Secular Psychology Pt. I

A small book Christians Beware by Magna Parks, Ph.D. came into circulation in 2007 and at the same time as did Spiritualistic Deceptions in Health and Healing by Edwin A. Noyes M.D. Magna Parks, a practicing psychologist for twenty years had encountered a written sermon that had been delivered prior to a church body. As she read, she found she was at odds with the content of the sermon and proceeded to study to determine whether she was wrong in her understanding or the pastor was mistaken.

What she learned shocked her and changed the way she practices psychology and counsels. No longer does she rely upon the standard principles of counseling that she learned in her training, she found that scripture contains answers to problems of the mind that she often encounters in her patients. Her book is a recommended read for anyone interested in mind—cure therapy.

Magna Parks has with consummate skill condensed an immense subject into 78 pages of simple clear and concise phrases that all can understand. She has brought to focus three theories in psychology which she feels create the greatest influence today, psychoanalytic, behaviorist, and humanistic perspectives. She also states that the two theories with the most influence on Christianity are psychoanalytic and humanistic. ⁴⁾ Parks, Magna Ph.D., Christians Beware! The Dangers of Christian Psychology, Teach Services, Inc., Brushton, New York, (2007), p. 5.

She also identifies several of the leading personalities that have over the last 100 plus years most influenced the present day disciplines of psychiatry and psychology. The central theme to be found in secular psychology according to Parks is the fixation on “Self.” That within “Self” is the elements for mind therapy.

At this point in our discussion I think a definition of psychology would be appropriate as the explanation of the original meaning of the word goes a long way toward establishing common ground for understanding forthcoming comments. From Webster’s New World Dictionary, the Third Edition (1988) the Greek word psyche, has as one of its definitions “soul,” and is stated to be the origin of the English word psychology, which refers to the science of the mind or soul; also one of the definitions is the “science of animal and human behavior.” An 1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary defines psychology as follows:

PSYCHOLOGY, n. [Gr. soul, and discourse.] A discourse or treatise on the human soul; or the doctrine of the nature and properties of the soul.

From Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible the Hebrew word nephesh is translated in English to soul. The Bible speaks of the soul nearly five hundred times, referring to mortal animal and man.

This chapter has as its purpose to share with the reader what I learned as I sought to understand why psychology, as pointed out by E.G. White, would be used by Satan to increase his power of deception near the close of probation. This chapter is focused on the quote that psychology can lay a foundation for spiritualism.

WHAT IS SPIRITUALISM?

The lie told in the Garden of Eden “you will not die” is the foundation of spiritualism, that there is life after death and that the soul is separate from the body. Belief in this false doctrine as well as the deification of the dead can lead to communion with the dead which actually is communion with demons, fallen angels. Part of the lie at Eden was that man would progress to become wise like God and know good and evil. These two lies are the foundation of pantheism.

It is fondly supposed that heathen superstitions have disappeared before the civilization of the twentieth century. But the word of God and the stern testimony of facts declare that sorcery is prac-ticed in this age as verily as in the days of the old-time magicians. The ancient system of magic is, in reality, the same as what is now known as modern spiritualism. Satan is finding access to thousands of minds by presenting himself under the guise of departed friends. . . .

The magicians of heathen times have their counterpart in the spiritualistic mediums, the clairvoyants, and the fortunetellers of today. . . . Could the veil be lifted from before our eyes, we should see evil angels employing all their arts to deceive and to destroy. Wherever an influence is exerted to cause men to forget God, there Satan is exercising his bewitching power. . . . The apostle’s admonition to the Ephesian church should be heeded by the people of God today: “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” ⁵⁾ White, E.G., Conflict and Courage, (1970), p. 343. (Emphasis added)

At this point in our discussion a review of the principles of Satan’s counterfeit pagan religion— nature worship that originated in Babylon, and was known as part of the Babylonian Mysteries is helpful for understanding the following discourse.

Primordial evolution theory replaced the Biblical account of the creation of the world—“by the breath of His mouth,” by Jesus Christ the Divine Son of God. In the pagan false story of creation, God is removed from His creative power and set aside. The creative power is divided into two parts, good—evil, positive—negative, or yin—yang, and this power is considered as god. With evolutionary time the two parts of energy were supposedly blended harmoniously to the point that all material substance was created, the cosmos, world, and man. All material substance is said to be made of this same creative power, or energy, so each substance is out of the same original universal source (energy) and has all the attributes of, and is a part of, everything. Synonyms of this creative power are consciousness, collective consciousness, Self, subliminal Self, and a hundred other names, even the blasphemous use of the name that God called Himself, the I AM. The entire theory has a name—pantheism.

A refinement of pantheism wherein God is left in the equation of creation but that he in turn left a spark of Himself in everything he created so that innately each of us has latent divinity within. This false concept is given the name panentheism. This branch of pantheism claims that the soul is immortal and that we are gods. The belief that the soul has immortality is still prevalent today, even throughout Christendom. The God within concept leads to the glorification and infatuation of Self. Humanistic psychology has utilized this theme, further demonstrated by the term Self-esteem.

To identify spiritualism in psychology one or both of two teachings will need to be demonstrated to be a component of this discipline, namely 1) life continues after death— immortality of the soul; and 2) teaching of progression to the godhood of man—divinity within. That would not apply to every precept under the name of psychology but only to those teachings wherein such concepts are found. So we need to look at the teachings of psychology in the 1800’s, early 1900’s and forward until today. First we need to investigate the history of those who developed and influenced the establishment of the teachings and philosophy of this branch of medicine. Were they believers in such doctrines as the immortality of the soul, and or divinity within man.

