

significant challenge for modern people. Indeed, it has made the subject of the collective unconscious

difficult to pursue academically and scientifically. Founder of the Institute for Shamanic Arts in

Tucson, Arizona, Quynn Elizabeth (personal communication, February 25, 2015) describes the modern

shaman's path as two fold: the practitioner must first contend with the issue of belief in the validity of

the imaginal realm before he/she can facilitate traditional shamanic practice. However, shamanic

journeying and active imagination are experiential, and once the individual has personally engaged the

unconscious and witnessed its super-personal intelligence, there remains little room for doubt. In order

to suspend disbelief, and overcome what Jung (1997) called conscious cramp, there are tricks to
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enlivening the imagination. Johnson (1986) prescribes various methods of “priming the pump” (p.168),

such as abstract illustration and automatic writing. A classic shamanic method to jump start the

imagination is to visualize oneself in a place in nature that one has formerly visited and cherished

(Harner, 2013). Journeying into the unconscious is often symbolized by a subterranean descent, which

accounts for the identification of caves with portals to the spirit world, specifically the lower world

(Harner, 2013). Jung himself undertook such an adventure in his explorations: determined to access the

unconscious, he suspended normal consciousness and spontaneously descended into the primordial

domain, encountering powerful visions which he consciously analyzed, or amplified, upon his return to

normal consciousness (Groesbeck, 1989; Jung, 1997).

The second step of active imagination involves opening a dialogue with the contents of the

unconscious (Hannah, 1981; Johnson, 1986). In this pivotal confrontation with that which lies beneath

our awareness, Jung (as cited by Hannah, 1981) found it helpful to personify the archetypes one

encounters; to actively visualize them as finite entities. Ryan (2002) alludes to the fact that a shaman's

power is determined by his familiarity with these personified archetypes-shamans are practiced masters

of active imagination. The archetypes of the animus and anima are the cornerstone of shamanic

cosmology, represented ubiquitously in the union of father sky and mother earth. Some male shamans

are said to possess “celestial wives” (Groesbeck, 1989, p.258), undoubtedly the incarnation of the

anima. In her book Encounters With The Soul (1981), another former apprentice of Jung, Barbara

Hannah cites documented examples of active imagination by citizens of Ancient Egypt and monks from

the middle Ages. Hannah (1981) also provides case studies of modern patients that reveal the

remarkable insight and rich wealth of experience that can sometimes last for years. One man

undertakes an epic hero's journey through the numinous under-world, aided by his personal anima,

battling archetypes (which correspond to entities in his conscious life) in a long, elaborate quest to seek

the Self (Hannah, 1981). An exceptionally neurotic woman is able to outwit the conscious control of
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her overbearing animus by forming an alliance with the universal anima, her “Great Mother” (Hannah,

1981, p. 149), who provides her with spiritual insights comparable to humanity's greatest works of

philosophy. Examples like this show the enormous self-healing potential of the psyche, and how active

imagination can provide the keys to the kingdom of heaven that lies within.

The necessity of a strong ethical foundation for this work is self-evident. Avoiding negative

manifestations of unconscious contents relies on maintaining a conscious disposition oriented to

healing and altruistic love. Archetypes tend to mirror the consciousness of the initiate; devastating

effects can result from embarking on active imagination with base, selfish intent. Using the technique

for material gain or manipulation of others is contrary to the transcendent goal of individuation.

Hannah (1981) warns that we must not attempt to produce manifestations of living people lest we

influence their right to free will. Jung (as quoted by Johnson, 1986) alludes to the great responsibility

the images of the unconscious place on man, and warns that if we shirk our ethical obligations, one can

“fall prey to the power principle, and this produces dangerous effects which are destructive not only to

others but even to the knower” (p.190). Here it is useful to regard active imagination as a spiritual

practice: transpersonal archetypes hold formidable power over the individual, and must be approached

with honor, humility, authenticity, and steadfast adherence to the outcome of benevolent healing.

