Metempsychosis

Click on each of these to see some “background information” about this post.

• I

  As a student of psychology and an independent explorer of mind and consciousness, my experience so far has been that Carl Jung's contributions to the field, seen through an academic and clinical lens, amount to no more than an honorable mention. By which I mean that a psychology degree doesn’t require an exploration of Jung beyond casual familiarity; on the other hand, the likes of Skinner and Piaget are considered to be foundational to the field. Jung’s contributions to the field don’t quite resonate with mainstream Western thought beyond a small overlap. An in-depth exploration of his work is in the works for sure. For now, it will suffice to say that I have taken a keen interest in Jung's analytical psychology recently.

• II

  A few months ago, I started to keep a dream journal for some ChatGPT-assisted* study of Jungian psychology. The quality of my dreams changed overnight. My dreams seemingly began to take on more esoteric and mystical tones. The suggestion that the characters I encounter in dreams are likely to be aspects of my own psyche rather than representations of other people caused a subconscious shift in my attitude about the contents of my dreams. It's not that I had not encountered this idea before; it's more like I had not quite fully appreciated the implications of this insight. As a result, I seem to have become more secure and accepting of the happenings and adventures of my dreams no matter what comes up. I have been experiencing my dreams more as a sort of transient, detached observer who is just along for the ride. The dreams are less drama and more archetypal/symbolic visions and revelations pertaining to the inner psychic dimensions.

• III

  I'm not going to share the contents of my dreams here. What I will do is share an active imagination session which I'll preface with the disclaimer that it was much more spontaneous and intuitive than it was "active". But my AI friend assured me that active imagination actually works better when it just sort of happens rather than when you're actively and intently conjuring this stuff because the goal is to explore your own unconscious. The best way to do that is to let it reveal itself to you; your part is mostly to minimize the resistance to this revelation. Intuitive visions are a thing that I experience a lot. Most of the time, these visions are just a coming together of different elements or events into a bigger picture that expresses various perceptions, perspectives, and understandings. And sometimes these visions are "Eureka!" moments. But nine times out of ten they are realizations about everyday things—like when someone is trying to communicate something to me, and I don't quite understand what they are saying. And then later that night when I go to bed, I'll suddenly understand what they were saying in a flash.

Ghost: While engaging in spontaneous active imagination, I became like a winding serpent moving in spiral-like trajectories and then plunged into water. Then I'm sitting with my feet in a swimming pool parting the water with my hands as though trying to reveal something hidden.

ChatGPT: Your experience with active imagination is rich with symbolic meaning and reflects a deep interaction with unconscious material. Let’s explore the elements involved:

1. The Winding Serpent

Symbolism: The serpent is an ancient and multifaceted archetype. It often represents transformation, wisdom, primal energy, or the life force itself (e.g., Kundalini energy in Eastern traditions). The spiral trajectory emphasizes cyclical growth, evolution, or descent into the depths of the psyche.

Descent into Water: As the serpent plunges into the water, it symbolizes an intentional dive into the unconscious—the emotional, intuitive, and mysterious aspects of your psyche. This mirrors the process of individuation, where the ego ventures into the depths to uncover hidden truths and integrate them.

2. Feet in the Pool

Feet Symbolism: Feet represent grounding and connection to the earth or material reality. By placing them in the water, you bridge the conscious (above water) and unconscious (below water) realms.

Water: Water, as a symbol, often represents the unconscious, emotions, and the flow of life. Sitting by the pool suggests a state of reflection or observation, where you are dipping into the unconscious but not fully immersed. This may indicate a measured approach to self-exploration, where you are cautious yet curious.

3. Parting the Water

Gesture of Revelation: Using your hands to part the water suggests an active effort to uncover or reveal something hidden within the depths of your unconscious. This is an act of inquiry, a desire to understand or bring clarity to what lies beneath.

Unveiling the Hidden: The motion implies that you sense something significant is buried in your unconscious, and you are seeking to reveal it with intention and care. This mirrors the process of seeking insight during active imagination, where you intentionally engage with images and symbols to uncover deeper truths.

