Psychologist Carl Jung said that you can distinguish between mature religion and spiritual practice, on the one hand, and immature religion and spiritual practice, on the other, on the basis of their attitudes towards paradox. 

 

In the inescapable face of irresolvable paradox, mature religion and spirituality promote the practitioner's ability to remain open-minded, openhearted, able to love and be loved, and able to move forward in life with access to creative energy. Immature religion and spiritual practice attempts to eliminate paradox, usually through increasingly complex dogmatic statements. I think Jung is right.  When one confronts the divine authentically, inescapable paradox results.

 

Paradox is not the same as confusion. Confusion can be resolved.  Paradox cannot be resolved. Perhaps the easiest example to grasp of paradox in relation to the divine is the much vaunted "problem of evil." If there is an all-powerful, all-good deity, then how can it possibly be that the innocent suffer to the obvious extent that they do?  There is no resolution to that problem.

 

It is a "shadow problem", and the shadow always holds as a hostage of the seemingly irredeemable face that it presents to the world the very thing that is needed in the individuation process to guide us towards greater health and wholeness.   I feel the spiritually mature attitude is to at least open to the reality of one's life and recognize that the very worst experiences may be potential bridges to the very best outcomes. In dream imagery, the bridge is an archetypal metaphor for being able to live fully with an irreconcilable paradox.

 

Hidden in the center of this very important distinction between mature and immature religion and spiritual practice is an understanding that the spiritual venture that Jung calls individuation leads inevitably to paradox. The acceptance of paradox forms a container for our own individual and collective efforts to individuate, whether personally or institutionally.

 

When we face up to the irreconcilable paradox in our lives, a wellspring of creativity that we didn't even know was there can open up in us. The possibilities for accomplishment, individually and collectively, are no longer limited. Suddenly the faculty of imagination is awakened and we can see everything much more clearly. William Blake said, "When the doors of perception are cleansed, we will see everything as it is, [which is to say], infinite."  And when we perceive the infinite, the depth of our being is sparked to evolve and create. It is sparked to respond, and to reply to the call, transforming not only the life of the individual, but the shared life of the whole human community as well.

  

Adapted from an article previously published in 

The Rose - Issue 19 - Fall 2011-Winter 2012 

 ©2012 Jeremy Taylor 

 

Come to this workshop and learn how to deal effectively with your unconscious thought patterns, how to recognize the symbolism in your dreams, how to apply strategies to create greater health and wholeness in your life through working with your dreams, and discover how to decode the symbolic information about the unconscious influences that have manifested in your addictions.  The workshop is open to all.  

This workshop is presented by Miriam's Well Retreat Center whose mission is to offer transformational experiences that initiate and sustain conscious spiritual evolution toward 

peaceful coexistence.  

 

Cost: Seminar fee is $325 (Early Bird Fee 30 days before the event: $275). Miriam's Well is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

 

For more info or to register contact director Susan Rosen:

 

Email: susan@miriamswell.org 

Phone: 845/246.5805

Website:miriamswell.org

 

Jeremy's next workshop at Miriam's Well will be 

November 9-10: Dreams and Resilience.

 

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You can contact Geoff Nelson at ggnelson@ix.netcom.com

 

In addition to serving as personal adornment, jewelry has also been a universally recognized marker of the wearer's affiliations.  Inspired by the archetypal connections, dream worker Terry Anderson and Jeremy came up with the idea for wordless "I'm a Dreamer" lapel pin, to give away to active dreamers to help them recognize one another at large gatherings, and to celebrate the burgeoning movement of diverse people involved with the various contemporary practices of exploring dreams and dreaming in dream groups. 

The pin is about an inch across at the widest point, depicting an open eye in the center of a golden spiral on a purple background (cloisonné) symbolizing that the wearer is a person who pays regular attention to his/her dreams, as well as the dreams of other people.  

We ordered 300 and have given them away to groups in the US, Canada and Korea. 

They are being distributed as gifts by us, and other dreamers and dream workers to their friends, clients, and fellow dreamers, particularly at events like the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) conferences and regional gatherings, private dream retreats, workshops, seminars and the like.

You are free to do the same (or to sell them if this is what you prefer to do).  They can be ordered by anyone (in lots of 100 or more) from PinDeport of Oviedo, Florida.