Difference between revisions of "Consciousness"
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| − | Well, part of what happens in the redemptive story is, if you think about Christ as a symbolic figure—symbolic of the process of transformation that we just described—one of the morals of the Christian passion is that you need to radically accept your limitations. Part of this “keeping your sins before your eyes,” which you just described: “here’s all the ways I fall short of the glory of God,” let’s say. “I make this mistake, I make this mistake, I make this mistake.” That’s all consciousness, and it’s painful. You think, “well, you become more conscious of this glorious process of enlightenment,” and, overall, it is. But the things that you need to become conscious of are precisely the things that you least want to become conscious of. This is the motif that Jung identified in the [Alchemical tradition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy) . The Alchemical motto, so to speak, was, “that which you most need to find will be found where you least want to look.” Right. And everyone knows that’s true. You tell someone that, and they go, “oh, yeah. I know that’s true.” It’s also the greatest barrier to enlightenment, because if enlightenment is all tulips and sunshine, then everyone would be enlightened. But it’s not. It’s this continual bringing before yourself all your proclivity for transgression—obviously, because how are you going to solve your problems, if you’re not aware of them? <sup>[ | + | Well, part of what happens in the redemptive story is, if you think about Christ as a symbolic figure—symbolic of the process of transformation that we just described—one of the morals of the Christian passion is that you need to radically accept your limitations. Part of this “keeping your sins before your eyes,” which you just described: “here’s all the ways I fall short of the glory of God,” let’s say. “I make this mistake, I make this mistake, I make this mistake.” That’s all consciousness, and it’s painful. You think, “well, you become more conscious of this glorious process of enlightenment,” and, overall, it is. But the things that you need to become conscious of are precisely the things that you least want to become conscious of. This is the motif that Jung identified in the [Alchemical tradition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy) . The Alchemical motto, so to speak, was, “that which you most need to find will be found where you least want to look.” Right. And everyone knows that’s true. You tell someone that, and they go, “oh, yeah. I know that’s true.” It’s also the greatest barrier to enlightenment, because if enlightenment is all tulips and sunshine, then everyone would be enlightened. But it’s not. It’s this continual bringing before yourself all your proclivity for transgression—obviously, because how are you going to solve your problems, if you’re not aware of them? <sup>[2]</sup> |
==== Interpretations ==== | ==== Interpretations ==== | ||
Revision as of 17:52, 28 March 2020
Contents
Definition
Applications
Role of Consciousness Which is Different from Nature and Culture
"From a strictly scientific perspective, we think of human beings as nothing but the children of nature and culture and that pushes you towards a kind of deterministic view. What causes your behaviour? Well it’s either nature or culture because there isn’t anything else … but that isn’t how the mythological story lays itself out … because it says there is something else … and that is, whatever your consciousness is. That consciousness seems to be able to work with nature and culture in a nondeterministic manner in order to bring itself forward. It is virtually the plot of any story. The story of the development of the individual.[1]
Consciousness Is Painful, But It Is Necessary for Redemption
Well, part of what happens in the redemptive story is, if you think about Christ as a symbolic figure—symbolic of the process of transformation that we just described—one of the morals of the Christian passion is that you need to radically accept your limitations. Part of this “keeping your sins before your eyes,” which you just described: “here’s all the ways I fall short of the glory of God,” let’s say. “I make this mistake, I make this mistake, I make this mistake.” That’s all consciousness, and it’s painful. You think, “well, you become more conscious of this glorious process of enlightenment,” and, overall, it is. But the things that you need to become conscious of are precisely the things that you least want to become conscious of. This is the motif that Jung identified in the [Alchemical tradition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy) . The Alchemical motto, so to speak, was, “that which you most need to find will be found where you least want to look.” Right. And everyone knows that’s true. You tell someone that, and they go, “oh, yeah. I know that’s true.” It’s also the greatest barrier to enlightenment, because if enlightenment is all tulips and sunshine, then everyone would be enlightened. But it’s not. It’s this continual bringing before yourself all your proclivity for transgression—obviously, because how are you going to solve your problems, if you’re not aware of them? [2]
Interpretations
See Also
References
[1] 2017 Maps of Meaning 08: Neuropsychology of Symbolic Representation (a quote from the first 20 minutes of the lecture)
