Neurosis, Projection, Worldview, Social Conflict, And Human Evolution

NEUROSIS, PROJECTION, WORLDVIEW, SOCIAL CONFLICT, AND EVOLUTION . Here's a dream I had last night: "I'm watching the story of the 'hero'' in my dreams as he passes through the stages of the Monomyth. But the mythic journey has an addendum attached to it that is an add-on. It is an explanation of the reasons in one's life that caused the hero to turn away from his life and reject society and its controls. This add-on has a portable quality to it, as if I could change it and nothing would happen. The hero's journey stands alone.It is as though the hero's journey doesn't really require a cause for the transformative journey to happen." . The dream is telling me that what I took to be the the cause of change and the effect (the going on a heroic journey of transformation) are only manufactured by my linear reasoning mind. They are not at all connected in the way I have been assuming for aeons. The archetype is the unconscious behavioral patterning of a society...not necessarily of the individual. The apparent cause (neurosis) and effect (the hero's journey of transformation) are not truly cause and effect but are each integral aspects of the archetypal journey of transformation of a society through cycles of change and evolution. An individual of that society, becoming aware of the archetype, may still "step out" of the unconscious pattern of behavior and consciously choose wellness over neurosis. It would require a separation from society's unconscious reactions to life and the development of inner-directedness to achieve this however. . We might concoct any number of psychological, sociological, political, or philosophical "causes" underlying an intiation of a cycle of transformation within society. Here is one "written psychological explanation" that might be attached to the mythic journey as a cause. It provides a rationale or "cause" for one turning inward and having to experience the traumatic and transforming journey of self discovery summarized by Joseph Campbell in his book "The Hero of a Thousand Faces." The analysis becomes a psychological explanation for the sickness of society and the individual in society as a function of incomplete parenting and socialization. However, the views in much of the literature of this sickness pessimistically sees that sickness as a "cause" for the potential devolution or destruction of human society. Some see this sickness as a cause of the destruction of the environment as well which predicates the destruction of human cultures and catastrophic decline in human populations. This may be so, for all living populations dwell within the container of the earth and are subject to resource limits. But the archetype is separate and distinct from such an event. . Fear is the sensation that causes egoic mind to split from its need to be itself. Self awareness of existence produces "Fear", which creates the instinct for self preservation in the infant. The infantile instinct for self preservation take a feminine and a masculine aspect: the need for love and nurturance (the mother need) and the need to be protected (the father need). The mother need creates an instinct to "merge" with the mother. The father need creates an awareness of one's need for a separate other to "protect" you. Thus, there are two needs associated with survival: a need to be a part of another, and a need to be separate from another. This creates a paradox in human nature; we desire both to be one with others and to be separate from others. When we are able to resolve this paradox in our nature, we emerge as a well personality into adult life. When we are unable to resolve this paradox in our nature, we emerge neurotic into adult life. . Where the mother need is healthily met by the infant--that is, where the mother's love is unconditional and not predicated upon the child's behavior or the needs of the parents--the child feels a healthy sense of worth and value irrespective of the approval or acceptance by others of its behavior or opinions. Where the father need is healthily met by the infant--that is, when the child feels safe in the presence of the parents or other persons to express its needs and seek to get its needs met--the child feels an assurance that it can act in the world without haviing its survival

