Jungian Psychology and Personal Correlations: Part 2

Recording Location
Lone Pine, Calif.
Recording Date
? September 1977
Recording Information

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series by contrasting the seven states of consciousness referred to in Theosophical literature with the states of consciousness dealt with in depth psychology. He reaffirms his position that while psychology primarily deals with experience derived from dream states, yoga is concerned with imperience realized through some degree of trance state. He analyzes the nature of Brahman as “Consciousness without content,” or “consciousness of Consciousness,” and proceeds to describe the process whereby cognitive content is produced within this Pure Consciousness. Wolff then raises a question as to whether Jung uses the term ‘unconscious’ as a concept restricted to the domain of life or as a blanket term including all possibilities of consciousness. He asserts that those who are going the ascetic way aim to overcome the demands of life so that its various manifestations can become the instruments of the Divine. Wolff then raises a question regarding the adequacy of the conception of the “collective unconscious.” He gives an account of the Copernican shift in astronomy and the contribution of Kant in philosophy to suggest that in the field of psychology a corresponding shift is possible that changes our orientation from an experience of alternating consciousness and unconsciousness to a base of reference that abandons the conception of unconsciousness completely. He points out that from the perspective of the empirical man moving from plane to plane, the plane of consciousness just left seems unconscious; on the other hand, from the perspective of the “transcendental component,” all is Consciousness. He concludes this discussion by observing that from a transcendental perspective, all myths fail and mathematics takes their place.

Transcript
Recording Duration
46 min
Sort Order
267.00