SOCRATES—PLATO—ARISTOTLE

Therapeutic psychology arose out of philosophy. Philosophy is the science (so called) of estimating values and the superiority of any belief, situation, action, condition, or substance over another as determined by the mind of man. In this world’s history the Greeks were known for having great philosophers. The psyche (soul) was a subject of much discussion by these Greek philosophers. The belief in the immortality of the psyche or soul had its start in this world in the Garden of Eden, and was carried down to Babylon and spread to the world with the language dispersion from Babylon.

I recently read with interest some translated writings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle from the text History of Psychology, Fundamental Questions, ⁶⁾ Munger, Margaret P., The History of Psychology, Fundamental Questions, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, (2003). wherein those philosophers discussed their concept of the soul. The ancient religions of India, Egypt, and China all have the doctrine of the immortality of the soul as revealed by The Book of the Dead from Egypt and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274A.D.) writes of the immortality of the soul and about the soul after death. ⁷⁾ Ibid., pp. 46-65. In History of Psychology the great philosophers from Socrates up to the modern times are reviewed and some of their writings that have been translated into English are included. The belief in the separation of the soul from the body and immortality of the soul seems to be a dominant concept of these philosophers. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s the term psychology began to be used when referring to the study of the mind and gradually the discipline of mind therapy was considered under this term. Psychiatry is the term used for a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosis and treatments of neurosis and psychosis. Many of the 19th and 20th century thought leaders in the field of psychology believed in the immortality of the soul. This fact will be more clearly recognized as we look at leading psychologists and psychiatrists of the modern area. Remember, the definition of spiritualism is the belief of life after death and communication between the living and the dead can occur, which practice is strongly prohibited in the Bible. E.G. White adhered to an enlarged definition of the term spiritualism as illustrated in the following snippets taken from The Great Controversy pp. 551-562.

That man is the creature of progression; that it is his destiny from his birth to progress, even to eternity, toward the Godhead; each mind will judge itself and not another; the judgment will be right because it is the judgment of self; any just and perfect being is Christ; true knowledge places man above all law; whatever is right is right; all sins committed are innocent; denies the origin of the Bible; the Bible is a mere fiction; Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God.

The doctrine of life after death and divinity within mankind had its origin from the lie told in the Garden of Eden, and is the foundation of Eastern thought and Western occultism. It is the doctrinal principles of principles of pagan religions and or nature worship. To recognize seeds of spiritualism within psychology we need an understanding of the Eastern explanation of man. 1) The soul separates from the body of man, continues in life after death and is immortal. 2) This soul is composed of a conscious mind and has subconscious and super conscious components, which in turn are a part of a universal mind, referred to as Universal Consciousness, Self, Subliminal Self, Higher Self, god. As man’s mind is believed to be a part of a universal mind—god, man therefore has divinity within and the pursuit of life is to bring this divinity into full bloom, escape reincarnation, and join the spirit world of nirvana, and to enjoy an eternal life of bliss.

There are a number of practices which are applied in the field of mind therapy whose working power is explained by their proponents as an extension of the unconscious mind as spoken of in the preceding paragraph. These are hypnotism, clairvoyance, visualization, telepathy, channeling, meditation, yoga, transcendental meditation, Extra Sensory Perception, and others. There is the ever present belief and teaching that within Self resides all the wisdom of the universe, and the power of all healing. A myriad of techniques are designed to access that presumed power from within. There are a large number of theories related to the function of the mind and mind therapy which are promoted in the field of psychology.

According to Alan E. Bergin and Sol L. Garfield, editors of the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change, 1994, p. 6, tell us that there are more than 400 differing psycho-therapeutic methods offered to the public and by 10,000 varying techniques. ⁸⁾ Gabbert, Dan, Biblical Response Therap®, Healing God’s Way, Gabbert Family Resources, Aardvaark Global Publishing Co., LLC, (2008); p. iv; Available at Black Hills Health and Education Center, PO Box 19, Hermosa, SD 57744, www.bhhec.org

Why so many? Answer: proof by scientific testing of its theories, diagnosis, and therapies is difficult to come by. Undoubtedly there are many principles adhered to in psychology that do have value and are free of spiritistic influence.

In my study for evidence of spiritualistic influence in psychology I have repeatedly come across certain names that are referred to by various authors, as being thought leaders and theorists in the field of psychology, such as James, Freud, Jung, Rogers, and Maslow. These men have set general theories during the past 100 plus years in the field of mind science. We will look at the history of each of these individual practitioners and teachers in our search for seeds of spiritualism that may have entered into secular psychology as may be practiced.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century including the early years of the twentieth century, Mesmerism, also known as hypnotism and suggestion, was commonly used in dealing with mind—cure therapy in the United States and Europe. ⁹⁾ Hale, Nathan G., Freud and the Americans, The Beginnings of Psychoanalysis in the United States, Oxford University Press, (1971), pp. 229, 230.

By 1885 the ‘psychotherapeutic movement’ that had begun in Europe in the middle 1860’s with Liebault and developed rapidly in the next decade was making headway in the United States, principally through the efforts of psychologists William James, G. Stanley Hall, Joseph Jastrow, and James Mark Baldwin, and of a few physicians. ¹⁰⁾ Ibid., p. 229.