threatened. . If a child does not have these needs met, then its unmet needs for validation and security get unconsciously projected upon the world "outside". He forms an expectation of indifference to its needs (a world without love) or its survival (a world of danger). Fear then motivates the individual as he adapts to these expectations by becoming a enabler. The psyche is split in twain: ego and subconscious. That which generates fear is repressed into subconscious. Ego is created as "the one who is blind" to its denied needs for love or security. The conscious mind becomes the aspect that "sees" (the watcher) the world as it is imagined (that which is seen), referred to in psychology as the "subconscious mind." In fact, it is an imagined world that the conscious mind sees, because no outside world is directly perceptible by the mind. The mind sees only the electronic messages from its sensory organsits own projections. There is no "outside world" that is directly observable by the conscious mind. There are only the electro-magnetic impressions from our sensory organs: eyes, ears, nerves, taste buds, and olfacfactory sensors. Mind constructs its world from these impressions. And imagines a world that corresponds with its expectations and needs. . The "person" thus behaves in his imagined world in the way he sees itself. If he has learned that he has no value and is unworthy of love, he interprets the self-attending behavior of others to imply that they don't care about him -- a reaction that reflects his own feeling of unworthiness and lack of value. If others do not look after him or nurture him, the world appears cold and loveless. His instinct is to merge with others so as to feel loved. His need to merge is experienced by others who do not have his unmet needs for love and nurturance as "intrusiveness" or "neediness." His neediness drives others away from him, creating exactly the experience of loneliness and rejection he blames others for. This intensifies his feelings of shame and guilt stemming from his rejection by and valuelessness to others. He may operate in the world in a careless and indulgent fashion, meeting his needs by calling upon others to assist him. Self pity may be his constant enemy. He may seem soft-hearted and sensitive to the suffering of others because he sees the world as full of victims of an indifferent and uncaring world. . If this "person" has learned to anticipate that the world will be indifferent to his survival as a person, he interprets the merging instinct in others to imply that they are threatening his survival in the outer world. Neediness in others provokes a reaction of fear and overwhelm in such persons. Not feeling safe in the presence of parents or others, not feeling safe in expressing his needs or even asking that his needs be met, he is driven in adulthood into separating from others and hardening his heart against caring or loving others. Any need by other persons to be taken care of, to be nurtured or loved, is interpreted as getting too close for comfort. He feels no desire to look after others too weak to get their own needs met in this hostile world. His instinctive reaction is to separate--to get away from others--so he'll feel safe. His need to separate is interpreted by others with unmet nurturing needs as "indifference", "uncaringness", or "selfishness". But he is motivated by fear and his projection of his fear upon an imagined world of threats and hostility. His hostility to and wariness of others drives others away from him, creating exactly the experience of hostility and fear he blames others for. He operates in the world in a cautious, self-interested fashion, meeting his needs aggressively and ignoring others' welfare and needs. He seeks power for himself to feel safe and may sneer at those he sees as weaker than himself. He may seem hard-hearted and indifferent to the suffering or needs of others because he sees the world as competitive and unforgiving.. . . Personal Healing: Withdrawing our Projections from the World .

The ego is required for the experience of self awareness, for consciousness is only possible when there is a subject who can be aware of an object. There must be a separation between this "I' who is aware of an object and the object of which it is aware. In the above example, there must be a Watcher and a Something-to-be-Watched. . . When the psyche is split into a conscious mind (ego) and a subconscious mind (the world as we imagine it to be), we have an opportunity to observe our imagined world. If we merge with our projection, then we don't watch the image within as a separate object--we experience it-- and we going to be unconscious of our projections. We blame the outer for what happens to us because we see ourselves in a cause and effect relationship with our imagined world. If on the other hand we can detach (mentally separate) from our imagined world, we can watch the imagined world within as separate from us. We can become aware that the world is subject to our interpretations depending on what our own unmet needs are.. . It is our interpretation of the world's behavior that is the problem. Our interpretation of the outer world is being driven by our unmet Mother needs or unmet Father needs: do we need to merge with others (to be loved or nurtured) or do we need to separate from others (from fear). . In America, we call the first group "Liberals" and the second group "Conservatives." Most societies today have these elements in them. The relationship between these groups is usually one of social and political conflict. . These responses to the problems of living both reflect the will-to-live impulse in the human being to the problems of living, but one emphasizes community, the need for unconditional love, and nurturing approaches to resolving the meeting of needs, while the other emphasizes individualistic approaches, the need for protection from others, and competition in the meeting of needs. . . These are both relevant responses, but each is unbalanced by itself. Each by itself represents a failure to resolve the paradox of the Mother Need versus the Father Need. It is not only infants and small children who have the need for love and nurturance. It is not only infants who have the need for protection and security. It is all of us. . It is true that psychological theory postulates the necessity of a son's separation from his mother in order to complete his maturation process. But does this imply the cessation of the instinct to merge/intimacy/inclusion/closeness? It simply becomes an underlying motive in the mating and relationship need, expressed in sexual conduct as a need to merge with one's mate. Not an incestuous issue but rather an instinctive response. . . Balancing between the Opposites . Both responses to life described above are unbalanced. Each resolves the issue of survival through choosing a polar position. Neither integrates humanity's masculine and feminine instincts nor heals the neurotic needs of the individual for nurturance or safety. . . The requirements for healing lie in the attainment of : . Self Love. is the absence of need for love from outside ones self. One's projections of heartlessness, selfishness, and unkindness upon the outside world are withdrawn from others. No judgment of others remains.. This is attained by the ego through learning tha it