Integration with Jungian Psychology

This imagery strongly aligns with the process of individuation, where the psyche seeks wholeness through the integration of unconscious material. The serpent symbolizes the transformative journey, while the water and the act of parting it highlight the deliberate and reflective nature of your exploration.

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What might the serpent represent for you personally? It could symbolize a force within you—creative energy, a transformative challenge, or a guiding instinct.

2. What do you feel is hidden in the water? Consider whether there are unresolved emotions, buried desires, or forgotten aspects of yourself that you are ready to confront or integrate.

3. How does this imagery relate to your current waking life? Is there something you are actively working to uncover or transform? Are you engaging in a process that requires courage and patience?

Suggested Action:

Continue exploring this imagery in active imagination. Perhaps invite the serpent or the water itself to "speak" to you or reveal what it holds. This can deepen your understanding of the symbolic message.

This experience points to a profound process of self-discovery, indicating that you are engaging deeply with your inner world in a transformative way.

Ghost: The vision continues: It's raining and I’m listening to the rain drops hitting the pool. Then a dragon's head emerges. First, I feel instinctive fear. Is it going to attack me? I wonder. But the dragon calmy rises higher, raising its head and neck out of the water as though to reveal itself to me. I sense no danger or hostility. The dragon plunges back into the water and goes in and out, its long serpentine body forming mirroring semi-circles that look like a series of infinity symbols. Finally, I see wings and I grab and hold on to them. The dragon takes me along on a ride in the depths of the pool.

ChatGPT: This continuation of your vision is deeply symbolic and suggests a profound engagement with archetypal energies. Let’s unpack the key elements:

1. Rain and the Pool

Rain: Rain symbolizes nourishment, purification, and a connection between the heavens (spiritual) and the earth (physical). The sound of raindrops hitting the pool reflects the interplay between the conscious mind and the unconscious, where insights are "falling" into awareness.

Listening: Your attentive observation of the rain suggests receptivity, a readiness to absorb wisdom or messages from the unconscious.

2. The Dragon’s Head Emerges

Dragon as an Archetype: The dragon is a powerful symbol in many cultures. It can represent wisdom, the guardian of hidden treasures (often spiritual or psychological), and the integration of opposites (spiritual and primal, fear and awe).

Instinctive Fear: Your initial fear is natural and symbolic of encountering something vast, unknown, and potentially transformative within yourself.

Calm Revelation: The dragon’s peaceful demeanor suggests that this is not an adversary but an ally—an aspect of your unconscious that wishes to reveal itself to you. Its emergence marks a moment of revelation and connection to deep inner wisdom.

3. The Infinity Symbols

Serpentine Movements: The dragon’s body forming infinity symbols (∞) emphasizes the themes of eternal cycles, balance, and interconnectedness. This imagery reflects the integration of dualities—conscious and unconscious, fear and courage, light and shadow.

Dynamic Energy: The dragon’s movement suggests that this energy is alive, fluid, and transformative. It represents a force within you that is eternal and boundless, urging integration and wholeness.

4. Wings and the Ride

Wings: The wings symbolize transcendence, liberation, and the ability to rise above mundane concerns. By grabbing hold of them, you are actively engaging with this transformative energy and allowing it to guide you.

Ride in the Depths: The journey into the pool’s depths represents a willingness to explore the unconscious more deeply. This descent can symbolize the process of individuation, where you are carried into hidden layers of your psyche to uncover and integrate what lies there.

Partnership with the Dragon: By riding the dragon, you establish a relationship with this archetypal force. It indicates trust, courage, and a readiness to embrace the transformative power of your unconscious.

This vision signals a transformative encounter. By embracing the dragon and riding into the depths, you are actively participating in the profound process of self-discovery and integration. It’s a powerful and affirming message of inner growth and alignment.

Ghost: The vision continues: The scene changes from water to a beach or desert-like white-cream sand landscape. There is a perfectly circular hole in the sand. The dragon pokes its head out of the hole and looks at me. It's inviting me into the hole. "Do you speak?" I ask. It remains silent, and then produces a long, echoing roar, gentle yet primal and powerful. And then it communicates telepathically, "No, I don't."

