The Conflict Within

The term schizophrenic is often (wrongly) used to describe people exhibiting multiple personalities. In fact the human psyche is complex and we all house numerous, and often conflicting, traits under the umbrella of a single individual.

The psychologist C G Jung used the term "shadow" to represent our repressed characteristics. He describes it thus: "Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."

Our weaker characteristics are omnipresent and seek to express themselves. Although most times their dominant counterparts win the day, occasionally the shadow self takes control; eg a usually introverted person may go through a phase of making numerous casual friendships, and a usually cautious person may take an almighty risk. (more…)

Making Decisions with Logic and Intuition

Making decisions is often one of the toughest challenges we face as human beings. And yet having the ability to decide is one of our greatest causes to rejoice, since it proves we are more than mere automata controlled rigidly by inflexible physical laws.

We are each a unique and complex mix of values, drives and goals that are frequently uncorrelated, and sometimes conflicting. In making decisions we are essentially attempting to optimize our position in relation to these many factors. If we are fortunate, there will be a clear choice that benefits us on all counts. Life is rarely so simple, and decision-making is usually a case of finding the most favorable (or least unfavorable) compromise.

This article offers some advice on a number of decision making techniques that can be employed when faced with such an opportunity. Just as there is no universal right decision that would apply to everyone in a certain situation, so there is no singular technique that applies under all circumstances. (more…)

Understanding the Unconscious

Your Key to Fulfillment

The human mind can be compared to an island in the ocean. The visible part, ie above the surface, is our consciousness – what we are aware of at any given time. But beneath the surface the island is really a mountain, the vast bulk of which is submerged. This hidden part is our unconscious, that huge mass of content of which we are unaware but which can, and frequently does, have a significant effect on our lives.

Unconscious or Subconscious – Terminology

The terms unconscious and subconscious are often used synonymously, however Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis preferred the use of “unconscious”, saying: “the only trustworthy antithesis is between conscious and unconscious.” [Sigmund Freud, The Question of Lay Analysis (Vienna 1926; English translation 1927)]

The term unconscious may be used to describe the entire content of the mind that is not conscious, whereas subconscious may describe that part of the unconscious that is closest to, or most easily brought into, consciousness. (more…)

The Meaning of Dreams

Why do we dream?

Nobody really knows why we dream. Explanatory theories include the following:

• Dreaming results from random brain activity.
• Dreaming is simply the brain doing its housekeeping, filing away all the different thoughts, observations and other inputs of the day.
• Dreams are an invaluable insight into the subconscious, the "royal road" in the words of Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis.
• Dreams give the opportunity to experience situations and emotions that we may never encounter physically, either as a rehearsal for what may be, or simply for experiential growth.
• In dreams we draw closer to the world of Spirit and are able to receive Spiritual/psychical information that is normally unavailable during the waking state.

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