is "not-bad" to put one's own needs first ahead of others and to give one's self the love and pleasure one needs. This work heals the wounded heart. . Self-Assurance. is the absence of any need for protection from the outside world. One's projections of hostile intent, cruelty or harm are withdrawn from others. No fear of others remains. This is attained through discovering the suffering of others and realizing that one can get real needs met without struggling or striving. This work heals a damaged self concept. . Balanced here, the individual is ready to investigate the world as it is, without projecting upon it a fearfulness it does not possess nor a lack of compassion that it does not have. The individual can stand alone and meet his own needs without excessive fear nor neediness. He or she is Whole. He is able to: . put aside guilt for not conforming to other's demands or a need to have power over other people in order to meet his needs. . put aside shame for being less than others or blaming others for denying him relationship. . put aside fear of conflict and fear to speak one's own Truth (and stand on his own authority). . put aside concern about what others think or speak of us, so he can forgive others easily. . put aside depression from being denied what he really needs because of unworthiness or inadequacy. He can ask for his needs to be met , avoid "prostituting" himself to feel safe, and stay out of co-dependent relationships. . put aside feelings of envy or jealousy of others because he recognizes that comparisons with others are irrelevant to his own wellness, happiness or ability to get needs met. . . The Archetypal Journey . On the other hand, according to Carl Jung an archetype is the very definition of "being well". Life is a pattern of being and becoming. The cycles of stasis and change in human lives are themselves as archetypal as the cycles of the moon or passing of the seasons. This might imply that cycles of illness and healing are as natural in life and are as archetypal. The archtype of the hero's journey includes a sickening process as well as a healing process within its stages. Unwellness is not a deviation but a part of the process. It will occur consciously or unconsciously. Illness is a necessary part of the process of change and transformation. It creates the suffering necessary to motivate change. What happens in the animal world through predation and starvation manifests in the human world through psychological illness and suffering. Both are forms of the evolutionary mechanism. . This suggests that the evolution of consciousness and mankind itself might require, as a part of its archetypal process of change, the presence of neurosis, unwell worldviews, and even war and social conflict as an essential aspect of the cycles of change. From the point of view of mankind as a whole and the survival of the species, this is healthy and vigorous...even while being unwell from the point of view of individuals. On the other hand, there is no reason why an individual could not turn within to work on becoming aware of his or her projections and unconscious unmet needs, and thereby resolve his private paradox of needs and heal himself or herself. This is,

in effect, becoming conscious of one's projections and stepping out of the archetypal process guiding mankind's evolution. The archetype, by definition, possesses a society which is unconscious of its operation. Once conscious of the archetype, society's members can "opt out" and live in the present, free from inner pain and suffering, yet still at the effect of society's convulsions as it unconsciously evolves through conflict. . And that was what my dreams appear to be telling me. It happens by itself.