The Spiritual Path of Transformation1

Abstract

Transformation is an essential component of individuation; it is not a linear but a circular process, encompassing experiences of standstill and deadlock where no longitudinal continuation is visible. Jung describes transformation in alchemical terms as a shared dialectical “reaction” between patient and analyst. The circular transformation process may require “faith in O” (Bion). Analysis may convey explicit knowledge about “O”, but the process and its goal are often implicit and unconscious. In explicitly religious or spiritual experiences, O may be called the transcendent mystery of God. In Jungian practice, the Self never manifests itself entirely. However, the analytic couple is oriented toward this uncontrollable archetype when working with dreams and when living other events in the consulting room. An archetype may seem abstract, empty, and formal-transcendental as a Kantian condition of the possibility of symbol-making. Conversely, we may be inflated, seized, and possessed by the archetype, which may exercise destructive and pathological qualities. The corresponding spiritualities (constructive /transformative or destructive/hindering transformation) require a “discernment of spirits”, as Jung explains with reference to Ignatius of Loyola.