Essay: The Great Obstacle

The Great Obstacle

For the past dozen years I’ve been an avid student of Carl Jung’s depth psychology. There are a couple of his statements that I would like to share with you. The first one is brief: “We walk in shoes that are too small.” I think what he meant by that is that many of us think that we are flawed, born sinful, incompetent and consequently do not view ourselves as blessed and noble creatures. Jung could have also meant that tight, uncomfortable shoes could keep us from walking or running very far or very often and thereby cause us to become boring and unhealthy people. A literal interpretation could result in a decision not to wear shoes and do a little bare-footed walking. That could be a good thing. Occasionally caressing our Mother’s face with our feet could get us in touch with Nature and that is a very important issue today.

One of the scholars that Jung studied thoroughly was Thomas Aquinas. Seven centuries ago Thomas wrote: “a mistake about creation (Nature) is a mistake about God.” One could rephrase that and say you don’t really know God, Creator, Higher Power, if you don’t know and interact with creation because the immensity and complexity of creation is the clearest expression or revelation of the Deity that we have. By all means don’t let your footwear impede your inner and outer growth.

The second Jungian statement that I would like to share is: “The telling question for human beings is: are they related to the Infinite or not?” Literally, infinite means without limits. It’s often used as another name for the Deity. The sensing of the infinite normally comes from an encounter that generates awe and wonder - like seeing the brilliance of the Milky Way on a clear night, watching the birth of baby, viewing or hearing the works of creative artists. The experience makes you catch your breath or stops you in your tracks.

The most overlooked word in Jung’s second quote is related. “Lated” is a derivative of the Latin verb ferre which means to carry. Re in front of the word means to carry again or back and forth. What Jung is saying is that the most important task that we have in life is to be in communication with The Infinite. In Jung’s conception the Infinite is alive and communicative. So how do we get in touch with the Infinite?

Jung indicated that we need comfortable shoes and shoes are meant for walking. Aquinas tells us where we have to walk – all over creation because creation is the Infinite. A disciple of Aquinas named Meister Eckhart indicated that our only required task in life is to walk about Creation, Mother Nature, and respond to her in a very simple way, like YES! AWESOME! THANK YOU! PERIOD! Makes life rather simple, doesn’t it? Carl Jung, who studied both of those authors, clearly echoed their thoughts. “Our indispensable place in the great process of being is to put the stamp of perfection on creation”—YES! AWESOME! THANK YOU!

The big question today is: What has happened to the Infinite? Where has it gone? For a great number of people the experience of the Infinite has been supplanted by the clock, the car, the house, the computer, the cell phone, the TV and all of the other stuff that flows from the glitzy new heaven called the market place. The advertisers of the market/heaven, on a 24-7-365 basis, insinuate that we are not yet complete and fulfilled individuals and will never be happy until we acquire all the stuff that they are peddling. Tragically this naïve belief has infiltrated itself into our major social institutions. This brainwashing has been accelerating for many years, but most of the guardians of our institutions have either fallen asleep at the switch or sold out to the powerful for their own aggrandizement.

So let’s examine for a moment, the basic tenets of the new heaven philosophy and/or theology.

1.The name of the game is success and that is exhibited by one’s income and possessions.

2. To be successful, unless you inherit wealth, you have to get a good job. Most people at an early age learn the ranking of jobs, the titles, the deference rituals and rewards that go with the job.

3. To get a good job you have to first get a good education, which is also ranked, priced and learned at an early age. Included in this requirement is learning to study diligently and conforming to cultural norms.

4. Just getting a job is not sufficient. One has to learn how to move up the ladder by being a conforming, deferential worker and by pursuing further education.

These basic tenets have a lot of inconsistencies. First and very importantly there is no evidence that those with the most money and possessions are the most conscious and the happiest people. Secondly, this definition of success is diametrically opposed to the basic teachings of the dominant religions. For examples, The Christ asked: “What does it profit people to gain the whole world at the expense of their psyche?” and then specified what membership in his church required: “If you want to be my follower first sell what you have and give it to the poor. Then come and follow me.”

There are many other inconsistencies such as: Why are the gates to good jobs so narrow? Why the high price tag for a good education? Why are private and religious schools more expensive? Why is there so much white and blue-collar crime and why so many angry and frustrated lower and middle class folks? Finally where will we obtain the natural resources to make this “success myth” sustainable?

Isn’t it time to start searching for a new and more meaningful definition of success based on: 1. traditional wisdom that relates us to the inner world of the psyche, and 2. newly discovered science that fantastically elaborates the Infinite? Something has to be done before the current myth of success destroys our planet.

1. Are your shoes too small?
2. What is your understanding of the Infinite?
3. Are you in regular dialogue with the Infinite?
4. What is your definition of success?
5. Are advertising “actors” friends or enablers?

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