WILLIAM JAMES M.D. (1842-1910)

In 1890 William James, an illustrious Harvard professor of psychiatry, wrote an article carried in Scribner’s Magazine entitled the Hidden Self. He wrote that science had ignored mysticism, the occult, spiritualism, faith healing, and hypnotism because it could not be well understood and classified. James called for more study and research in this area. James was first hired to teach at Harvard, his academic home for virtually his entire career. He explored the occult and took forays into psychical research, séances, and, of course, several varieties of religious experience, authoring the book, Varieties of Religious Experience.

The medical professionals and public at large were interested in and utilized hypnosis, suggestion, mental healing, multiple personalities, automatic writing, psychic research, etc., and it peaked in the 1890’s to decline slightly and then surge again between 1905 and 1910.

A high point, prior to the present time, in American history for use of hypnosis and suggestion for mental therapy was in the first decade of the twentieth century. ¹¹⁾ Ibid., p. 230. Adelbert Albrecht, editor of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, stated in 1913 that:

Several psychotherapeutists in America claimed to have cured hundreds of cases of alcoholism and its consequences by hypnotism. ¹²⁾ Ibid., p. 2227.

In America at this same time, movements referred to as the Emmanuel Movement and Christian Science were popular. To combat the nervousness and evils of the day the Reverend Elwood Worcester started a crusade combining liberal Christianity, Subliminal Self, and the other methods used in that day for psychotherapy; this was called the Emmanuel Movement because they first started their meetings Nov. 11, 1906 in the Emmanuel Church building. This movement did not necessarily utilize professionals for administering therapy and soon spread across the country among different protestant organizations, Baptist, Congregationalist, Unitarian, and Presbyterian, etc. These movements aroused interest in Subliminal Self and hidden powers with possible connection with the Great Beyond; this was the beginning of public awareness of the Unconscious. Ellen White mentioned these movements in her comments regarding mind—cure therapy.

There are many who shrink with horror from the thought of consulting spirit mediums, but who are attracted by more pleasing forms of spiritism, such as the Emmanuel movement. Still others are led astray by the teachings of Christian Science, and by the mysticism of theosophy and other Oriental religions. ¹³⁾ White, E.G., Evangelism, Review and Herald Publishing Association. Hagerstown, MD, (1946), p. 606.

SIGMUND FREUD M.D. 1856-1939:

At the time of the above mentioned peak use of hypnotism in Europe and the United States, a neurologist psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, from Vienna, Austria came to the United States in 1909 to present a series of lectures on mind—cure that he had developed, he called it psychoanalysis. Freud tells us that he had used hypnotism but:

have given up the suggestive technique and with it hypnotism because I despaired of making the suggestion strong and durable enough to effect a permanent cure. In all severe cases I saw the suggestion crumble away and the disease again made its appearance. ¹⁴⁾ Hale, op. cit., p. 227.

Freud was a practitioner of psychiatry, and a researcher in neurology. He presented in 1909 to a group of psychiatrists in the United States the concept of psychopathology (deranged mental activity) as originating from the subconscious mind” and he introduced a technique of mind— cure he called psychoanalysis. He had dropped the use of hypnotism and simply explored with the patient the history of their childhood and youth. Freud was an atheist, did not believe in spirits and explained occult happenings as an extension of the subconscious. His central pillar of doctrine was the subconscious and tied in most mental dysfunction with some sort of sexual relationship. Freud had also used cocaine as therapy for mental dysfunction. He eventually discarded cocaine for therapy as he did hypnosis. Freud was an interpreter of dreams and also used this technique in the psychoanalysis process.

Freud did change the direction of psychotherapy in the U.S. and there was a decline in use of many of the occult techniques. However he added fuel to the fire in the concept of subconscious. The subconscious was the source of subliminal Self, instincts, man’s memory, reserve energies, etc. The subconscious was believed to be more sensitive to good and evil than our conscious mind; it was a connection to the Universal Mind or Spirit.

Its roots were the Infinite, it was closer to the Universal Spirit. The subconscious then was uncanny: it healed; it remembered everything; it solved problems; it could impart glorious, un-dreamed-of resources. ¹⁵⁾ Ibid., p. 241.

Another movement in the first two decades of the 20th century in the U.S. was the New Thought Movement originated by a professional hypnotist Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-66), “philosopher- mesmerist-healer-scientist.” He taught that many diseases could be cured by suggestion and thus were therefore illusionary. Another mesmerist and spiritualist, Mary Baker Eddy carried the New Thought Movement on into Christian Science. A New Thought Sanitarium on the Hudson River in 1909 was offering treatments of:

…psychic experiments, non-church religion, admonitions to conquer the world with sheer sentiments of optimism, electric shocks delivered through a serrated gold crown, hypnotism, and suggestion. ¹⁶⁾ Ibid., p. 246.

The New Thought and Christian Scientists treatments for the mind were the most popular. From 1882 to 1908 the number Christian scientists had grown from less than one hundred to 85,000. These movements claimed to be effective on all ailments. ¹⁷⁾ Ibid., p. 245. It was into this mixture of hypotheses that Freud introduced his own hypothesis of psychoanalysis:

Psychoanalysis is concerned with the discovery of events in the past life of the individual and with their consequences for him, and neither the events nor the consequences can ever be exactly the same for two people. ¹⁸⁾ Bettelheim, Bruno, Freud and Man’s Soul, First Vintage books Edition, (1984); Random House Inc., New York p. 42.

