My Inner Life: When the Unconscious Becomes Conscious

Here is a very evocative quote from Jung on the effect of integrating unconscious material into our conscious selves.  He stresses that what happens to us is fundamentally beyond description, and yet fundamentally real.

“What happens within oneself when one integrates previously unconscious contents with the consciousness is something which can scarcely be described by words.  It can only be experienced.  It is a subjective affair quite beyond discussion; we have a particular feeling about ourselves, about the way we are, and that is a fact that it is neither possible nor meaningful to doubt.  Similarly, we convey a particular feeling to others, and that too is a fact that cannot be doubted….  Whether a change has taken place as the result of integration, and what the nature of that change is, remains a matter of subjective conviction.  To be sure it is not a fact which can be scientifically verified….  Yet it nevertheless remains a fact which is in practice uncommonly important and fraught with consequences.”

“Travels” in Jung, C.G., Jaffe, Aniela, ed. and Winston, Richard & Clara., transs.,

Memories, Dreams and Reflections (New York: Vintage Books, 1989), p. 287

Where does the reality of the unconscious seek to manifest itself in your life?  Sometimes it is in the least likely spot, the place where we seem least sure and weakest.  The journey of therapy is the uncovering of this reality.