The New Jerusalem: Its Symbolic and Psychological Meaning

Details: Last Updated: Sunday, 27 October 2013 20:37; Written by John Francis Golden

Carl Jung, Edward Edinger and Robin Robertson's writings have influenced the image being described in this essay.

Preface

Carl Jung, Edward Edinger and Robin Robertson's writings have influenced the image being described in this essay. The archetype of the "Apocalypse" and "New Jerusalem" is not a new abstract picture of wholeness; God's kingdom has taken many shapes over the millenniums. Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku have also influenced giving shape to this hypothetical divine world.

Three Jungian analysts have helped shape me during my training in depth psychology, Eugene Pascal, Armin Wanner and Marita Digney. Most if not all of my life has centered on religious themes and psychological schools of thought. The poetry of modern physics has helped me in finding and giving form to intricate and complex models of the universe.

The abstract image I am weaving together for the reader is being presented through the lens of John Francis Peter Golden, the author of this work. With this in mind you will not experience anything that hasn't been around since the beginning of time. You will see a new perspective on a very old theme.

Abstract

The Book of Revelation the last book in the New Testament describes a war between good and evil and a final outcome of a "New Heaven" on earth. Analyzing this archetypal story symbolically and interpreting it psychologically we find it is an intra-psychic story of individuation. Looking at the image of the New Jerusalem and the reference to the eating of the Tree of Life we must conclude that the Apocalypse is a conscious realization of the Holy Spirit/Self. This work will explore how we arrive at the recognition of the Self in the psyche. Carl Jung and students of depth psychology have discovered the tools and methods for exploring the psyche. It is through the resent discovery of these analytical tools, that modern man and woman have the ability to delve deep into the unconscious, and uncover hidden truths necessary for our passage through the pearly white gates of heaven.

Introduction

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a pride beautifully dressed for her husband." (Revelation 21:1)

Looking at this scripture through the prism of analytical psychology we can easily understand the marriage as the opposites coming together. The uniting of the king and queen (hieros-gamos) a sacred marriage, a new kingdom created out of the ocean of the unconscious. Certainly this is the recognition or realization of the Self, the archetype of the organizing principle in the psyche/soul.

"Once having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, the kingdom of God doesn't come with your careful observation, nor will people say, here it is, or there it is, because the Kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17: 20-21)

This scripture seems to indicate that the recognition of the heavenly kingdom of God is an intra-psychic manifestation, an intuitive understanding of the unification of the cosmos. A state of mind perhaps realized when one has balanced the four functions of the psyche: intuition, thinking, feeling and sensation with the two attitudes, introversion and extraversion. Christ is a representation of the individuated person perfectly balanced in harmony with the universe.

I would like to think that the Book of Revelation found in the New Testament is a symbolic story of the individuation process. Since the word "Revelation" comes from the Greek word "Apocalypse" meaning an "uncovering of what has been hidden" or "coming of deity to assert sovereignty" (Edinger 1990) we can assume the ego realization of the Holy Spirit or the recognition of the Self in our psyche, is the opening of heaven's gates. What this means psychologically is our conscious awareness of the transpersonal self, the Atman within our soul. Certainly finding or consciously recognizing an organizing principle within our lives, orchestrating our movements, gives us meaning to existence. The Self asserts its sovereignty over the Ego. It is the uncovering of this archetypal principle on a conscious level that brings us into the New Jerusalem.

From Pisces to Aquarius

As we know from our studies of astronomy the earth's axis points toward a constellation and moves from one constellation to another every 2,000 years or so. Two thousand years before Christ, the earth's axis was pointed toward the constellation of Aries. Aries is the God of war ruled by Mars, so appropriate for the coming of Moses and his plight out of Egypt with the Israelites. While Moses was on top of Mount Sinai, the Israelites were down below casting a calf out of gold. The age before Moses was Taurus the bull, the earth's axis was moving out of the constellation of Taurus into Aries and the Israelites tried to go backwards to the old ways and values. This golden calf was a symbolic statement of how the ego will attempt to go back to its old ways and habits, rather than forge ahead and face the difficulties of becoming conscious.