Freud had a great impact on psychology in the United States in the early 1900’s. He used dream analysis, confession, and looking to the past as the source of mental problems. This approach tended to blame parents for the patients mental disorders. The philosophy was expand-ed by others until supposedly returning to the womb and to previous lives via hypnotism became part of the psychologist’s modus operandi.

It was out of this hypothesis of past life experiences, including intrauterine development and birth experience, that is portrayed as deciding the stability or instability of the future mental health of an individual. This is the basis for the concept of re-birthing, and finding the inner child, divine within (divine child by Jung) in psychotherapy.

Although Freud was not known as a spiritualist and tried to explain psychic phenomena as arising out of the subconscious he still took decided interest in such as he was a member of the Society (S.P.R.) that attempted to investigate on a scientific basis psychic happenings. Freud was elected as a Corresponding Member of the British Society for Psychical Research in 1911, and in 1915 he became an Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Psychical Research. In December, 1923, the Greek Society for Psychical Research honored him similarly. Matthew Raphael, author of Bill W. and Mr. Wilson, a book about the cofounders of Alcoholics Anonymous, shares with us on page 161 Freud’s dabbling in spiritism. A comment from Raphael:

…As we have seen, Sigmund Freud, whose highest ambition was to put psycho-analysis on a scientific footing, nonetheless took notice of psychical (occult) phenomena—much to the chagrin of his closest disciples, who felt a need to bury the offending facts or else to explain them away. An entire chapter of Ernest Jones’ monumental biography (of Freud) is dedicated to Freud’s open-mindedness about occultism (he was a member of the Society for Psychical Research) and his publication, over Jones’s protestations, of his papers on telepathy.

Ernest Jones MD, Freud’s biographer and coworker stated that it was generally held that Freud’s greatest contribution to science was his interpretation of Dreams and the concept of the unconscious mind.

C.G. JUNG M.D. , 1875-1961:

Probably the best know name in the field of psychiatry and psychology is that of Carl Gustav Jung M.D., a Swiss psychiatrist. His name is recognized the world over and is associated also with the discipline of psychology. He was born in Kesswil, Switzerland by Lake Constance July 26, 1875 to Paul and Emilie (Preiswerk) Jung. His father Paul, was a Parson in the Swiss Reform Church; his mother came from a family of many Parsons, her father and eight uncles.

Carl’s maternal grandfather, Parson Samuel Preiswerks’ first wife died, thereafter he held weekly intimate conversations with her spirit, to the irritation of his second wife. ¹⁹⁾ Jaffe’, Aniela, From the Life and Work of C.G. Jung, Harper and Row,
Publishers, N. Y., NY, (1971), p. 2. Samuel’s second wife Agusta, Carl’s maternal grandmother was gifted with the ability to see spirits. ²⁰⁾ Ibid., p. 2.

Emilie, daughter of Samuel and Agusta, too had the gift of seeing spirits. Her father would have her stand behind him as he prepared his sermons so as to keep the ghosts from annoying him as he studied. ²¹⁾ Ibid., Emilie, Carl’s mother kept a diary which listed all of the strange experiences she encountered. She spoke of it as “spookish” phenomena and strange occurrences. ²²⁾ Ibid.,. Carl once saw the following come from his mother’s bedroom door.

I slept in my father’s room. From the door to my mother’s room came frightening influences. At night Mother was strange and mysterious. One night I saw coming from her door a faintly luminous, indefinite figure whose head detached itself from the neck and floated along in front of it, in the air, like a little moon. Immediately another head was produced and again detached itself. This process was repeated six or seven times. ²³⁾ Jung, C.G. , Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffe’; translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston, Random House, Inc. (1989), p. 18.

Carl, as do all people, had dreams, however, he had a life-long fascination with interpretation of dreams. The first dream he remembers came to him when he was between three and four years of age. He tells us in his book Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, that this dream was to “preoccupy me all my life.” ²⁴⁾ Ibid., p. 11. The dream consisted of a phallic symbol 15 feet high and one and one half to two feet diameter seated on a golden throne in a room deep into the subterranean parts of the earth. He heard in the dream his mother’s voice saying “Yes, just look at him that is the man eater!” The symbol he later determined to represent “the dark Lord Jesus, and a Jesuit priest.” He tells us that the dream haunted him for years and he never shared it with anyone.

At all events, the phallus of this dream seems to be a subterranean God ‘not to be named,’ and such it remained throughout my youth, reappearing whenever anyone spoke too emphatically about Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus never became quite real for me, never quite acceptable, never quite lovable, for again and again I would think of his underground counterpart, a frightful revelation which had been accorded me without my seeking it. The Jesuit’s ‘disguise’ cast its shadow over the Christian doctrine I had been taught. …Lord Jesus seemed to me in some ways a god of death, helpful, it is true, in that he scared away the terror of the night, but himself uncanny, crucified and bloody corpse…. ²⁵⁾ Ibid., p. 13.

Before Carl could read, his mother had read to him Orbis Pictus, and old, illustrated children’s book, containing an account of exotic religions, primarily Hinduism . Illustrations of the chief God’s of the Hindus were portrayed; Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva which he had an “inexhaustible source of interest in.” ²⁶⁾ Ibid., p. 17. He felt an affinity with these illustrations with his original revelation—his earliest dream.

