JUNG'S FOUR LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness - 1 JUNG’S FOUR LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Andrew P. Johnson, Ph.D. Minnesota State University, Mankato Humans are sentient beings. This means that we are aware of ourselves, our sensations, our subjective thoughts and perceptions, and our emotions. Not only are we aware, but we are aware of our awareness. This is sentience. A non-sentient being would be one with a brain that only had the capacity to respond to external stimuli and regulate vital life functions without thought, reflections, or emotions. Consciousness is part of sentience. It is that with which we choose to be aware. Right now, you are aware of words on the page and related thoughts. If you choose you can become aware of the sounds around you, the feeling of your socks against your foot, or the light and color in the room in which you are in. You have the power to allow (or not) these things to float through consciousness. LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Again, consciousness is that of which we are aware. Jungian theory describes four levels of consciousness: Collective Consciousness Collective consciousness is people’s combined awareness and perception of the outer physical world. It is the predominant paradigm. It is how we, as a society or a species, think about things and interpret reality. We are informed by collective consciousness and at the same time we contribute to it. The Collective Unconscious The collective unconscious, sometimes called universal unconscious, is a part of our psyche that is shared by all (see Figure 1). The prefix ‘un’ indicates that these thoughts and images are not currently at the level of awareness. An illustrative metaphor might be to think of it as psychic cyberspace to which we are all connected. Here, every thought, action, and emotion ever experienced by humanity is embedded and available to us in the form of archetypal images. Archetypal images are those images formed around patterns within in the collective unconscious and birthed into human consciousness as symbols and motifs. Carl Jung (1938) and then later Joseph Campbell (1968) described a common set of archetypal images that appear in mythology, fairy tales, stories, literature, dreams, art, and religions throughout the world. These help us understand the nature of existence, the physical world, and our place in the cosmos. They can also be used as guides on our inner journey in search of Divine Essence. Personal Consciousness Personal consciousness or ego consciousness is the thinking with which we are consciously aware (see Figure 2). This can include logical reasoning as well as emotions and intuition. Our personal consciousness is like the atmosphere around a planet. It is something we create and surround ourselves with in order to protect us from the bombardment of outward stimuli and internal images. If we were to be directly connected to The Universe our puny little minds would soon be overloaded and we would blow a circuit. Our personal consciousness allows us to filter and select the memories and immediate sensory perceptions that bombard us, and by doing so, prevent our cognitive hard drives from being overloaded and unable to function. Consciousness - 2 Figure 1. Four levels of consciousness The Collective Unconscious Collective Consciousness Personal Unconscious Personal Consciousness Figure 2. Ego consciousness. Personal Unconscious The personal unconscious is the layer of thinking not readily accessible to our conscious mind. Contained here is material that has reached consciousness and been forgotten such as repressed memories, emotions and personal experiences. It also contains material that has not yet reached consciousness such as archetypal images. Time here is conceived of in fields instead of lines. This is the subjective inner world where reality is determined by meaning. That is, the images perceived here are real in so far as they have some meaning or significance for us. Consciousness - 3 This is where we encounter the Cosmic Christ and other archetypal figures. This is where the wise one speaks to us. Here we find the door. TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES This is the point: Our internal experiences have the potential to be transformative to make us different. This transformation occurs on the level of the psyche or soul when elements of the personal conscious integrate with the personal unconscious. Put another way, we enable our conscious mind to become aware of the Wise One knocking at the door of our personal unconscious. Opening the door to our dark unconscious brings light to (or enlightens) what used to be a dark inner room. This is enlightenment. Our attention enables us to see and then experience Divine Essence within. The traditional Christian term for this enlightenment process is salvation (more on this below). Terms for similar types of experiences might include selfactualization, individuation, liberation, transformation, illumination, nirvana, transcendence, bliss, oneness, rebirth, or awakening. But let us use the term, enlightenment for now. Enlightenment rarely happens instantly and certainly does not come about without an investment of one’s heart and mind. Enlightenment is both a journey and the result of the journey toward transformed consciousness. To choose enlightenment is to choose an inward evolution. Here the internal structures and spiritual principles that have grown within us begin to take precedence over those external structures and religious ideas that have been handed to us. We forsake our reliance on external forms of authority and guidance and learn how to listen to and trust the Divine part of ourselves. INDIVIDUATION Jung believed that a human being is inwardly whole, but that most of us have lost touch with important parts of our selves. Through listening to the messages of our dreams and waking imagination, we can contact and reintegrate our different parts. The goal of life is individuation, the process of coming to know, giving expression to, and harmonizing the various components of the psyche. If we realize our uniqueness, we can undertake a process of individuation and tap into our true self. Each human being has a specific nature and calling which is uniquely his or her own, and unless these are fulfilled through a union of conscious and unconscious, the person can become sick.