The earth's axis is now moving out of the constellation of Pisces, the "Age of Belief" into Aquarius, the "Age to Know". Believing in something is a great deal different than knowing something. This brings to mind an interview of C. G. Jung when he was asked if he believed in God and his reply was, "No! I know God". This statement depicts the moment in time we are now experiencing collectively. An era where there is so much knowledge available to the masses and a push to become conscious of ourselves which leads to more cooperation among groups. A collective realization of the "Anima Mundi" (world soul) can conceivably mean an objective manifestation of the New Jerusalem on earth. First, an individual must do the arduous work of becoming conscious of one's shadow, delving deep into the unconscious seeking the jewels buried beneath the sands of time.

The God image man has created is an archetype, which Christ represents to humanity. Moses and the Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant around with them. Inside the Ark were the two tables of stone, on which were engraved the Ten Commandments. The Ark was sacred; it represented God to the people. The Israelites saw the Ark as a nebulous but physical manifestation of God on earth. When Christ appeared he became the living representation of God in this world. Our recognition of the Holy Spirit, the Self as Jungians call it, is God within. We have gone as a humanity from God as a nebulous entity carried around in a chest, to God as a person among us (Christ), to God within us (Holy Spirit). Christ as an archetype serves as a hook for our psyche to project its God image on to. We eventually must withdraw our projections and accept it as our own. Hence, the Holy Spirit is the manifestation of God within. Psychologically, we realize the Self (Holy Spirit) as the organizing principle in the psyche and the ego as a vehicle for the expression of the Self.

"It was this archetype of the self in the soul of every man that responded to the Christian message, with the result that the concrete Rabbi Jesus was rapidly assimilated by the constellated archetype. In this way Christ realized the idea of the self." (CW 11 par 231)

"The psychological relationship between man and the trinitarian life process is illustrated first by the nature of Christ, and second by the descent of the Holy Ghost and his indwelling in man, as predicted and promised by the Christian message." (CW 11 par234)

One evening while channel surfing there was a show theorizing whether or not the Star of Bethlehem existed. This show presented a computer model cross referenced against Chinese astronomy records indicating where the stars and planets were 2000 years ago. Of course most people believe the Star of Bethlehem was Haley's Comet. This computer model showed that the planets Saturn and Jupiter were in conjunction with each in the sky, appearing as a bright star. As I listened to this explanation, I began to think about the mythology of these two planets. The God Kronos chief of the Titans rules Saturn and Jupiter ruled by Zeus the supreme deity of the Olympian Gods. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos in the Greek mythology thus changing the old order for the new. Christ ultimately did the same thing redefining the old order of laws. This is significant because as we know from our Bible story King Herod's astrologers and the Magi knew of the birth of Jesus by reading the stars and planets. If Saturn and Jupiter were in conjunction with each other 2000 years ago the astrologers knowing Greek mythology could have understood this planetary configuration to mean a new King would usurp the authority of the old King. Herod sent his soldiers to find the newborn King to prevent his political demise. Psychologically Herod represents that dark ego force that tries to snuff out the light of the spirit. Just as Moses 2000 years before Christ sought to bring God's light down from the mountain finds his people forging a golden calf (reverting backwards). Psychologically this (Herod) is an ego attempt to go back to the darkness of the past, the realm of ignorance. The ego will always try to maintain control, as the spiritual light of the Holy Spirit/Self makes its presence known.

Two fish swimming in opposite directions represent Pisces. When we think of fish we think of the ocean, which is symbolic of the collective unconscious. So humanity is swept into the ocean of the collective unconscious to wrestle with the opposites symbolized by the two opposing fish. Good and Evil, Christ and Satan grapple with each other for 2000 years until the Age of Aquarius arrives. The Age of Aquarius, symbolized by the Water Bearer pouring the baptismal waters of the Holy Spirit upon the heads of humanity. This is the era of enlightenment, cosmic consciousness, wisdom found through the reconciliation of the opposites.

John's Vision

The Book of Revelation written by John the Evangelist was a vision. This intra-psychic experience took place while John was in prison on the Island of Patmos around 90 AD. John the Apostle was very one sided in his theology. He wrote in his gospel of the all-perfect Christ, the man of love and goodness. Psychologically, a one-sided ego will be forced by the unconscious to deal with the opposite position. If we were to interpret the Book of Revelation as a dream we would see John in the ego position. He is in prison; symbolically this would represent a constriction, oppression, and confinement of the ego. When this happens to an ego position,(perspective) the psyche will rebel causing a bubbling-up, an overflowing of psychic energy. An explosion of evil erupted, the antichrist appeared, the dark side, Christ's brother, God's other son. The laws of compensation balancing the ego perspective are inevitable when the ego is too one-sided.