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn (you) away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. Deut. 13: 1-5

In the spring of 1895 Carl began his studies at the University of Basel in the study of medicine. His father died in 1896. Six weeks after his father’s death he dreamed of his father returning and standing before him. In the dream his father had recovered and was coming home. The dream repeated itself a few days later; it seemed real and forced Carl to think about life after death.

At the end of the second semester of his studies at the University Carl discovered in a library of a classmate’s father, a book on spiritualistic phenomena, dating from the 1870’s. It was the history of the beginning of spiritualism of that day. Questions concerning this subject plagued him and he read extensively of occultic author’s writings, Zollner, Crooks, Kant’s Dreams of a Spirit Seer, several other authors, and seven volumes of Swedenborg, a renowned spiritualist.

In1897 C.G. Jung lectured to a club at the University setting forth his views that the soul exists, is intelligent, immortal, and he believed in the reality of spirits and spiritualism by evidence of occult activities, believed in hypnotism, clairvoyance , telepathy, telekinesis, second sight, prophetic dreams, messages of dying people, horoscope calculations, observed levitation. (Found in the Foreword for C.G. Jung, Psychology and the Occult)

During the summer recess of 1898 an event happened that Carl records in Memories, p. 104, 105 that would “influence him profoundly.” He was sitting in one room studying and in the next room his mother was sitting and knitting and with the door open between rooms. Suddenly a noise like a pistol shot rang out. Carl found that a large walnut table top had split suddenly right through solid wood, even in a climate with plenty of moisture so the table was not excessively dried out. Two weeks later he arrived home to find his mother, sister, and maid in a state of agitation. Again a loud crack like noise had occurred, however, no new split could be found in the table. The noise had come from the sideboard, an old piece of furniture which contained bread and culinary tools. Carl found the bread knife broken into many pieces. He had the knife examined by an expert in steel and was told the steel had no defects in it. ²⁷⁾ Ibid., p. 105, 6.

He shortly became aware of relatives who were engaged in table turning and enjoying séances conducted by a fifteen year old cousin medium. He joined these relatives at the table for séances on Saturday nights for two and one half years. There was communication in the form of tapping noises from the walls and the table. Movements of the table apart from the medium were hard to determine and so he accepted the association between the tapping noises and communications in the séance. He wrote his doctrinal thesis on these experiences and communications received in the séances. ²⁸⁾ Ibid., p. 107.

All in all, this was the one great experience which wiped out all my earlier philosophy and made it possible for me to achieve a psychological point of view. ²⁹⁾ Ibid.,..

This contributed to Jung’s choice of psychiatry as a specialty in spite of it being held in contempt by most physicians and non-physicians of his day. The doctors knew little more than laymen about psychiatric diseases and mental illness was a hopeless and fatal situation casting its shadow over a psychiatrist’s reputation. December 10, 1900 found Carl Jung working as an assistant at Burgholzli Mental Hospital, Zurich, so began a life and practice of psychiatry that was to influence the world, for better or for worse.

Jung tells us in Memories that he used hypnosis in the early part of his work but soon gave it up because he felt it added to working with the unknown causes of mental disorders and the apparent beneficial results often did not continue. He chose to analyze all aspects of the patient’s life and thereby arrive at a probable source for cause and effect in psychiatric disorders. So Jung began developing his psychological point of view to affect therapy to the mentally afflicted. The treatment for mental disorders in the early 20th century was very limited; more effort was placed on diagnosis than on therapy as almost nothing was known as to the etiology of mental abnormalities, or what could be done to improve the condition. Hypnosis was widely used as therapy in the latter part of nineteenth century and early twentieth.

Throughout Memories, Dreams, and Reflections Jung tells of different dreams and his attempt to interpret them. In 1914 he had three dreams he writes about in his chapter of Confrontation with the Unconscious and speaks of being under so much stress he practiced Yoga exercises in order to hold his emotions under control. ³⁰⁾ Ibid., p.177

Jung speaks of some fantasies he developed such as The Biblical figures Elijah and Salome as well as a large black snake. Then came another fantasy figure which Jung says came out of the unconscious, that of Philemon. Philemon in this story was a pagan and carried an influence of old Egypt and Gnosticism. Jung states that these were entities in his psyche which he did not produce by imagination or by any method. Philemon was one of these; Philemon represented a force which was not of his self. Jung said that in his fantasies he held conversation with Philemon.

Psychologically, Philemon represented superior insight. He was a mysterious figure to me. At times he seemed to me quite real, as if he were a living personality. I went walking up and down the garden with him, and to me he was what the Indians call a guru. ³¹⁾ Ibid., p.183

Fifteen years from the first appearance of Philemon in Jung’s life he had a conversation with a friend of Gandhi that told him his guru (Gandhi’s friend’s guru) was an ancient Hindu master; Jung asked him if he were referring to a spirit? He replied to the positive and Jung states that at that moment he thought of Philemon. Gandhi’s Hindu friend stated that there are live gurus and ghost gurus as well. ³²⁾ Ibid., p.184

Jung tells us in Memories that around 1916 an inner change began within him, he felt an urge to give shape to something. He was compelled from within to express what his spirit guide Philemon might have said, and he wrote in three nights The Seven Sermons to the Dead. ³³⁾ Jung, op. cit., p. 190. Before he started writing he had the feeling that the air was filled with ghostly entities. His house seemed to be haunted as his daughter saw a white figure passing through the room. His second daughter, stated that twice in the night her blanket had been snatched away; and his nine year-old son had an anxiety dream involving the devil. The next day at five P.M. the doorbell began to ring without anyone to ring it.

