《Abstracts of the Collected Works of C.G. Jung - Volume 12 Psychology and Alchemy》.docVIP

Volume 12: Psychology and Alchemy 000396 Introduction to the religious and psychological problems of alchemy. In: Jung, C., Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 12. 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, 1968. 571 p. (p. 1-37). A study of the relationship between alchemy and the psychic process of individuation is presented. The need to address the problems of the psyche is based on the fact that the psyche is still one of the most mysterious regions of experience. Observation of people points to the mystery of the psyche, and the psychotherapeutic process itself constantly reveals that the object of the search, for both doctor and patient, is the discovery of the whole man,--a greater man in the future. The difficulty and dangers of this search are explored and the potentiality for wholeness in the true Christian imitatio Christi is explained. An exhaustive discussion of the relationship between religion and the psyche is included, with emphasis on the religious nature of the soul and on the contribution that psychology can make to arriving at a better understanding of religious truths. A comparison is made between the archetypes of the unconscious and religious dogmas, with stress on the importance of the Christ symbol as an expression of the union of opposites. The alchemic view of the soul and the Godhead is presented and contrasted with the Christian view. In alchemy, the search was also directed toward the discovery of the seed of unity as is the psychotherapeutic process. The goal of this latter process is stated as enabling the patient to be alone with the self. The methods, dangers and difficulties of arriving at this goal are discussed. Reference is made to a dialogue between the patient and his shadow, which is to be followed by the study of a series of dreams containing mandala symbols of the center or the goal. It is in developing these symbols that the healing process or the solution for this particular person emerges. An attempt is made to introduce the