In the Old Testament we find God depicted as the creator and the destroyer. Satan lives in the Garden of Eden, he works along with God in the Book of Job. Christianity depicts Jesus as the light of love and goodness and Satan as dark and evil the cause of all misfortune. John's intra-psychic battle between good and evil is actually a restructuring of the psyche. The Self is reorganizing the psyche, creating a new ego outlook; a new ego awareness takes place. In many ways it is a reincarnation, the old self dies and a new identity emerges. We all experience this process perhaps not to the scale of John in Revelation's but we all go through depressions, a breaking down of the old identity and an awakening to a new outlook on life. Just as the seasons of the year mirrors our psychological process; Fall a turn inward, Winter a complete submersion into a sort of depression, Spring a new birth a blossoming of fresh flowers and Summer living in the full bloom of our new abilities. This process goes on endlessly, birth, death and rebirth. When we are willing to go through psychoanalysis, seriously looking at our dreams, the shadow figures presented to us as demons, and integrate these energies on a conscious level, one is on the road to individuation. Hence, we must become conscious of the split between the good son and the bad son in our own psyche's, before any rebirth can bring us to the gates of the new heaven.

Jung writing to Father Victor White (24 November 1953):

As a matter of fact, our society has not even begun to face its shadow or to develop those Christian virtues so badly needed in dealing with the powers of darkness. Our society cannot afford the luxury of cutting itself loose from the imitatio Christi, even if it should know that the conflict with the shadow, i.e., Christ versus Satan, is only the first step on the way to the far-away goal of unity of the self in God. It is true however that the imitatio Christi leads you into your own very real and Christlike conflict with darkness, and the more you are engaged in this war and in these attempts at peacemaking helped by the anima, the more you begin to look forward beyond the Christian aeon to the oneness of the Holy Spirit. He is the pneumatic state the creator attains to through the phase of incarnation. He is the experience of every individual that has undergone the complete abolition of his ego through the absolute opposition expressed by the symbol Christ versus Satan. The state of the Holy Spirit means a restitution of the original oneness of the unconscious on the level of consciousness.

False Self vs. True Self

An explanation defining the difference between the Ego and Self is in order for clarity. The ego is that aspect of the psyche, a complex, that exists in space and time in the three dimensional world. It lives in the physical realm of matter and materialism. It is the vehicle for expression of the Self. The Self is timeless, space-less and immortal, existing in the archetypal world of the unconscious. It is the organizing principle of the psyche. The ego is earth bound and the Self is heaven bound. Psychologically our ego separates from the Self at its early development causing an estrangement, a differentiation process takes place, a splitting between heaven and earth. After the splitting of the opposites, reconciliation is established, wholeness a sense of oneness ensues where the ego/self axis is created. The ego is a complex taking form as a result of our experiences in this life. The Self is transpersonal, an archetype, a structure modeled on our image of God. The ego is a mirror image of the Self. "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness". (Genesis 1:26)

Erich Neumann in his book the "Child" makes reference to "The Copernican Revolution". Looking at this discovery psychologically the ego is revolving around the Self as the earth is revolving around the Sun. This scientific discovery was explosive turning the understanding of the universe up side down. To discover the earth is not the center of the universe, but the Sun is, was revolutionary thinking. This idea changed the course of man's thinking no longer did biblical scholars of the church dictate truth based on biblical scripture. Science and the power of ego observation became a very powerful tool for exploration of the cosmos. If we ponder this idea carefully and truly grasp the implications of the Self as the center of the psyche and not the ego, we can appreciate the sense of despair. To think we don't control our destiny that some aspect of our psyche operating on its own is dictating our growth and development is difficult to accept. This battle between ego dominance and a higher power at the helm is critical in finding a balance between what we can control and what is out of our control. We would like to think we are masters of our own fate, but experience will teach us otherwise.

