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Glossary Of Jungian Terminology


Dreams
A series of images, ideas, and emotions occurring in different stages of sleep, that are unconsciously determined. The act of dreaming is physiological, the contents - images, anecdotes, activities, emotions, and thoughts - are psychological.

The Unconscious
According to Jung contents of the unconscious mind were once conscious and have become repressed; are subliminal perceptions; memories too unimportant to be remembered (Freud's pre-conscious); contents arising independently from the collective unconscious, a stratum common to all human beings that provides the creative and healing forces which are so important to meaningful human life.
For Jung, the unconscious fulfills a positive role, performing a therapeutic function by showing the conscious mind what needs to be done to get rid of unease and unhappiness and to achieve fuller satisfaction in life.
Freud saw the unconscious as a bin for receiving the conscious mind's rejected experiences and memories.

Consciousness
The waking condition; knowing what is happening around oneself; the state of being conscious.

Personal Unconscious
Those things that have been repressed, rejected from consciousness, something that has built up during the individual's lifetime. Campbell describes it this way; firstly, they are contents that have lost their intensity and were forgotten or because consciousness was withdrawn from them (repression). Secondly, contents which never had sufficient intensity to reach consciousness but have somehow entered the psyche. (From 'The Portable Jung')

Collective Unconscious
That part of the psyche which retains and transmits the common psychological inheritance of mankind. The collective unconscious is not individual but common to all mankind, and even perhaps to all animals. It is the instinctive aspect of the psyche, just as in the turtle knowing exactly where the water is at birth and knowing to go straight for it.
The collective unconscious consists of mythological motifs or primordial (pre-dating mankind) images, for which reason the myths of all nations are its exponents. The whole of mythology could be taken as a sort of projection of the collective unconscious -Joseph Campbell, 'The Portable Jung.

Symbol
The best possible expression for something essentially unknown. Symbolic or nonlinear thinking is holistic, right-brain oriented; it is complementary to logical, linear, left-brain thinking.

Psyche
Greek word for 'soul'. The 'totality' of the conscious and unconscious life. The mind considered as an organic system reaching all parts of the body and serving to adjust the total organism to the needs or demands of the environment.

Archetype
Self-portraits of the instincts. The instinctive forces and instinctive strategies or ways of behaving. 'Archetypal images' are the symbols through which these instinctive things show themselves in dreams.
Archetypal images include symbols that occur in mythology, fairytales and religions. They are older than mankind and belong to the collective unconscious. Archetypal images are symbols that represent contents within the psyche that were never conscious experiences. They are the 'universal' symbols that are available to us all even though we have no knowledge of them in our waking lives.
Archetypes are common psychic structures that parallel the common human physical stucture.

Complexes
Complexes represent emotional themes that can cause constant psychic disturbances.
They are 'psychic entities that have escaped from the control of consciousness and split off from it, to lead a separate existence in the dark sphere of the psyche, whence they may at any time hinder or help conscious performance'.(Eric Ackroyd)

Neurosis
Any of various psycic, or mental, disorders characterized by special combinations of anxieties, compulsions, obsessions, phobias, without apparent organic or structural injury or change. Psychosis is severe neurosis.

True Self
The true self is the Self. In Abraham Maslow's theory of personality, the 'true self' is final level of psychological development that can be achieved when all basic and meta needs are fulfilled and the "actualization" of the full personal potential takes place. It is the expression of human qualities of independence, autonomy, a tendency to form deep friendships, a "philosophical" sense of humor, tendency to resist outside pressures, and a general transcendence of the environment, rather than a simple "coping" with it.

Jung took it one step further. Maslow's description basically addresses the outer life. Jung's approach includes the inner life, one that is predicated not only on reconciling personality and personal conflicts but also an inclusion of creativity and spirituality. Once there is a reconciliation of the outer self where does one go for fulfillment? Jung, as well as Campbell, points to the creative aspect. When one lives a life of creativity that person is 'giving' of oneself, a spiritual act. Creativity comes from the muses, a guiding spirit, a source of inspiration, a poet, a writer, music, art, but not limited to just the norm of idealistic inspiartions but that thing in a person's life that is the soul's greatest desire.

