The “daimon” Or Creative Impulse, A Concept By Carl Jung
Life is a continuous flow of decisions , some with trivial implications, such as the clothes to wear every day or the dish on a menu; and others that can modify the meaning of our existence such as choosing a professional career, a partner, a country of residence, having or not having a child.
Sometimes even the smallest decisions can be a source of anxiety for many people.
When making a decision we may be concerned about the ethical implications related, or what people may think of us if we perform a certain action, the satisfactions or responsibilities that surround it. Many times also, what can even torment us is thinking that the option we do not take turns out to be better than the one we have chosen, or that the fact of making a decision prevents us from opting for something better that may present itself later (a partner, a job, a home). In this last case, the saying of “a bird in the hand is better than a hundred in the bush” is reversed and a hundred birds in the bush are preferred to deciding on something, often for fear of making commitments that this decision implies.
In addition to being a continuous flow of decisions, Our life is conditioned by multiple circumstances Some of these circumstances precede us, such as the genetics that our parents give us, their expectations of us, the socioeconomic and socialization context in which we operate. Circumstances are also presented to us throughout life, many of which do not give us the possibility of choice, but rather are presented to us (illnesses, employment opportunities, encounters, accidents). So we live between what we choose and what is presented to us.
In various cultures and moments in the history of humanity, it has been considered that in moments of indecision, especially in the most significant ones, a kind of “force” operates that induces us to act in one direction or another. This force is also attributed the responsibility to propose and induce the circumstances that allow the “deepest being” of the person to be expressed. On many occasions the circumstances that this force proposes or imposes are not to taste, nor are they part of the ego’s expectations, understanding the latter as the most superficial aspect, the most childish part each.
We can consider this “force” as an archetypal element, in the sense that it has had various manifestations at different times and places in the imagery of humanity.
The Greeks called it Daimon the Romans recognized her as “the particular genius”, in Egyptian mythology it may correspond to the Ba . In shamanic cultures it was called the “free soul”, the personal animal, the nahual. He was considered a linking element between gods and mortals, with both beneficial and destructive attributes. In a celestial hierarchy, they could be classified as demigods. In Christianity, depending on the light or dark connotation attributed to it, it can correspond to angels or demons. These images may be related to what we currently refer to when we express the need to listen to our heart, feelings, intuition, soul, and from a more rational perspective conscience.
The existence of a “force” that leads us along certain paths is found in relation to the notion of destiny; concept that also has had and has multiple perspectives.
The phrase of the pre-Socratic philosopher is popular Heraclitus , for whom the destiny of man is his character. This sentence can be interpreted as meaning that what we are accustomed to doing, that is, our way of being, our habitual behaviors, are what shape the circumstances that we encounter in our lives.
In a somewhat similar way, for Sigmund Freud, the apparent fatal destiny is unconsciously self-induced by the individual He gives as examples those people whose friendships always end in betrayal, philanthropists to whom their protégés return anger instead of gratitude, relationships that go through the same phases and end in the same way. From this perspective, people repeat over and over again in an “eternal return” lived experiences that have not been sufficiently elaborated, and that have been repressed because they are not compatible with conscious values. One of the premises of psychoanalysis is the “psychic determinism” of our actions and thoughts due to unconscious contents.
Along similar lines, Carl Gustav Jung considered that what was not made conscious in the psychic realm was experienced externally as destiny. However, for Jung, the “repetition compulsion” to experience certain types of circumstances is an attempt by the psyche to lead us towards the realization of our “deepest being”, towards the singular expression of our soul, of our potentialities. It is in this last sense that James Hillman, the greatest representative of archetypal psychology, a continuator of Jungian approaches, takes up the myth of the acorn of the soul.
The myth of the acorn of the soul
This myth alludes to the fact that in the same way that the pattern of the oak tree is contained in the acorn, each individual already has within himself his own potential for singular and unique possibilities.
Hillman highlights the presence in different religions, mythologies and current and past thought systems, of the image of a unique “energy” of the soul of each individual, which seeks to unfold throughout life and which manifests itself as a “calling”, a vocation, a “destiny”. This unique energy is a third factor that joins nature and education in understanding the growth of individuals. Hillman argues that in order to respond to that call it is necessary to “grow downward” as trees do with their roots, and thus be able to reconnect with the “real me ”, with the deep needs of the soul.
For Hillman, the motivation for self-realization is not given by the outside but by the inner “Daimon” of each person. The daimon manifest themselves in the circumstances of life, in the opportunities that arise, in the doors that close, in the support and in the trips, in the triumphs and in the defeats; in our fears, our phobias, our obsessions, our illusions, in synchronicities. In everything that leads us to express our most genuine aspect, that for which we have been “called”, and that often does not go in the same direction as the expectations of our ego, which seeks security and recognition
A privileged means that our Daimón has to express himself are dreams, and this is why they are a fundamental part of Jungian psychotherapy At certain times in life, dreams are common in which we lose or break our cell phone, or we try to dial and the numbers disappear. These images may perhaps be indicative of the difficulties that our soul is having in attending to or realizing the particular “call” for the realization of our “deepest being,” of our vocation.
The vocation , this singular aspect that seeks to unfold our soul, manifests itself in our talents, in the most pressing needs, in that which cries out to be expressed and that perhaps we have left aside due to ridicule or because it does not accommodate our conscious plans. The vocation may or may not coincide with a profession. Hillman highlights that, for example, there are people who are born for “friendship” or for aspects that are not valued enough because they are not productive in our society.
The conception of destiny, depending on how it is approached, can be a toxic, paralyzing, action-inhibiting idea, but from the Hillmanian perspective it is a creative and stimulating idea Thus, for Hillman, “capturing the daimon’s furtive winks” is an act of thought and reflection, of seeing beyond appearances, of delving into the depths of events, requiring meticulous reasoning. For his part, he considers fatalism to be a state of abandonment of reflection, which explains life as a whole from a broad generality. Fatalism, Hillman highlights, does not raise questions, and is consoling since it argues for the need to examine how events are articulated.
Jungian psychotherapy promotes dialogue with our own “daimon” as a symbol of a factor that operates in us and leads us to be what we have always been, to display our best version. We can only feel truly satisfied when we listen to our daimon, who takes care of us, sometimes slaps us, destroys our plans, facilitates meetings, presents us with opportunities.
The myth of the acorn is taken up in Jungian psychotherapy, also in the sense that, like the acorn, it has a wisdom that allows it to build the tissues, leaves and fruits of the oak tree; The individual has a “wisdom” to develop his own uniqueness and potentials. Jungian psychotherapy It is not intended to change a person or adapt them to what is socially accepted , as you can’t ask a tree for apples to give pears. What is intended then is to provide the best conditions for each person to display their unique fruits. You cannot intervene in a seed to make it be what it is not, but rather foster its own potentiality.
Jungian psychology, when referring to gods, daimones, soul, deep being, etc., is not presupposing the existence of metaphysical entities, nor reflecting on their nature, which is the scope of theology or other areas of knowledge. In the context of analytical psychology, these terms must be conceived as concepts related to images or psychic factors, which can be observed in clinical practice, as well as in symbolic manifestations present in mythologies and artistic expressions from different places and times. Analytical psychology makes use of phenomenological observation and reflection for the understanding of psychological phenomena, as well as for the application of said knowledge, such as therapeutic method aimed at the well-being and mental health of people
