In healing myself of a complex mental health condition which I consider to be a spiritual crisis and the plight of the soul/ I have been through many avenues of healing. The modern materialistic psychiatric system and medical model views these issues as simply a “chemical imbalance” to be treated with drugs alone and big pharma makes billions from this industry. BUT does it work? On the one hand I am sure there are many people who could say they couldnt live without their psychiatric drugs and even that these drugs saved their lives – but equally there are MANY people who are dissatisfied by the way they have been treated by the mental health system which is often heavy handed in the way it deals with human beings who are made to feel ashamed for being in crisis which is a very human calamity. I have so far healed myself to a good degree so that im in university and working part time.

One reason I think the mental health system is failing is because it lacks SOUL – the root of the word psychology is psyche and ology – so psychology was originally the study of the psyche or soul. We know that only a tiny proportion of the mind is conscious which is mainly the ego and persona, the rest is hidden in the depths but nethertheless drives our life, behaviour and purposes. FEW people in the modern world really study their own mind psyche and soul, not even those of a religious disposition. However one such pioneer who did study the soul was Carl Jung. Carl Jung had what he called a confrontation with his unconscious at mid life which as someone of a scientific mind he documented through art and poetry and journals in his red and black books. What he discovered in the depths of his own soul is incredible and know that EVERY human is the same, on the outside there is a body and a seen persona or personality and ego but in the depths of each human being alive there is a chasm of uncharted archetypal material which beggars belief. It can be explored when we dream but some people with mental health conditions such as schizophrenia dream when they are awake. This is because the unconsious is bursting forth into the conscious in response to some individual or collective crisis

As I have documented in my previous blog posts its our DUTY to ourselves to explore this material which can influence the collective and the world around us and plunge the depths of our own soul to bring forth whats within us – this may have been what Christians in the past were doing influenced by the Holy Spirit and what we can still do today for personal and collective soul healing. This doesnt mean there wont be outer mentors and that we disengage with our outer lives, no we continue to live productive and functional outer lives to remain faithful to the spirit of the times, but also in our spare time we explore our dream material, and shamanic journeying material to see what it has to tell us. If you are an artist like me this is perfect to create soul art or even to just keep an interesting journal of your rich inner life.

Im currently studying a great course called Journey into the World of Soul by Craig Chalquist of the Jung Platform https://jungplatform.com/store/journey-into-the-world-of-soul to help do this as my own process of individuation. It looks at Jungs black books to help us with our own soul journies.This archetypal realm within is what I believe Jesus meant when He said the Kingdom of God is within you – sometimes it means breaking out of our social and cultural conditioning through a crisis to be able to behold and converse with it – but I believe its now my life path along with living a productive outer life to plunge its depths both for my own and collective healing in humanity

I also practise chakradance and mandala making for healing my inner wounds and humanities collective crisis as we are all connected nobody is an island and as one heals, we all heal together.

Bring forth whats within us

The gods live within us, please see
within you and me in the unconscious sea
There in the wonders of our soul and psyche
It mirrors reflects the spiritual world above
Its not just the spirit of God as a dove
God Almighty can strengthen us with His right hand
As our bodily lives are but written in sand
But the archetypes live on in our mind and depths
Under the iceburg sea where they rise in steps
We can talk with them and bring them forth
To bring to lights whats within is the course
To save us from all traps and snares
In our inner life we reveal and bare
A healing for the outer world without
So to journey we must give a shout
To the greats who came before like Carl Jung
Then our lives will be worthwhile and sung
By poets of renknown great and small
And living a creative life shall be a ball