Personality Types
Jung's personality types are divided into two catagories;
Attitudinal Types
  • Extravert - A person who is active and expressive; a person whose interests is more in his/her environment and in other people than in him/herself. this type welcomes external situations, in fact thrives upon them.
  • Introvert - A person who direct's one's interest or attention upon oneself. this type person will back away from external situations.
    Functional Types
  • Thinking Types - Where the use of reason or 'thinking it through', is your superior function.
  • Intuitive Types - Where intuition is your superior function, you know things in a direct immediate way, without the need for reasoning.
  • Feeling Types - This includes moral felings as well as other kinds of sentiment (love and tenderness). In this case, 'feeling' must be clearly distinguishable from sensation, which is a physical thing.
  • Sensational Types - Your favorite way to relating to reality is physical senstion, physical sensory feelings.
  • Combinations of 'functional types' - Normally you will have a superior function and also an inferior function. A person who is a'feeling' type will depend less on their 'thinking' function. On the other hand you will have a secondary function that compensates your superior function. A person who is an 'intuitive' type will most likely have as a compensating function of spectualtive thinking or intuitive feeling.

    The Ego
    Latin for ' I '. The center of the individula's field of consciousness which provides unity and continuity for the personality.
    The individual as aware of him/herself.
    Ego-centric - dwelling upon oneself or upon one's own personal interests almost to the exclusion of everything else.

    Persona
    Greek for 'mask'. Jung uses the word for self-image with which we face the world. The persona is based on your superior function in life (the function that will best serve one in meeting the world's demands). When your persona is forced upon you , as when your parents push you into academic achievement, forcing you to build a thinking-based persona, whereas your natural (God-given) superior function was the feeling function or intuitive function, etc. There is a misfit betwen your persona and your real superior function, and you will soon know about it (a function of dream).

    Individuation
    For anyone interested in personal growth, understanding the indiviuation process is essential. Individuation means self-realization, or full and balanced personal development. It can be achieved by exploring your unconscious and paying attention to it when it 'speaks' to you in your dreams.
    According to Jung, the unconscious expresses itself also in folktale and myth; and all myths revolve around the theme of individuation. Myths are, so to speak, signposts showing us the way to fuller self-realization. Whereas dreams are a process that can help you achieve personal balance, so too is myth, both resulting from the same zone in the brain. The four stages of individuation are the following.

    Shadow
    Parts of the psyche that have not been brought to consciousness, the 'dark' side of your psyche. The negative side of your psyche, insofar as it is the opposite of whatever you have hitherto regarded as making a positive contribution to your well being.
    Cinderella is a shadow figure. She is ignored and neglected by her elderly sisters. Cinderella is shut up while her sisters (other parts of the psyche) go out into the world. This represents the contrast between the conscious ego (which relates to the outside world) and those parts of the unconscious that have not been allowed any part in one's conscious activity.

    Anima & Animus
    These are what Jung called the 'soul image' which is one of the archetypal images. For a man this is the 'anima'; for a woman it is the 'animus'.
    The anima is the feminine aspects of a male psyche; for instance, being gentle, tender, patient, getting close to nature.
    The animus is the masculine aspect of the female psyche; being aggressive, assertive, controlling, taking charge, the fighting spirit.
    Thses 'soul image' characterists are in opposition to those possessed by your persona. If your persona is an intellectual one, your soul-image will be characterized by sentiment and emotion; if you are the intuitive type, your soul-image will be earthly and sensual. The object is to recognize (through dream) these 'soul images'and to incorporate them into your persona.

    'Mana' Personalities
    The mana personalities are symbols of the power and wisdom that lie the deep parts of your psyche. This is where the man meets the 'Wise Old Man' in dream and where the woman meets the 'Great Mother'. Jung calls them mana personalities because in primitive communities anyone having extraordinary powers or wisdom was siad to be filled with mana (a Melanesian word meaning 'holiness' or 'the divine'.)
    Jung warns not to be possessed by the mana personalities or it could result in megalomania (delusions of grandueur, wealth, power, etc.). For example, a woman who allows her conscious mind to be invaded and subdued by the Great Mother will begin to believe herself able and destined to protect and nurture the whole world. A man in this instance would believe he is some sort of superman or great guru, filled with heroic power or superior imsight into the meaning of things.
    The mana personalities can be projected onto someone else. For example, instead of making contact with this inner store of power and wisdom, one may choose to disown it and see it as the property of someone else, some national leader or folk hero (as in John Lennon's murder).
    The proper thing to do with the mana personality is to integrate it into your consciousness. This means that consciousness and unconsciousness is no longer seen as opposites, but as two cooperating and complimenatry parts of one and the same psyche.

