The Sphinx and The Unconscious

An ancient Egyptian myth tells us about a Sphinx that would devour passersby who could not decipher its challenging riddle. This seems like a good analogy to our relationship with our unconscious. If we are not capable of deciphering the symbolic language of our unconscious, it will devour us, in the sense that it will take control of our fate.

  

Wishing a fulfilling life and harmonious relationships and experiencing frequent troublesome interactions can be very frustrating. It is not enough to identify immature rooted beliefs and misconceptions to overcome the hardship. Neither does it suffice to uncover how and why they came into existence during our childhood. Important work as that is, it is only one step. Finding the misconceptions and erroneous conclusions will not automatically change our innermost, subtle emotional reactions.

 

Any goal that we consciously desire and nevertheless do not attain is proof that an undetected “no-current” is at work, surpassing our conscious desire. To change the way our life and relationships unfold we need to master the language of the unconscious to identify the “no-current” that prevents the cherished desires to manifest. We must bring that “no” to the conscious level, where we can weaken it.

 

We may be sure that a no-current exists if frustration remains in our life despite having already found relevant misconceptions and erroneous conclusions. We may also be sure about its existence if we are desperate about our yes-current; if we fear that the fulfillment will never come; if we believe our life is dismal without it.

 

When we become aware of the constantly working no-current we will find relief from hopelessness; and the way out will be in sight. We will understand why our life has not changed, despite extensive recognition of misconceptions and childish conclusions. We will detect the destructive feelings in the service of the no-current: fear, guilt, anger, frustration, hostility, etc. If these feelings continue to smolder, we may be tempted to camouflage them, to try and explain them away by blaming apparently real provocations, and “successfully” projecting them onto others. Discovering all these mechanisms is learning the language of the unconscious.

 

No matter how many findings we make about misconceptions and false beliefs, nothing will really change in our life until we observe the no-current in action, daily, again and again, until we learn to interpret its messages and decipher its codes.

 

For the yes-current to express in any area of our life and personality, our entire being must be of one piece, a wholeness. Our consciousness cannot be divided, with different levels expressing different goals, opinions, concepts, and emotions. The daily review technique of the Pathwork^{© (*)} is immensely helpful in this regard. Scrutiny of our emotional reactions must go deep and wide.

 

When a strong unfulfilled wish exists and its realization seems so desperately urgent, we may be certain that the urgency proves the presence of a no-current. The frantic fear that the desperate urgency will not be fulfilled always heralds an underground “no” to the fulfillment. Absence of such a no will produce an easy, relaxed yes-current, without a tone of despair. This healthy yes-current wants the fulfillment, is wholly ready for it, and yet is quite capable of leading a constructive life without it, regardless of how welcome the fulfillment would be.

 

As we progress in observing and understanding our subtle emotional reactions in our relationships and how this unconscious interaction occurs, we will see that what threatens us in others, and makes us tense and defensive, can be observed calmly, in the way we must have learned to do with our own self.

 

We will learn to interpret in others what a gesture, an emphasis, an expression, an action, an utterance, a tense muscle mean, unbeknown to the person. We will hear, see, and perceive what other people really mean, what they want to express despite their disguise, what they are governed by behind their conscious attitudes and facades.

 

We will know what their unconscious says, when they behave in such and such a way. When one arrives at this point, he/she will have nothing further to fear. But this is an organic development that cannot happen before we have noticed and understood how such processes occur in ourselves.

 

When we discover a fear of the very fulfillment we wish and consequently a subtle, camouflaged attitude of rejecting it, it is important to consider that the fear may be based on an entirely illusory premise and therefore be unnecessary. It may be due to the childish desire of not wanting to pay the necessary “price” connected with the fulfillment. This “price” could be to take greater responsibility as a result of a desired promotion in our job; or the disposition to let go of rigidity and flexibly adjust to the circumstance. The illusory premise could also be a feeling of not deserving this happiness. It may be any number of further reasons, or a combination of all of them.

 

Besides the limitations imposed by ourselves to the free flow of the benign divine energy, nothing stands in the way of a fulfilled, rich life. All the tools we need are available to us, and we alone can use them.

 

When misconceptions of “not deserving” all that happiness are found, they are often connected with a faulty God-image, like that of an external source of punishments and rewards depending on people’s deeds. False ideas in this regard make our wish capacity weak, preventing us from issuing forth the strong, clear, unbroken consciousness of fully wanting and deserving the desired experience. The misconception that striving for personal fulfillment means selfishness and greed is another obstacle to a healthy yes-current.

 

When we discover the persistence of a subtle but distinct no to a cherished fulfillment, a fearful cringing from it that we cannot explain, and which could only be detected by looking very closely, it is of the greatest importance that we do not argue it away, that we are not impatient with ourselves, that we do not deny its existence in the wishful thinking that by doing so it will go away. This never works! Rather, we must acknowledge it, draw it out further into consciousness and prepare ourselves for finding the way to change it.

 

An additional source of help is the method of talking things out. Talking out what we want, what our obstruction is, and the reason for our no-current has a great therapeutic value. As we talk to another person, things will take shape and gain a clarity that we missed as long as we merely thought about them, even if we wrote them down.

 

Also, it is often impossible to gain on one’s own an insight that a neutral observer may point out, because one is too deeply involved in one’s own problem. Talking it out relieves pressure; and this sets valuable energy free. When we deliberately tap our inner divine self for answers and guidance, and release the pressure by talking about it openly, something is set in motion. We gain a new perspective, and something begins to change inside before we even know it.

 

But beware of the possibility that we may also need to overcome a no-current against the process of self-exposure. Wherever the trouble resides, a deep shame exists. Whatever the misconception, the original image with its false premises and negative emotions causes deep shame. The wise, inner self knows what is needed and subtly nudges the outer personality, but when close contact with this inner self is not well established, such nudging is often misinterpreted. The accumulated pressure of the need to talk is put into unproductive channels because the little ego fears and wants to avoid — often unconsciously — uncovering the “shame.” This would be a no-current at work. When the pressure to talk is relieved inappropriately, one will concentrate on matters that are not connected with one’s personal area of trouble.

 

Gustavo Monteiro
May 2019

 

This article is based on the teachings of the Pathwork^©, more specifically as presented in the lectures:
      #124 The Language of the Unconscious
      #125 Transition from the No-Current to the Yes-Current

(*) Pathwork^© (Trade mark of the International Pathwork Foundation) is a proven method of self-knowledge and expansion of awareness.