If we identify with the ego as the true self then one will believe our self to be everything that exists in the material world only. Our sense of who we are will be limited to the position we hold in society, for example: father, mother, sister, brother, doctor, teacher, chief or what ever status we have obtained. These are all positions that we leave behind after physical death. We are more than just our personas. We have a transpersonal Self that is our true Self that goes beyond space and time. Our spiritual essence is immortal, connecting us with the universe and gives true meaning to existence. A conscious understanding of the relationship between the ego and Self is essential for a sense of wholeness. "The ego stands to the self as the moved to the mover, or as object to subject" (CW 11, par.391).

Alpha and Omega

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End, the First and the Last." (Revelation 22:13)

In Robin Robertson's book,"Beginner's Guide to Revelation", he makes the connection that this scripture indicates God is beyond time and space. Just as the unconscious is beyond the ego realm, the Self exists in the collective unconscious a transpersonal region of psyche. John's vision is an archetypal story much like a fairy-tale an event that has happened, is happening and will happen. Visions are very much like dreams a non-linear, illogical psychic event, erupting in a four-dimensional world. Our conscious life which is ego awareness takes place in a logical linear way, a three dimensional space.

When we look at modern physics such as Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum mechanics we must ask ourselves what these images mean. Most people do not understand the mathematical equations and formulas used to describe these constructs, however, most seem to have an intuitive understanding of the concepts. Relativity has combined the idea of space and time which leads us to the revelation that time is an ego construct, and that it can't be looked at without combining it with space. We intuit space-time to be ongoing with no beginning and no end always was and always will be. Once the two are merged our understanding of time and space become revolutionized, changing our worldview completely from the old Newtonian physics. Cause and effect is no longer always valid. Quantum mechanics deals with the very small. You can only know either the position of a particle or its momentum but not both (Robertson 1994). These discoveries indicate that ego awareness is limited in the three-dimensional world we live in and there are probably many dimensions we are unaware of. The unconscious is a psychological term that encompasses everything outside of our awareness. Visions and dreams seem to exist outside of time and space and erupt from the unconscious. All this leaving us with the possibility that everything is happening all at once in the universe, but somehow we can't see it. We are stuck in time and space in this moment, confined to our ego awareness. Somehow psyche exposes us to images, archetypal energies in the unconscious from time to time manifesting as dreams and visions. It is these experiences that open our consciousness up to the "Almighty", an energy field of mystical awareness beyond space and time.

In John's vision we witness a splitting between good and evil, Christ and Satan, heaven and earth, the good and bad. In the end unification, a reconciliation of the opposites, a new heaven emerges out of the chaos. Just as the ego begins to separate out of the unconscious at birth and establishes itself in the world with its own identity. This story shows how ego consciousness is a process of separating, splitting apart the objective world, categorizing, and then organizing, making sense of chaos. Mystics have written of a world in which unification, a sense of wholeness is experienced on an intuitive level. However, reaching this level of awareness by these spiritual people comes with lots of struggling and grappling with dark forces from the unconscious. Developing a feel for meaning and how one's existence impacts the workings of the universe is a great feat to achieve.

"If we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason-for then we would know the mind of God." (Hawking 1988)

I believe when we look at modern physics and the images it is producing, we can't help but to perceive these concepts as projections from the psyche. Just as the ancients looked up to the sky and developed an elaborate mythology of Gods and Goddesses from the formation of the stars and planets, we modern people are creating our own mythology through the eyes of scientists and psychologists. We are probing the unconscious and in the process projecting our psyches, our souls not only into the heavens but also into the smallest realms of matter. In the process we are discovering who we are and establishing an elaborate ego construct that explains our position in the universe, relative to God/Self. However, before we inflate the ego position beyond its true role we must read Jung's idea and be cautious of what we truly can grasp.

