I had to abandon the idea of the superordinate position of the ego.
... I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had
taken, were leading back to a single point -- namely, to the mid-point. It
became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre. It is the
exponent of all paths. It is the path to the centre, to individuation.
... I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had
attained what was for me the ultimate. - C. G. Jung. Memories,
Dreams, Reflections.
C.G. Jung Dream Quotes - 8th
Eighth World Dreams - 8th
I Ching " . . . Fu-hsi developed 8 Tri-grams ..." "
The C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco
JungWeb at onlinepsych.com
Glossary of Jungian Terms - brief but necessary ... he used words powerfully
yahoo - list of links to C. G. Jung sites
Circle songs and sands of time,
and seasons will end in tumbled rhyme,
and little change,
the wind and rain.
- The Grateful Dead
The "squaring of the circle" is one of the many archetypal motifs
which form the basic patterns of our dreams and fantasies. But it
is distinguished by the fact that it is one of the most important
of them from the functional point of view. Indeed, it could even
be called the archetype of wholeness.
- from Mandalas. C. G. Jung. trans. from Du (Zurich, 1955)
... there must be a transconscious disposition in every individual which is able to produce the same or very similar symbols at all times and in all places. Since this disposition is usually not a conscious possession of the individual I have called it the collective unconscious, and, as the bases of its symbolical products, I postulate the existence of primordial images, the archetypes.
... the identity of conscious individual contents with their ethnic parallels is expressed not merely in their form but in their meaning.- from Concerning Mandala Symbolism. C. G. Jung. trans. from "Uber Mandalasymbolik," Gestaltungen des Unbewussten (Zurich, 1950)
Mandala Symbolism. C. G. Jung. (a collection of three works) translated by R. F. C. Hull, (Princeton University Press, NJ, 1973) from the editorial preface: "... Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is: 'Formation, Transformation, Eternal Mind's eternal creation' (Faust, II). And that is the self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious, but which cannot tolerate self-deceptions." C. G. Jung p. v Indeed, Jung's discovery of the mandala provided the key to his entire system. "I had to abandon the idea of the superordinate position of the ego. ... I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point -- namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the centre, to individuation. ... I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate." p. v from Mandalas. C. G. Jung. trans. from Du (Zurich, 1955) The "squaring of the circle" is one of the many archetypal motifs which form the basic patterns of our dreams and fantasies. But it is distinguished by the fact that it is one of the most important of them from the functional point of view. Indeed, it could even be called the archetype of wholeness. p. 4 from A Study in the Process of Individuation. C. G. Jung. trans. from "Zur Empirie des Individuationsprozesses," Gestaltungen des Unbewussten (Zurich, 1950) While painting them (mandalas), the picture seems to develop out of itself and often in opposition to one's conscious intentions. p. 68 Integration gathers many into one. p. 69 from Concerning Mandala Symbolism. C. G. Jung. trans. from "Uber Mandalasymbolik," Gestaltungen des Unbewussten (Zurich, 1950) The Sanskrit word mandala means 'circle.' p. 71 The goal of contemplating the processes depicted in the mandala is that the yogi shall become inwardly aware of the deity. Through contemplation, he recognizes himself as God again, and thus returns from the illusion of individual existence into the universal totality of the divine state. p. 73 [mandalas] ... are all based on the squaring of a circle. Their basic motif is the premonition of a centre of personality, a kind of central point within the psyche, to which everything is related, by which everything is arranged, and which is itself a source of energy. The energy of the central point is manifested in the almost irresistible compulsion and urge to become what one is, just as every organism is driven to assume the form that is characteristic of its nature, no matter what the circumstances. This centre is not felt or thought of as the ego but, if one may so express it, as the self. Although the centre is represented by an innermost point, it is surrounded by a periphery containing everything that belongs to the self -- the paired opposites that make up the total personality. This totality comprises consciousness first of all, then the personal unconscious, and finally an indefinitely large segment of the collective unconscious whose archetypes are common to all mankind. p. 73 ... the fundamental motifs are repeated so often that marked similarities occur in drawings done by the most diverse patients. p. 76 Most mandalas have an intuitive, irrational character and, through their symbolical content, exert a retroactive influence on the unconscious. They therefore possess a "magical" significance, like icons, whose possible efficacy was never consciously felt by the patient. p. 77 ... there must be a transconscious disposition in every individual which is able to produce the same or very similar symbols at all times and in all places. Since this disposition is usually not a conscious possession of the individual I have called it the collective unconscious, and, as the bases of its symbolical products, I postulate the existence of primordial images, the archetypes. ... the identity of conscious individual contents with their ethnic parallels is expressed not merely in their form but in their meaning. p. 100