Making Friends with the Unconscious

Have you ever considered yourself lucky—even privileged—to live at a time that many people consider the most troubled and difficult period of human history with its upheaval of near extinction events, a period of chaos, and unending contest between good and evil?

Each one of us has to find the answer for himself. In that response to what already could be considered a cataclysmic event, we find ourselves moved by fear and joy. These polar opposites characterize where people are emotionally.

With nearly everyone interested in and having had a class or two that emphasizes psychology or had psychological counseling, we all think we know and understand a little about ourselves and others as well.

But the crisis captivates us as we try to figure out ourselves and others. Some groups hold meetings and consciously ‘work on’ things that bubble up from the unconscious of every member.

What courageous work! The more we do the work of facing ourselves, being willing to surrender and to be vulnerable, the more we own our problem and the closer the healing becomes.

The process of confronting our deepest and most difficult emotions is scary. The practice leads us to the altar where the sacrifice of the ego must be made.

We face our hidden saboteurs and at base we find we must forgive ourselves for our unwillingness to change and accept the ego’s power to create the unrealities we experience.

In his book, ‘The Hope‘, Andrew Harvey found that for himself the major saboteurs were: disbelief, denial, disillusion, the desire to cease to be and dread. We can all add to the list!

Have you dreaded to look at the unconscious? Some people are horrified by looking at inconsistencies, personal mismanagement and all kinds of temper that steal their energy.

Looking back at 9/11, a friend called me as soon as he had heard the terrifying news.

He said simply, “America is under attack. Turn on your television.” Then he hung up.

I momentarily experienced a fear never known before. Almost paralyzed, walking felt like struggling through layers of cotton. It took a few minutes of watching TV to sort out events going on in New York and Washington. I could only register disbelief and dread.

It was a time when people were gripped with hopelessness. The whole world had fallen apart. It took a while and some investigation before I found out what happened.