"The conscious mind moreover is characterized by certain narrowness. It can hold only a few simultaneous contents at a given moment. All the rest is unconscious at the time, and we only get a sort of continuation or a general understanding or awareness of a conscious world through the succession of conscious moments. We can never hold an image of totality because our consciousness is too narrow; we can only see flashes of existence. It is always as if we were observing through a slit so that we only see a particular moment; all the rest is dark and we are not aware of it at that moment. The area of the unconscious is enormous and always continuous, while the area of consciousness is a restricted field of momentary vision." (CW Vol.18 par.13)

The Garden of Eden Our First Heaven

"And out of the ground the Lord God made... The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden,, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:9)

"God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but the tree of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)

"Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)

"Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. So, He drove out the man; and He placed Cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned everyway, to guard the way to the tree of life." (Genesis 3:22,24)

"In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life... Blessed are those who do his commandments, they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:2,14)

In the first heaven Adam and Eve are in an (uroboric) undifferentiated state of consciousness. Every thing is one with God; there is no separation, no life or existence outside of God. Adam and Eve have no identity of themselves they are merged with God in Eden. A newborn baby has no awareness of his own individuality or uniqueness; Adam and Eve experienced a similar state of existence. As the baby develops he separates from his mother he begins to see himself as different from his mother, other people and things. Ego awareness is created and continues to develop as the child matures into an adult. This process involves establishing a personal identity and a differentiation of the world of things. It is actually an organizational process the psyche goes through giving order to chaos.

Adam and Eve's sin seems to be a separation from God. The first thing Adam and Eve do after eating from the tree of knowledge is cover themselves with fig leaves, an indication they are now conscious of themselves. Ego awareness wakens them to the fact they are different from before and their relationship with God has changed. As God said " they have now become like one of Us knowing good and evil ." This awakening is the ego separating out of the collective unconscious and the commencement of the long arduous task of splitting the opposites. It is also the onset of consciousness, our task of carving a place out for ourselves in the world and giving order to chaos.

The last image Adam and Eve are left with is the Cherubim with the flaming sword, leading to the Tree of Life. Eden's, Tree of Life, is left or lost in the past as an image to pursue for salvation, an immortality of the soul. We see from the scripture cited above that in the end we eat from the Tree of Life. It is the tree of life that sustains us and gives us God/Self consciousness. Perhaps ego finally sees a cosmic grand scheme; God's work so to speak working in their lives. This Ego/Self axis operating in unity brings together the opposites creating what I believe C. G. Jung means by the Transcendent Function.

Splitting The God Head

" And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12: 7-9)

Psychologically this would be perceived as the Self the Godhead being split in half. Since we are talking about an archetype we understand there are two poles one negative and one positive. Michael a representative of the good and Satan representing bad. Christianity is a monotheistic religion one God, with a spilt off darkness assigned to the Devil. Some Christians perceive Satan as having more or equal authority to God. This is in actuality something of a dualistic nature. Jesus refers to this event in the statement below:

"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (Luke 12:18)

If we can agree the ego could be seen as that aspect of the psyche caught in time and space, we may also conclude it is what we identify with or attach importance to. It is also how we experience the world. Without ego awareness we are just floating through time unconscious of ourselves. So as the vehicle for expression and observation it can be and is a very powerful complex. In my reading of St. Augustine's treatise "City of God" he portrays two cities one of earth and one of heaven. Our Earthly city called Ego for our purposes here is full of; pride, envy, greed, lust, gluttony, anger and sloth, our seven deadly sins. The Heavenly city or "City of God" is represented by the Self with the following characteristics; "wisdom, understanding, prudence, fortitude, knowledge, piety and awe before the Absolute", these are the "gifts of spirit". In addition, "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness and temperance", are "fruits of the holy spirit". These are all positive aspects of the Self.

By making the ego the evil one we have split the world into two parts. Satan as ego is hurled to earth and rules this world, proclaiming himself King. Psychologically the ego becomes inflated and thinks it is in control of all it sees. It becomes very one sided interested in survival and getting what it can for itself at whatever the cost. Jung is quoted somewhere saying: " Happiness can never be had at the expense of someone else."

Human beings are determined to put history into a specific time frame. This is an ego capacity because it is that aspect of psyche that allows us to experience and observe ourselves. Hence we become very literal in our thinking giving every event a place in time and space. This gives us the ability to look at it and give it form. If we were to pin point a specific moment in history when humanity lost its metaphysical projection of God, many might place this moment somewhere around the 17th century 18th century, "The Age of Reason and The Age of Enlightenment". It is during this time that that the western world controlled by the church was in turmoil due to the Reformation and Galileo. The archetype of science was emerging as a worldview and the ego was gaining control over the world.