The house was “crammed full of spirits,” Jung cried out “For God’s Sake, what in the world is this?” “Then the spirits answered back, “We have come back from Jerusalem where we found not what we sought.”

…They were packed deep right up to the door, and air was so thick it was scarcely possible to breathe. ³⁴⁾ Jung, op. cit.,. p. 190. …Then it began to flow out of me, and in the course of three evenings the thing was written. As soon as I took up the pen, the whole ghostly assemblage evaporated. The room quieted and atmosphere cleared. The haunting was over.  ³⁵⁾ Ibid., p. 190, 191.

The Seven Sermons to the Dead was one of the key works of Jung. It was the spirits answer to the “nature of God,” the universe, and man, and contained the seeds for his future writings in psychology. Jung had the fantasy of being a Parson to the Dead. In Memories he explained this strange concept by saying that the soul establishes a relationship to the unconscious which corresponds to the mythic land of the dead. This would give the dead a chance to manifest themselves through a medium.

C.G. Jung explained as did Freud, those ghosts, spirits, and loud noises (poltergeist), and dreams all, as coming out of an unconsciousness, which each person possessed within themselves. He did not accept influences and power coming from fallen angels (demons). He rejected the great controversy between Satan and Jesus Christ as nonexistent and sought to explain the occult on the unconsciousness of the mind. This concept grew into the doctrine of “Self” that is so prevalent in the field of psychology today.

Jung had studied Gnostic writers during the years between 1918 and 1926, they too, according to Jung, had the concept of the unconscious. He stated that he began to understand in the years between 1918-20 that the goal of psychic development is the SELF. He, while being commandant of a prison camp in Switzerland during the First World War began to draw mandalas. These symbols are of a round design and with the entire symbol directing attention to the center of the mandala. The center represented the Self-concept mentioned above. He had a dream in 1927 which brought to conclusion his forming doctrine of Self. He stated that through the dream he understood that the Self is the principle, orientation, and meaning in the process of development of consciousness. Symbols of the Zodiac are related to the archetypes which Jung’s spirit guide Philemon encouraged him to believe haunted the collective unconscious. Consequently Jung had great respect for astrology and used it in his analysis. “In cases of difficult diagnosis I usually get a horoscope,” wrote Jung. ³⁶⁾ Hunt, op. cit.., p. 76.

It took the first forty-five years of his life with all of the dreams, occultic phenomena, spirit guides, (Philemon), inner symbols, levitation happenings, Seven Sermons to the Dead etc., to form his theory of the unconsciousness. ³⁷⁾ Jung, Memories, op. cit. 199 Analytical psychology is the product of all of Jung’s efforts to puncture the empty shell of psychological therapy during his life time. He felt need of strengthening and shoring up this theory of consciousness, unconsciousness, and the collective consciousness he postulated. He felt he found that added strength when he studied Gnosticism and then became fascinated by the study of alchemy. He felt that alchemy’s addition to the knowledge of Gnosticism gave him historical basis to bolster the theory of the unconscious. It added a historical connection to the past and a bridge to the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.

As I worked with my fantasies, I became aware that the unconscious undergoes or produces change. Only after I had familiarized myself with alchemy did I realize that the unconscious is a process, and the psyche is transformed or developed by the relationship of the ego to the contents of the unconscious. In individual cases that transformation can be read from dreams and fantasies. In collective life it has left its deposit principally in the various religious systems and their changing symbols. Through the study of these collective transformation processes and through understanding of alchemical symbolism I arrived at the central concept of my psychology: the process of individuation. ³⁸⁾ Ibid., p. 209.

Jung wrote many articles on occult phenomena, the little book Psychology and the Occult is a booklet containing three essays by Jung. Essay 1) On Spiritualistic Phenomena, 2) The Psychological Foundations of Belief in Spirits, 3) The Soul and death.

Psychology and the East is a book composed of works by Doctor Jung. He was asked to review certain ancient writings of the Oriental religions and those written commentaries constitute this volume. These commentaries are taken from his Collected Works and translated to English. A comment at the beginning of the book Psychology and the East, The Collected Works of C.G. Jung is given by Alfred Plaut, M.D. states the following:

By temperament, Jung is nearer to the Eastern attitude of introversion and hence to the “God inside.” This enables him to understand the Eastern emphasis on detachment and inner vision and to compare the latter with the imagery of the collective unconscious, with which Eastern man appears to be in direct and almost constant contact. ³⁹⁾ Jung, C.G., Psychology and the East, Princeton University Press, (1978). Jacket cover back side.

He writes commentaries on Alchemical Studies and The Secret of the Golden Flower, and from these commentaries, one realizes that alchemy is another counterfeit story of redemption by emphasizing the transformation of physical matter such as base metal into gold and in so doing one can attain immortality. He also wrote “Psychological Commentary on The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Author Nandor Fordor in his book, Freud, Jung and Occultism remarks that many of Jung’s beliefs were derived from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Jung stated that it had been his constant companion since its publication in 1927. ⁴⁰⁾ Ibid.,…

The book gives instructions to the dead and the dying and serves as a guide to the dead during the heavenly and hellish journey of forty-nine days between death and rebirth. ⁴¹⁾ Jung, C.G. , Psychology and the East, Princeton University Press, (1978). Jacket cover back side.