    'SELF'
    The 'SELF' is the total, fully integrated psyche, in which all opposing or conflicting elements are united and coordinated. This is to be distinguished from the ego which is the conscious mind, a part of the whole of the psyche.
    Most people never reach this stage in life. Jesus and the Buddha are two who would fit this catagory.The 'Self' is the ultimate in your experience of the psyche. Experiencing the 'Self' is to know all there is to know about yourself, your life, your destiny, your meaning, and the meaning of life in general. The process of achieving these goals is a primary purpoes of dream. Whereas Freud saw dream as a perserever of sleep, Jung saw dream as an avenue of 'self' discovery, getting to know your whole self, thus healing whatever may be out of balance in one's life. The 'Self' is the final stage of the individuation process.

    Amplification
    A method of dream interpretation developed by Jung in which a dream image or motif is enlarged, clarified and given a meaningful context by comparing it with similar images from mythology, folklore and comparative religion. Amplification establishes the collective context of a dream, enabling it to be seen not only in its personal aspect, but also in general archetypal terms which are common to all humanity.

    Association
    The spontaneous flow of interconnected thoughts and images fol lowing from a specific idea. Associations are determined by unconscious, meaningful connections and are not fortuitous.

    Intuition
    One of the four psychic functions according to Jung's model. It is perception via the unconscious, i.e., perception of contents, conclusions or future possibilities whose origin is unknown or obscure. An irrational function.

    Introversion
    A mode of psychic functioning in which interest, value and meaning are found predominantly in the inner life of the individual; i.e., values are determined largely by the subject's internal reactions. Introversion is the opposite of extraversion.

    Feeling
    One of the four psychic functions according to Jung's model of psycho logical types. It is a rational (i.e., judgmental) function that determines value and promotes personal relationship. Feeling is not to be confused with emotion, which results from the activation of a complex. Its polar opposite is the thinking function.

    Sensation
    One of the four psychic functions according to Jung's model of psychological types. It is an irrational function which perceives and adapts to external reality via the physical senses.

    Thinking
    One of the four psychic functions according to Jung's model. It is the rational capacity to structure and synthesize discrete data by means of categories and conceptual generalizations.

    Projection
    A natural process whereby an unconscious quality, characteristic or talent of one's own is perceived and reacted to in an outer person or thing.

    Quaternity
    The archetype of fourfoldness symbolizing wholeness. It is closely associated with representations of the Self.

    Transcendent Function
    The reconciling "third" which emerges from the unconscious (in the form of a symbol or a new attitude) after conflicting opposites have been consciously differentiated, and the tension between them held.

    Transference, Countertransference
    Used to describe the emotional involvement, whether positive or negative, between patient and therapist. Transference and countertransference are other words for projection.

    Trauma, Psychic
    A damaging psychological experience not readily assimilated consciously. It produces an unconscious complex which can be healed only through a reliving (abreaction) of the original experience.

    Participation Mystique
    A condition of magical, unconscious identity between the ego and contents of the unconscious. It manifests in a strong connection between oneself and others (people or things) and is the basis for projection.

    Numinosum, Numinous.
    First used by Rudolf Otto to describe the experience of the divine as awesome, terrifying and "wholly other." In analytical psychology, it is used to describe the ego's experience of an archetype, especially the Self.


    The psychic energy that motivates the psyche. Interest, attention and drive are all expressions of libido. The libido invested in a given item is indicated by the quantity of its "value-charge," either positive or negative.

    Mandala
    Sanskrit, "magic circle." An archetypal image representing contact with, or a presentiment of, the Self. The basic mandala is a circle with a square or other fourfold structure superimposed. Mandalas are found in cultural products of all races. They seem to represent a central integrating principle which lies at the root of the psyche.

    Inflation
    A psychic state characterized by an exaggerated and un real sense of one's own importance. It is caused by an identification of the ego with an archetypal image.

    Function, Inferior
    That psychological function least developed in a particular individual. It expresses itself in primitive, archaic and affect-laden ways. The inferior function is the gateway to the collective unconscious.

    Function, Superior
    The most highly developed and differentiated of the psy chological functions in a particular individual.

    Functions, Psychological
    There are four modes of psychic adaptation according to Jung's model of psychological types: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition.

    Coniunction
    A term from alchemy referring to the archetypal image of the union of opposites. It corresponds to a condition of psychological wholeness, a state in which ego-consciousness and the unconscious work together in harmony. It is the goal of individuation, involving the conscious realization of the Self.

    Synchronicity
    A term coined by Jung for a postulated "acausal connecting principle" to explain the occurrence of meaningful coincidence, i.e., whenever an inner psychic happening (dream, vision, premonition) is accompanied by a cor responding outer physical event which could not have been causally connected with the former. Most cases of extrasensory perception are considered to be examples of synchronicity.

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