Carl Jung: Existence is only real when it is conscious to somebody.

Since the Omniscient looks into all hearts, and Yahweh's eyes "run to and fro through the whole earth," it were better for the interlocutor of the Eighty-ninth Psalm not to wax

too conscious of his slight moral superiority over the more unconscious God.

Better to keep it dark, for Yahweh is no friend of critical thoughts which in any way diminish the tribute of recognition he demands.

Loudly as his power resounds through the universe, the basis of its existence is correspondingly slender, for it needs conscious reflection in order to exist in reality.

Existence is only real when it is conscious to somebody.

That is why the Creator needs conscious man even though, from sheer unconsciousness, he would like to prevent him from becoming conscious.

And that is also why Yahweh needs the acclamation of a small group of people.

One can imagine what would happen if this assembly suddenly decided to stop the applause: there would be a state of high excitation, with outbursts of blind destructive rage, then a withdrawal into hellish loneliness and the torture of non-existence, followed by a gradual reawakening of an unutterable longing for something which would make him conscious of himself.

It is probably for this reason that all pristine things, even man before he becomes the canaille, have a touching, magical beauty, for in its nascent state "each thing after its kind" is the most precious, the most desirable, the tenderest thing in the world, being a reflection of the infinite love and goodness of the Creator. ~Carl Jung, CW 11, Pages 372-373



Jung says:

The character thus revealed fits a personality who can only convince himself that he exists through his relation to an object.

Such dependence on the object is absolute when the subject is totally lacking in self-reflection and therefore has no insight into himself.

It is as if he existed only by reason of the fact that he has an object which assures him that he is really there.
And then on into the next paragraph where he makes the following remarks:

“Existence is only real when it is conscious to somebody. That is why the Creator needs conscious man even though, from sheer unconsciousness, he would like to prevent him from becoming conscious. And that is also why Yahweh needs the acclamation of a small group of people. One can imagine what would happen if this assembly suddenly decided to stop the applause: there would be a state of high excitation, with outbursts of blind destructive rage, then a withdrawal into hellish loneliness and the torture of non-existence, followed by a gradual reawakening of an unutterable longing for something which would make him conscious of himself.”

This is a magnificent description of a basic feature of the unconscious, namely its need to be seen.

This is the basic work of analysis: to pour attention into the unconscious so that it can be seen.

And as it is seen, it is appeased.

The outbursts of blind, destructive rage are assuaged when it is seen.

As was mentioned in the discussion period last time, this description is very similar to what's spoken of in clinical terms as narcissism.

In The Creation of Consciousness I report a dream that actually makes that connection explicit.

This is a dream a man had right after reading Answer to Job:

I see a huge ape-like man without a neck. His huge head is attached directly to his shoulders. He is naked and is looking lasciviously. ~Edward F. Edinger, Transformation of the God Image, Page 42