The chapter 'Four Hands in the Crossroads: Amplification in Times of Crisis' in The
Dream and its Amplification, discusses dreams and amplification in times of
crisis and turmoil, observing and explaining the increased synchronicity that
may take place under such circumstances.
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| The upstretched hands of Tanit at Tel Hazor. Collection of Israel Antiquities Authority, photo copyright Israel Museum, Jerusalem |
The following is
excerpted from the introduction to the chapter:
In amplification, we
reach out beyond the boundaries of our ego, beyond the realm of ego
consciousness, which by definition is temporary and limited. We humbly admit
that our ego-identity is not the one and only, the grand-all and be-all. By
amplification we recognize that the images that arise from the unconscious have
a life of their own, and that the world of matter and psyche exists in itself,
even when out of the beholder’s sight. The “I” of my awareness is not the grand
creator of the image, but partakes, sometimes actively, in that greater whole,
in a reality of spirit and matter that exists and lives, even if I am absent. When
in dialogue with the living image, I neither deny its existence, nor do I believe
that I am its sole creator.
Thus, amplification does
not only entail seeking parallels to one’s personal experience in mythology and
in the history of humankind, but it implies a shift of focus from
ego-centeredness to a dialogue between personal consciousness and the objective
psyche. Consequently, when amplifying, we consciously reach out and recognize the
image’s existence in itself, as well as allowing
the image and its symbolic energy to enter consciousness.
Just
like the Self seeks its realization in the ego, the objective psyche seeks to
manifest itself in the world of consciousness. Amplification facilitates this
process, whereby the Self of the objective psyche gains access to the ego of
the individual psyche. By means of amplification, the Self, as archetype of
meaning, anchors the personal ego in substance and significance.
* * * * * * *
If the images of the objective psyche are too
compelling, and the ego and its defenses are too weak, the archetypal world
will implode and crash into consciousness, destabilizing the psyche. In
psychosis, the archetypal unconscious has unmediated access to the individual
psyche. The complexes have sometimes not constellated well enough to carry out
their teleological, purposeful process of personalization. In a psychotic
condition, the complexes are unable to connect between the realms of archetype
and ego, to mediate archetypal substance into the area of the ego and to
regulate its assimilation in such a way that archetypal energies mold into
personal manifestations. When the ego is too weak and does not have solid
enough boundaries, it becomes inundated.
Individuals react to crisis and turmoil in a variety of ways. On
the one hand, some are paralyzed by anxiety, while in others Martian energy is
triggered, leading to an increased capacity to act. In times of upheaval and
disorder, the objective psyche, the archetypal unconscious, is activated and
set in motion. Potentially traumatogenic archetypal matter is heated up and
energized, boiling in the vessels more closely beneath the surface. Archetypal
forces and images will more easily penetrate cracks in the ego’s defenses,
triggering collective fears and complexes, such as the fear that the Holocaust may
be repeated.
Activated archetypal material will find its
way and sometimes emerge in the psyche of the person whose doors to the
unconscious are open, as happened to Jung prior to World War One. In other instances,
the archetypal forces that have been set in motion will penetrate into the
psychologically unprepared or unsophisticated individual, as in the case of the
young soldier below, and sometimes in the psychologically sensitive and
conflicted person, as in the officer, whose dream is also described.
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| cover image A Giant Dream from an original painting by Howard Fox |
The Dream and
Its Amplification unveils the language of the psyche that speaks to us in our
dreams.
We all dream
at least 4-6 times each night yet remember very few. Those that rise to the
surface of our conscious awareness beckon to be understood, like a letter addressed
to us that arrives by post. Why would we not open it? The difficulty is in
understanding what the dream symbols and images mean. Through amplification, C.
G. Jung formulated a method of unveiling the deeper meaning of symbolic images.
This becomes particularly important when the image does not carry a personal
meaning or significance and is not part of a person’s everyday life.
Contents
I. The Amplified World of
Dreams: Erel Shalit & Nancy
Swift Furlotti
II. Pane e’ Vino: Learning to
discern the objective, archetypal nature of dreams: Michael Conforti
III. Amplification: A Personal Narrative: Tom Singer
IV. Redeeming the Feminine: Eros
and the World Soul: Nancy Qualls-Corbet
V. Wild Cats and Crowned
Snakes: Archetypal Agents of Feminine Initiation: Nancy Swift Furlotti
VI. A Dream in Arcadia: Christian Gaillard
VII. Muse of the Moon: Poetry from
the Dreamtime: Naomy Lowinsky
VIII. Dreaming the ‘Face of the
Earth’: Myth, Culture and Dreams of the Mayan Shaman: Ken Kimmel
IX. Coal or Gold?: The Symbolic
Understanding of a few Alpine Legends: Gotthilf Isler
X. Sophia’s Dreaming Body: The
Alchemical Mirror of the Night Sky: Monika Wikman
XI. “The Dream Always Follows the
Mouth”: Jewish Approaches to Dreaming: Henry Abramovitch
XII. Bi-Polarity, Compensation, and
The Transcendent Function in Dreams and Visionary Experience: A Jungian
Examination of Boehme’s Mandala - Kathryn Madden
XIII. The Dream As Gnostic Myth: Ronald Schenk
XIV. Four Hands in the Crossroads:
Dreams in Times of Upheaval - Erel Shalit
XV. Dreams and Sudden Death: Gilda
Frantz
Product Details:
Paperback: 220 pages (Large Page Format 9.25" x 7.5")
Publisher: Fisher King Press; 1st edition (June 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1-926715-89-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-926715-89-6
Available at Amazon and Fisher King Press.