Perhaps we could say that Satan was thrown out of heaven and appeared on earth as the ego. Once the ego realized the concept of cause and effect it was easy to think it could ultimately determine its own fate. Over the past 500 years the ego has become inflated with its ability to wield power over its environment. We now collectively understand through modern physics and depth psychology our universe is much more than what we perceived it to be. As a matter of fact we are realizing we exist in a universe that probably has more than ten dimensions. Since the ego up till now has lived in the three-dimensional space and we are sure through Einstein's work there are four dimensions, we should be able to conclude we are undoubtedly going through a paradigm shift.

"The superstring theory predicts what happened before the Big Bang. According to superstrings, the universe originally existed in ten dimensions, not the four dimensions (three space dimensions and one time dimension) today. However, because the universe was unstable in ten dimensions, it "cracked" into two pieces, with a small, four-dimensional universe peeling off from the rest of the universe." (Kaku and Thompson 1995)

Prior to January 1, 2001, every body expected something to happen. Some people looked to the sky for Jesus to come down on a cloud. Others expected Y2K, a major computer crash resulting in mass chaos throughout the world. Many even peered into outer space for aliens to save us from ourselves. Jung alluded to the UFO phenomena as a projection of the Self, a flying saucer a round disk, symbolic of wholeness. So as we move into this new era the Aquarian Age people are expecting major events that will change the world. On the surface nothing has happened of any significance, however underneath ego consciousness there is a major energy shift-taking place. The ego is being dethroned as humanity recognizes the workings of the Holy Spirit, that transpersonal Self beyond ego control, deep in the unconscious beyond time and space.

Shadow of Darkness

When we look at shadow we are going through the process of judging. Shadow would be all those attributes we choose not to identify with and split off from ourselves. Those ugly little pieces of who we are will be projected out onto the world of people and things. That which we refuse to recognize in ourselves will be found outside us. " And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not perceive the plank in your own eye" (Luke 6:41). This has to be the classical definition of projection given by Jesus two thousand years ago. Jung has said in his writings on projection, (CW Vol. 9 II) " if an inner situation is not made conscious it happens outside as fate". We could say that the war described in Revelation could happen objectively in the world if it is not dealt with intra-psychically. Jung also goes on to suggest that when an individual remains undivided and doesn't become conscious of his inner opposites the world must perforce act out the conflict and be torn into opposing halves (CW Vol. 9 II). Our question becomes; is it possible through analysis or self-reflection to witness inner opposition taking place and find a way to work through it, without projecting it onto the objective world of people and things? In Matthew 25: 37-40, " Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one on of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me." If all the dark aspects of life is found in other people and not recognized within our own soul/psyche then we have split off parts of ourselves. We have projected them out there beyond us, outside of our boundaries. It seems to me the scripture quoted above points to an important psychological fact, if we take in the poor, feed the hungry, visit the sick all those things we typically prefer to avoid in our life, we might actually be nurturing our own imperfections. In other words by paying attention to the less than desirable aspects of ourselves, those things we see in the outside world of people and things are in actuality the link to consciousness. It is the evil or darkness that we avoid and say is in the world not in us or should we suggest carried by the Devil? A connection with the darkness works toward an integration of these nasty aspects of ourselves with the more positive qualities we take for granted. If we are annoyed by some aspect of someone else and have a strong emotional pull to it, we can rest assured; it has something to do with our own psyche. This is not to say the person in question doesn't carry this negative quality, only that it is a hook for you to see. If you see it for what it is, an aspect of your own essence then it is good. You cannot come to this awareness until it is split off in projection first. After the splitting has taken place then it can be reintegrated or reconciled somehow within our psyche. In Catholicism the confessional serves as a sources to purge oneself of sin. It is a method of self-reflection an attempt to wash oneself of dark aspects of the soul. In analysis the client has an opportunity to look at projection of the shadow in dreams and images from the unconscious. An analyst would help the client observe the images from an objective perspective, much like a scientist observing an experiment. By objectively looking at oneself, an individual can witness or observe his psyche in nature. We are in essence observing ourselves and uniting opposing forces, dark and light aspects of one's soul. It is through the process of analysis we look at unconscious elements or complexes split off from consciousness. We must walk in "The Valley of Darkness" go through "The Dark Night of The Soul" before we can reconcile the opposites. This is a necessary development on the road to The New Jerusalem.

