How Crises Can Help You Transform: Jungian Analyst on ‘Sacred Substance’
Crises can initiate the development of what Jungian analyst Bud Harris calls 'sacred substance' – the depth, authenticity, and profound wisdom that come with truly knowing oneself.
A crisis can be anything that awakens some part of our shadow to set up an inner or outer conflict, and can manifest in depression, anxiety, addictions, or even physical disorders.
Jung taught that outward symptoms of mental or physical illness often indicate a problem with the whole self.
The self is what needs treating, not the surface disorders.
Determining to treat the self
Treating the self rather than surface symptoms means committing to exploring the unconscious, as this is the only way to bring healing and transformation.
When unconscious elements appear at the borders of the conscious ego, they undermine the values we live by and threaten any stability we’ve built.
What lies in the unconscious is always a threat to your current models for living.
When we determine to pay attention to and engage with its contents, it marks a shift from a rigid, sterile self that can’t adapt to a more pliable self that evolves to integrate internal and external changes.
Mythologising life
Harris describes how self-reflection and a searing inventory of our unconscious is comparable to Ulysses's turbulent voyage through the Mediterranean.
It's a mythic embodiment of our lives that puts us in contact with fears, desires, excitement, potential loss and adventures, and an awareness of the paths available to us.
Accepting the call
For Harris, our insights from the previous stage will initiate calls into a new life.
And while the impulse to turn back, for security and familiarity, is always there, the seeker who refuses the call invites darkness upon themself.
Jung refers to this as 'a regressive restoration of the old way of life and appearances in the face of fear – an act that will result in living a hollow life'.
Summary
Crises put you in contact with unconscious elements that undermine your current self.
Treating the whole self involves exploring the unconscious for your undiscovered or disavowed qualities to see what they have to tell you.
As you grow in self-knowledge, you evolve to integrate those hidden parts, and build a more complete wisdom of yourself that allows you to live authentically.
And while accepting the call to a new worldview is always accompanied by fear, Jung taught that the alternative was a sterile, hollow existence.