Jung’s work, Psychological Commentary on the Book of the Dead, contains some revealing concepts commented on and found in his Collected Works:

1. The psyche (soul) has divine creative power within itself.
2. The creative ground of all metaphysical assertion is consciousness, the invisible, intangible manifestation of the soul. 3) The soul is assuredly not small, but the radiant Godhead itself. 4) Thus far the Bardo Thodol (Book of the Dead) is,… an initiation process whose purpose it is to restore to the soul the divinity it lost at birth. ⁴²⁾ Jung, C.G. , Psychology and the East, from The collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volumes 10,11,13,18, Princeton University Press, (1978) pp. 62, 63, 64.

Jung tells us that the application of this spiritualistic theory was the basis of Freud’s psychoanalysis. Also that when the European passes through this Freudian domain his unconscious contents are brought to view by analysis and he then journeys back through the world of infantile-sexual fantasy to the womb. ⁴³⁾ Ibid., p. 65. Jung continues:

Originally, this therapy took the form of Freudian psychoanalysis and was mainly concerned with sexual fantasies. This is the realm that corresponds to the last and lowest region of the Bardo, known as the Sidpa Bardo, where the dead man, unable to profit by the teachings of the Chikhai and Chonyid Bardo, begins to fall a prey to sexual fantasies and is attracted by the vision of mating couples. Eventually he is caught by a womb and born into the earthly world again. The European passes through this specifically Freudian domain when his unconscious contents are brought to light under analysis, but he goes in the reverse direction. He journeys back through the world of infantile-sexual fantasy to the womb. It has even been suggested in psychoanalytical circles that the trauma par excellence is the birth-experience itself—nay more, psychoanalysts even claim to have probed back to memories of intra-uterine origin. ⁴⁴⁾ Ibid.,….

…Freud’s psychoanalysis leads the conscious mind of the patient back to the inner world of childhood reminiscences on one side and on the other to wishes and drives which have been repressed from consciousness. The latter technique is a logical development of confession. It aims at an artificial introversion for the purpose of making conscious the unconscious components of the subject. ⁴⁵⁾ Ibid., p. 84. (Emphasis added)

Today we have “pop psychologists” that purport to take one back into the womb by a process of deep breathing, and in so doing release the hypothetical psychological cramps of the original birthing experience, that is said to have allowed formation of anxieties, frustrations, etc., that man experiences. Below are some snippet explanations as to what today is referred to as “rebirthing.”

(…) Rebirthing is an American form of prana yoga that is closest to Kriya Yoga. It may be called scientific breathing rhythm or spiritual breathing. Simply described, it is a relaxed, intuitive, con-nected breathing rhythm, in which the inhale is connected to the exhale, and the inner breath is merged with the outer breath. This merging of pure life energy with air sends vibrations through the nervous system and circulatory system cleaning the body, the human aura, and nourishes and balances the human mind and body. Rebirthing – Maha Yoga: Spiritual Breathing, by Leonard Orr

…Rebirthing is called rebirthing because many times the suppression that comes up and is released is related to birth trauma. When a rebirthee has released enough suppression (usually in 10 to 20 sessions) they have mastered the breath and feel safe enough with the process to rebirth themselves whenever they want. What is Rebirthing? By Russell J. Miesemer

(http://www.apologeticsindex.org/r08.html)

Contrast the above philosophy—psychology with scriptural reference to a rebirth.

The Savior said, “Except a man be born from above,” unless he shall receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” I Corinthians 2:14; John 3:7.

But how can one receive this rebirth? The book Steps to Christ by E.G. White, p. 8 gives the answer:

It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. “Who can bring a clean think out of an unclean? Not one.” “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Job 14:4; Romans 8:7. Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.

I find very interesting a comment by C.G. Jung in relationship to, the autogenic training (later referred to as biofeedback) of the German physician, Johannes Schultz M.D., which Jung says consistently links with yoga. Schultz’s chief aim, Jung says, is to break down the “conscious cramp” and the repression of the unconscious caused by it. Jung tells us his (Jung’s) method is built upon confession similar to Freud’s and he also uses dream analysis but on the unconscious mind philosophy they differ. He sees the unconscious as a collective psychic disposition, characterized by creativity in nature. ⁴⁶⁾ Ibid., p. 85.

Additional Bible texts reveal to us God’s warnings in use of dream interpretation.

Behold, I (am) against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and a cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:32

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that (be) in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. Jerimiah 28: 8, 9

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because (there was) no shepherd. Jerimiah 10: 2

Specific to yoga, kundalini yoga, tantric yoga, Lamaism, and Taoistic yoga of China, Jung sees parallels for interpreting his “collective unconscious.” He intends for everything possible to be done which will switch off the conscious mind so as to allow the unconscious mind to emerge. He accomplishes this by using active imagination, imagery, and visualization in a special training technique for switching off consciousness. ⁴⁷⁾ Ibid., p. 85..

The final article in Psychology and the East from the works of Jung that I wish to refer to is “The Psychology of Eastern Meditation.” To better understand the East Indian’s spirituality a vision of his understanding of the soul is presented. Jung explains it by telling us that to the Indian the world is a mirage, a façade, and his reality is closer to what we say is a myth or a dream. The Christian looks upward and outward to a divine power from a Creator God, while the Eastern man looks down and inward, into self-immersion through meditation. God is understood to be in all things including man so to access God; the Hindu will sink the altar in his temple down into a deep depression or hole rather than have it raised up above the worshiper as we do in the West. ⁴⁸⁾ Ibid., p. 170.