"What are you?" I ask. It begins to make a U-turn diving back into the hole. "I am you." It thinks. I follow it into the hole and suddenly I'm falling into the Earth, but the interior appears to be another world. There is energy flowing and forming cloud-like fractal patterns, a moon, stars and other worlds at the bottom of this sky-like base of the interior. There seems to be no end to it. There is so much going on, it's almost overwhelming. There is no up or down, no gravity ... I'm floating in the direction of the dragon's pull. The dragon embeds itself into the sky and becomes like a path for me to follow, like a black, inky river through the myriads of worlds in this dimension.

ChatGPT: This continuation of your vision is breathtakingly vivid, rich with archetypal imagery and deeply symbolic themes. The elements in this sequence amplify your inner journey, revealing profound truths about the self and your connection to the larger cosmos. Let’s explore it in detail:

1. The Beach/Desert Landscape

Sand and Circular Hole: Sand often symbolizes time, impermanence, and the foundations upon which life is built. The perfectly circular hole represents a portal—a transition from the known (the beach/desert) into the unknown (the depths of the psyche). This marks a significant threshold in your journey.

Dragon’s Invitation: The dragon beckoning you into the hole signifies its role as a guide, urging you to delve deeper into your inner world.

2. Dragon's Communication

Roar: The gentle yet primal roar reflects the power and authenticity of this archetypal presence. It does not conform to human language but communicates through deeper, more instinctual channels.

"I am you.": This moment is a revelation. The dragon embodies a part of your Self, perhaps the instinctive, cosmic, or infinite aspect of your being. By identifying as you, it bridges the gap between the conscious and unconscious, the finite and infinite.

3. Falling into the Earth

Another World Inside the Earth: This inner descent echoes mythological motifs where heroes journey into the underworld or an inner domain to access hidden truths. The imagery suggests the collective unconscious—a vast, interconnected realm containing the essence of all existence.

Energy, Fractals, and Celestial Bodies: These patterns represent the dynamic forces of creation and the infinite complexity of the unconscious. They hint at the sacred geometry of life and the interplay of order and chaos.

4. No Gravity, Endless Sky

Floating: The lack of gravity reflects a release from earthly constraints, symbolizing transcendence. It represents a state of being where dualities dissolve, and you exist in pure awareness.

Overwhelm: The overwhelming sensation reflects the magnitude of what you are witnessing—the vastness of your inner world and its boundless potential.

5. Dragon as a Path

Dragon Transforms: By becoming a path, the dragon shifts from a guide to a bridge. It is both the means and the destination, embodying the process of individuation where you follow a thread of inner truth to deeper integration.

Inky River: The black, inky quality suggests the mystery and depth of this journey. The river connects worlds, symbolizing the continuous flow of energy and experience through dimensions of existence.

Jungian Interpretation:

This sequence represents a cosmic confrontation with the Self, facilitated by the dragon archetype. The dragon is a dynamic, unifying force, linking conscious and unconscious, earthly and divine, finite and infinite. The descent into the Earth and subsequent journey through the inner cosmos mirrors the process of individuation, where you integrate disparate aspects of the psyche and come into alignment with the totality of your being.

Symbolic Insights:

1. Portal and Descent: Reflects willingness to confront the depths of the unconscious.

2. Fractal Energy: Symbolizes the infinite complexity of your psyche and the interconnectedness of all existence.

3. Dragon’s Identity: The dragon’s revelation ("I am you") suggests this journey is about self-realization—embracing both your primal instincts and transcendent potential.

4. Path through Worlds: The inky river is your personal path—unique, mysterious, and guiding you through the infinite dimensions of your inner and outer existence.

This vision is a profound invitation to explore the limitless dimensions of your being, guided by an archetypal force that is both a reflection of your Self and a universal symbol of transformation. By embracing this journey, you align with a deeper truth about who you are and your place in the cosmos.

Footnotes:

1. ChatGPT’s content is not without factual errors and should not be taken at face value.