Destruction Of The World

In Revelation the author alludes to the "Son of Man", someone wearing a golden band around his chest, hair as white as snow, eyes like a flame of fire and out of his mouth a sharp two edge sword (Revelation 1: 12-16). Certainly the image is full of symbols of wholeness and purity. Gold has always served as a symbol of spiritual wholeness, pure white snow, a sense of virtue and the flame of fire reminds me of the cherubim with the flaming sword leading the way back to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. However in the gospel of Matthew 10:34, Christ is quoted saying, " Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Our traditional image of Christ is a being full of love and compassion. Yet in this scripture we see a different portrayal of the Son of God. He is more aggressive and ready to take on the world, cutting it up, dissecting it with his double-edged sword. Christ continues in the next verses (Matthew 10:35-36) " For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be those of his own household." If we look at this scripture psychologically, turning against your family of origin is an attempt to cut yourself off from your family neurosis, things you have been taught that are not valid in your life anymore. Going beyond your original family values and culture, cutting it lose, analyzing it and reworking it. It is a tearing down of the old and a reconstruction of a new worldview. So the symbol of the sword is an appropriate image for doing the battle one must do to sever one's ego from what it thought itself to be. The old world must be destroyed; the resurrection of a new perception of life must emerge. "A change of personal consciousness, which is now on the verge of blending with the universal" (Gray 1980).

Death of The Ego

" Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered,... Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:3-5)

The death of the ego is not a physical death but a symbolic death. That aspect of the psyche you identify as who you are in this world must go through a symbolic destruction. All the pain and suffering we experience in our lives is ultimately a road to understanding of who we really are in the eternal universe. There seems to be two distinct entities we serve in our psyche, a higher self and a lower self, or in depth psychological terminology, the ego and the Self (Holy Spirit). Our ego must relinquish control to the Self; it must die as the center of consciousness and reawaken recognizing the Self/Holy Spirit as the supreme essence of psyche. A restructuring takes place within the psyche, an ego-Self axis is created with the ego as the vehicle for expression of the Self. A sense of immortality is recognized, consciously opening us to the spirit of God. An immortal sense of existence, a timeless/spaceless understanding is established within us. A cosmic consciousness is reached, you no longer look at life literally, you now live a symbolic life outside the three dimensional space/time.

This process is experienced in dreams as earthquakes, floods, being over-whelmed by an ocean wave. We could say a renewal of consciousness is taking place, because once the disaster is complete a new perspective of life exists. This is an archetypal restructuring that takes place within the psyche; it is a significant rebirth with tremendous ramifications for the ego and the collective world. We live numerous lives in many worlds but this spiritual birth is a quantum leap into the fourth dimension. We have little rebirths and we have big rebirths, this is a cosmic awakening, a mystic unification of the universe.

In the Book of Revelation we read that in the "End Time" the world will experience earthquakes, floods, plagues, wars and disease. However, if you look at recorded history we have always had natural disasters, wars and diseases. We just have to look at a newspaper or watch television to see the world is experiencing the same stuff we read about in history. "Nothing is new under the sun." Centuries ago there was black plague, yellow fever and more recently small pox. So when we say our world today is worse than the worlds of old we are mistaken. We are actually better off today with modern medicine than we were just 100 years ago, even with the outbreak of AIDS. So the image of an end to this world and a new heaven referred to in Revelation, can only mean, each and every one of us symbolically experiences an intra-psychic drama of death and birth.

We must always remain cognizant of the danger of inflation in the process. If our ego overly identifies with the Self it can become inflated causing a psychosis. On the other hand if the ego is swept away by the unconscious we run the risk of a severe depression and or neurosis. Spirit and matter are being torn apart and we experience this battle within the psyche and outside in the world, if we don't withdraw our projections.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks God to let thy will be done not his. This is a psychological statement saying: let the Self call the shots not the ego. The crucifixion is the death of Jesus the personality and the resurrection of Christ the anointed one. Hence our ego tries to be the leader of our psyche, (a false self) when it is the Holy Spirit/Self that is the true organizing principle. It's the crucifixion of the ego, the pain and suffering we experience through life's trials and errors that open us to a new birth, a spiritual understanding of who we really are. Finding meaning in suffering is critical because it is through this process that we learn who we are not. Our ego seems to identify or create false images of itself, and in order for a new perspective to evolve the old must pass away. Death is painful and so is birth, one begets the second.