For the Indian true reality—the soul, is quite different than what the Christian understands as the soul. The Biblical soul encompasses the body, mind, and spirit of a living being. It is all one, and with death, the soul ceases to exist. The body returns to dust, there is no thought and the life which God gave to the body returns to God for his keeping. Notice the following Bible verses which present this understanding.

And the LORD God formed man (of) the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genisis 2:7 and so it is written, the first man Adam, was made a living soul…. I Corinthians 15:45 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in any (thing) that is done under the sun. Ecclesiatics 9:5, 6 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea. Revelation 16:3 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:20

In Eastern thought true reality—soul—spirit, is considered a component of universal energy, prana, chi, etc., and the physical body is said to contain the divine within, the soul does not cease to exist at death of the body but passes on to nirvana or continues by passing into another body—reincarnation. The practice and exercise of yoga is also a way to reach the inner depths of this divine within—Self. Yoga is much older than Buddhism; “Buddhism itself was born of the spirit of yoga.” ⁴⁹⁾ Ibid., p. 168.

Yoga is an act of worship in Eastern religions; it is a sacred act, similar to gathering together in song, praise, sermon, and prayer for the Christian. To refer to Christian yoga or utilizing it as a recreational physical activity (yoga exercises) is repugnant and sacrilegious to the Eastern mind. Jung attempts to build a bridge which he hopes to lead the European to an understanding of yoga, to do this he uses a series of symbols.

The sun, our source of heat and light, is a central point in the visible world. As the source of heat and energy upon which our world depends, it or its image has been accepted by many the world over as divine and worshiped as such. Special meditations and yoga exercises to the sun exist in every Eastern culture. In the Bible the sun has been used as a reference to Jesus Christ, as in an allegory. The Eastern mind turns to the sun in meditation attempting to “descend into the fountainhead of the psyche, into the unconscious itself.” The Indian likes to enter into the maternal depths of Nature while the European desires to rise above the world.

Yoga exercises to the sun begin with concentration on the setting or rising sun, the sun is gazed upon until an after image is seen when the eyes are closed. Jung mentions that a method of hypnosis is facilitated by gazing at a bright object and he feels that the viewing of the sun as explained is meant to produce a similar hypnotic effect. Meditation of the round sun must accompany the fixation upon it. Eventually the meditator experiences himself as the only thing that exists, taking the highest form of consciousness. To reach this goal it is necessary to go through the above exercises of mental discipline to be free of the illusions of this world, and to reach the place where the psyche (soul) is one with the universe.

In the following quotation Jung compares these Eastern ways with the spiritual exercises of Ignatius Loyola:

The exercitia spiritualia pursue the same goal. In fact both methods seek to attain success by providing the meditator with an object to contemplate and showing him the image he has to con-centrate on in order to shut out the allegedly worthless fantasies. Both methods, Eastern and Western, try to reach the goal by a direct path… ⁵⁰⁾ Ibid., p. 171

C.G. Jung continues in his attempt to bring understanding of yoga to the Western mind. He is doing this because in this article under review, he concludes that the theory of “psychology of the unconsciousness”, first initiated by Freud, and further developed by himself in the “psy-chology of the collective unconsciousness” is to the West what yoga is to the East. More simply stated: they are of the same origin. ⁵¹⁾ Ibid., pp. 172-5. This conclusion is further enunciated by remarks of Jung in his book Man in Search of a Soul. He says that Western Theosophy is just an amateur’s imitation of the East. That the use of astrology is again taken up, which is daily bread to the Oriental. The study of the sexual life is surpassed by the Hindu. Richard Wilhelm showed Jung that certain complicated processes discovered by analytical psychology are described in ancient Chinese texts. We mention again the parallel between Yoga of the East and psychoanalysis as pointed out by Oskar A.H. Schmitz. ⁵²⁾ Jung,C.G. , Modern Man I Search Of A soul, A Harvest Book-Harcourt, Inc., Orlando, Florida, (1933), p. 216.

Jung in ending his essay, The Psychology of Eastern Meditation makes the all-important contrast of meditation, yoga and Eastern thought, the parallel of Freud’s and his, Jung’s, theory of the psychology of the unconscious in contrast to the Christian thought grounded in the Bible. The Christian reaches his goal of salvation through faith in the merits of the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Divine Son of God, while nirvana, being one with the universe—Samadhi, is reached by the Eastern mind by going deep into SELF to join with the spirit world of Brahman.

In the Freudian and Jungian concept of the unconscious we find the origin of the inner child, inner self, inner healing, divine child—(Jung), etc. J. Beard points out that inner healing is an off shoot of Freudian and Jungian theories rooted in the occult. They have moved from the field of psychology into the church.

A variety of “memory-healing” psychotherapies are masquerading under Christian terminology and turning Christians from God to self. Among the most deadly are ‘regressive’ therapies designed to probe the ‘unconscious’ for buried memories which are allegedly causing everything from depression to fits of anger and sexual misconduct, and must, therefore, be uncovered and ‘healed.’ ⁵³⁾ Beard, J., Inner Healing/Healing of Memories: Christian or Occult?

In the first half of the 20th century that aspect of spiritualism “Self—the divine within” is seen to have been fostered and promoted by the philosophy and writings of these personalities presented. In the following chapter exposure is made of the subtle and imperceptible progression of the subject of “Self” in psychology through the latter half of the 20th century.