Within the domain of active imagination, the individual engages archetypal energies emerging

from the personal and the collective unconscious. Freud correctly assumed that the personal

unconscious contains latent memories and impressions from our lives, contents that must be dealt with

primarily in active imagination. However, the significance of Jung's realization of the transcendent

function lies in identifying the dynamic that exists between the personal and collective unconscious.

Personal archetypes such as the shadow, anima and animus function as portals allowing omnipotent,

transpersonal archetypes to influence, and even possess the individual. Our diligent efforts to balance

and cultivate awareness of our personal archetypes in the realm of active imagination is reflected in the

macrocosm of human psychic inheritance, and is truly individuation and integrative healing. An
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example of effective engagement of the transcendent function is exemplified in the practice of soul-

retrieval, which, according to the founder of the Institute of Shamanic Arts, Quynn Elizabeth (personal

communication, February 25, 2015), is the most common occurrence in active imagination/shamanic

journeying:

While in an altered state of consciousness affected by ritual and auditory driving, the initiate

follows prompts from their imagination to locate a past trauma, located in the personal unconscious.

The journey across time and space to this event is made possible by the non-local nature of the

imaginal realm. Maintaining an ethical motivation, the initiate asks for guidance and assistance from

the transpersonal, collective unconscious to contend with this trauma. Typically, they then perceive a

powerful, benevolent entity providing aid to their past-self, and when the initiate returns to ordinary

consciousness, a personal transformation has taken place, inferring a recovery and return to balance:

individuation.

Conclusion

The acute dysfunction of Western society's relationship with the dimension of the unconscious

is blatantly obvious in popular culture. The collective impulse to integrate the transpersonal domain is

illustrated in ubiquitous television shows and films focused on the paranormal, illustrating terrifying

depictions of the latent contents of the unconscious screaming to be recognized and integrated. Perhaps

the most telling and timely example is the film Birdman (Iñárritu, 2014). In 2015, it earned the

Academy Awards for Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Screenplay (and 187 more awards)

(“Birdman,” n.d.), possibly because it dramatizes so profoundly the state of the psyche in Western

culture. The film details an actor's (Michael Keaton) losing battle to gain control of an entity

originating in the unconscious, aptly characterized as a therioanthrop: half-bird, half-man. Keaton's

attempts to ignore Birdman only lead to more vicious and maddening psychic confrontations, and

Keaton is eventually possessed by the entity, believing suicide is his only escape. Though the

popularity of this film suggests encounters with unconscious entities may be more common than we
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think, the solution for this psychic conflict, found in Jung's active imagination and shamanic

journeying, is unfortunately absent.

Another compound issue addressed in Birdman (Iñárritu, 2014) is the emptiness and

dissatisfaction inherent in a superficial, materialistic paradigm. The Birdman character is cleverly

derived from Batman, an action-hero that Keaton himself famously portrayed. Part of Keaton's

psychological crisis in the film is a result of his loss of youth and vigor, and his familial relationships

that have failed in the wake of his complicity in the inflated ego-consciousness of Hollywood. In this

way, Birdman (Iñárritu, 2014) gives voice to the collective crisis of Americans who have vainly sought

fulfillment in materialism, and find themselves dangerously inept at contending with the energies of

unconscious when they inevitably seek awareness. Jung was gravely concerned about America's

“tremendous urge toward conformity, and our desire for material possessions...our culture's

pathological fascination with conquest, speed, success, and machines” (Jung, 2002, p.9). He spoke

prophetically of the current mental health crisis in America, stating:

We are awakening a little to the feeling that something is wrong in the world, that our modern

prejudice of overestimating the importance of the intellect and conscious mind might be false...When

whole countries avoid these warnings, and fill their asylums, become uniformly neurotic, we are in

great danger (Jung, 2002, p. 150-151).

To resolve this issue, society looks to science and chemistry in the form of behavioral

psychology and pharmacology-a materialistic prescription for a spiritual problem. Recovery hinges on

the ability to overcome Western intellectual prejudice and by applying the psychological healing

methods inherent to shamanism, rediscovered and clarified by Carl Jung.


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