The challenges faced by civilization today are not bad luck or random coincidence. The real challenge is not climate change, biodiversity, pandemics, social media, war, nuclear disaster, politicians, political divide, inequality, prejudice or discrimination or malignant artificial intelligence.
Attempt to ‘solve’ any one of these issues and the real challenge will simply re-emerge in a new form. We have already seen this happen in 2022 on a global scale, with a pandemic giving way to war and economic crises.
All of these issues arise from the unconsciousness of the human psyche. This is the real challenge. It is not ‘Russia,’ ‘Trump’ or ‘Biden.’ It is not the wrath of God seeking to punish us for our sins. Nor is it ultimately our ‘craving’ or ‘greed’ or ‘anger’ or ‘aversion,’ as a Buddhist might tell you, since these themselves are products of the unconscious mind.
We have not yet understood this. The prevailing paradigm is still one of trying to fix and cajole the world to be a certain way, coupled with the ostensibly noble aim of agreeing on the ‘right’ set of values. This is the definition of hubris. Ignoring nature, the unconscious, and the self-evident truth that we have a mind that does not fit the prevailing scientific model.
We have become disconnected from the unconscious mind as we threw out religion. We correctly recognised that the symbols of religion were not ‘real,’ but we have not yet realised the realness they represented. We lost our primary way of engaging with the unconscious, and that is why we are experiencing these challenges now. At the same time, the discovery of the unconscious mind creates a commensurate opportunity of growth for those who choose to let go of the conditioning imposed on us by the group and walk the Path of the Sage.
Shadow work *is* the path to Individuation, which in turn is the process of making the unconscious conscious. Shadow work is what you do through your discussion with a coach or spiritual teacher, but it is not only that – it is the choices you make in daily life, the way you communicate with others and the way you choose to engage with recurring patterns. It is your efforts to be mindful, to think critically, to experience emotions, to see the causes and consequences of your decisions, and it is your meditation practice. It is an enormous spiritual task, that is not only necessary, but tremendously rewarding.
“We have not understood yet that the discovery of the unconscious means an enormous spiritual task, which must be accomplished if we wish to preserve our civilization.”
-Jung
