Feature Article
The Power of the Unconscious
Becoming Aware and Making Meaning: The Core Concepts
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Part 1
by
Jamie Cromer Grue
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​1. THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND
This is the part of your psychic life outside of your awareness that impacts how you feel, think, and respond in life. These hidden or shadow parts influence how we all make meaning of ourselves and the world around us. We are frequently motivated by impulses that we don't always recognize.
2. INFLUENCE OF THE PAST
Our past influences our present.... in our relationships, self-concept, decisions, and also affects our abilities in work, love, and play.
3. PSYCHIC DETERMINISM
Symptoms & symbols have multiple functions and are multidetermined.There is always more than one reason or meaning and we acknowledge that all things serve some function.
4. FREE ASSOCIATION
Allow yourself to say everything that comes to mind without censoringfor the purpose of understanding and insight. This process uncoverswhat is hidden in the unconscious and is to be experienced with curiosity and without judgment. Remember thoughts are not facts or truths theyjust are. We can apply the techniques of free association and dreaminterpretation and discover many levels of meaning. We can apply this to our inner world, as we listen to others, or even our favorite protagonists in our favorite novels or films.
3 SELF-GUIDED TECHNIQUES FOR MAKING MEANING IN
YOUR LIFE:
JOURNALING
Get to know yourself better - gain self-awareness and insight... create space toreflect. Feel less stress - process thoughts and feelings reduces stress especiallyif you also journal strengths, gratitudes, and wins in addition to the struggles,fears and challenges.
Free Associative journaling
Frequently, there are lost pieces of our experience that we have to remembersometimes these are actually good experiences laid hidden behind a series ofdisappointments, frustrations and fears. Often times it’s psychic pain that’s been pushed away and forgotten for emotions that have felt and experiences that I felt overwhelming overstimulating forbidden and one way to remember is through the free associative process.
Emotional detox journaling
Letting go of emotions such as fear, resentment, greed, guilt, anger, and mentalconfusion. Use these journal prompts: I commit to releasing..., I commit to creating...
​DREAM WORK
You can work on analyzing yourself by analyzing your dreams. This also appliesto daydreams and sexual fantasies. The dreams we have at night give us the bestaccess to our unconscious. This includes our hidden wishes, fears, and conflicts. Interpreting your dreams requires an understanding of yourself as awhole person and all the factors going on inside of you. More reason to nurture self-awareness and consider therapy or psychoanalysis.
MEDITATION
A connection to your truth, inner wisdom, and to universal consciousness
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CONTINUE FURTHER INTO YOUR
JOURNEY:
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