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by Paul Levy
With the recent outbreak of war in the Ukraine, it is worth noting that the human activity of war is a particularly virulent incarnation of the wetiko bug writ large on the world stage.
The very root of war is always to be found within the unconscious collective psyche of humanity, which is the same medium through which wetiko - a collective psychosis - works its black magic.
As the great doctor of the soul C.G. Jung never tired of
pointing out, the future of humanity will be decided by changes
taking place within the psyche of humanity.
This "terrible demon" (in modern language, an "unconscious psychic force") within humanity that creates a destructive blindness in us is none other than wetiko (which is a form of "psychic blindness").
It should get our attention that Jung felt that the most vital and
urgent task facing modern-day humanity was "an exorcism" (in my
words, "dispelling
wetiko") that would free us from our state of possession
by the unconscious.
Though on one hand, to quote scholar Rudolf Otto,
...it is also a revelation that can help us to realize the primary role that the human psyche plays in giving shape to our world.
Jung conceived of war as,
Originating within and operating through the human psyche, wetiko can likewise develop a seemingly independent life and will of its own.
Potentially becoming an out-of-control golem-like Frankenstein monster, war can develop a seeming autonomy that - just like the wetiko virus - can endlessly beget itself in a self-generating feedback loop that can potentially destroy everything within its sphere of influence.
A force of nature unlocked, once the dogs of war are unleashed, at a certain point there is no coaxing the genie back into the bottle - this is a great danger we are all facing.
War can be conceived of as an inflammation, an acute outbreak in the
body politic of the world which is reflecting - and revealing - a
deeper systemic disorder afflicting the shared psyche of humanity.
In this phrase, the Bible, which can be conceived of as being encrypted utterances of the soul itself, is creatively symbolizing a living transcendental dynamism that is taking place within the collective unconscious of humanity.
If,
When we are unable to contain the warring elements within ourselves, however, the inner conflict of opposites will spill out into the external world where this conflict will get "dreamed up" and literally acted out in the world theater by way of projection.
This is one of wetiko's chief ways to distract us into thinking that
the source and the solution of our problems is to be found outside
of - instead of within - ourselves.
As the Bible points out,
We have all gotten drafted into a deeper cosmic process in which
we're having it out with powerful archetypal, transpersonal forces
which interface with, work through and are not separate from
the human psyche...
Instead of literally acting out our own self-destruction (an act which is inspired by these darker powers), we are given the opportunity to,
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