Tree Of Life

" Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat and live forever." (Genesis 3:22)

A renewal process takes place in this stage of development. The Tree of Life is representative of the Christ archetype, when we eat the body and blood of the Savior (Eucharist) we are renewed and live in his essence forever. Perhaps this is also what Jung means by the transcendent function. A moment where the opposites are united joined together in reconciliation. " He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2).

The second heaven appears in the last book of the bible and the first heaven is described in the first book of the bible. The heaven of Revelation is a city as opposed to a garden. A city is built with the hands of man under God's guidance. The old heaven has changed form; man now experiences it in a new way with a more conscious involvement. Adam and Eve were tossed out of heaven, left with a vision of cherubim holding a flaming sword guarding the way back to the Tree of Life. Man was sent to till the soil; he had to work on himself to find the new heaven. Man must find what is hidden, uncover or discover the Holy Spirit/Self within himself. Hence, by looking at shadow the darkness within and developing an awareness of our projections, leads us to a new understanding of our relationship with the world. Spirit and body, heaven and earth, good and evil, yin and yang must be reconciled with each other. Our opposites joined as one working in harmony brings us to the "City of God". The divine essence is materialized through the working relationship of ego and Self. The ego, our three dimensional consciousness is now navigating through the unconscious, (other dimensions) consciously, under the direction of the Self.

" Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:2-4)

There are a few images from this scripture that are very meaningful psychologically. The symbolic understanding of "no more sea" can mean man's conquering of the unconscious. This is significant because without a conscious relationship with the unconscious there can be no understanding of shadow, projection and dreams. We must be able to communicate with the unconscious forces influencing our lives. Complexes and archetypes the driving energy of the unconscious must be grappled with for true self-realization.

The "bride adorned for her husband" brings us to the marriage of male and female (hieros-gamos) the awakening of the anima the feminine spirit of psyche. Carl Jung made a big deal over the Catholic Church declaring the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. He felt this was the most significant event since the Reformation. The feminine aspect of the God head in Christianity was not readily recognized, a weakness, a flaw which had untold consequences for the world over the centuries. Pope Pious XII making the Virgin Mary in essence a Goddess revitalized the anima or Eros factor of the soul (CW 11, Answer to Job). . A union of the patriarchal, rational, conscious side of the psyche and the nonrational feminine unconscious aspect of psyche must be joined together in a perfect relationship. This is all part of the individuation process. "Individuation is the process of the ego discovering, conversing with, and relating to the objective psyche, and realizing that it is subject to this more comprehensive psychic entity. The central representation of the objective psyche is the self; hence the successful individuation process leads to the self replacing the ego as the center of personality" (Ulanov, The Feminine). Ego, representative of consciousness, the masculine essence, connects with the feminine unconscious, creating a sacred marriage, a partnership made in heaven, a restructured psyche. From here on the ego-self axis is working in harmony, balanced and attuned to each other. Individuation is always a process in the making, I suspect the best we can hope for is that we become conscious of the unfoldment of the soul and enjoy the journey.

Holy scripture makes it very clear that God is dwelling in men and women and they are part of God, as God is part of them. " At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me and I in you" (John 14:20). The recognition of the Holy Spirit/Self, that spiritual essence that dwells within us, the organizing principle of the psyche/soul is now clearly creating a new understanding, a new awareness of who we are in the universe, a cosmic consciousness. " The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). Scripture teaches us death is not an end to our existence " there shall be no more death ". We are now conscious of the immortality of the soul, and death, as we knew it, is just a passing on to another existence (dimension) within the universe, (the womb of God).

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References

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New King James Version , Bible, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, (1994).
Robertson, Robin Beginner's Guide to Revelation , York Beach, Maine: Nicolas-Hays, (1994).
Ulanov, Ann B. The Feminine in Jungian Psychology and Christian Theology , Evanston, Northwestern University Press, (1971).

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