THE THREE GREAT DENIALS
There are three great intertwined denials, ubiquitous in their reach, hegemonic in their power, and life-destroying in their structure and dynamics.
First, is the Denial of Truth. The first level is our full reality. We are unconscious of much of who we are. Becoming conscious is the great dream of psychology, depth psychology in particular. But the degree of humanity working to become more conscious is miniscule to the point of vanishing. The degree of unconsciousness underlying the great bulk of individual thoughts and actions is vast beyond imagining. Unconsciousness pervades our relationships, from those most intimate to those of only passing interest. It pervades our involvement in the groupings we become part of, and our unconsciousness multiplies with other’s unconsciousness to maximize the corrosive potential of collectives at all levels of cultures, nations, and all else. What passes for truth in the public consciousness is grasped after as if such could function to bring individuals to consciousness. Dreams are the great “truth tellers,” but how many among us billions of humans listen, let alone bring such truths to manifestation in life?
Second, is the Denial of Risk. Unconsciousness cuts us off from the fundaments of life, not only in our own body, mind and spirit, but in the body, mind and spirit of all life around us, including the life of our planetary home, the earth. Unconsciousness breeds the denial of risk inherent in separating human life from its rhizomic necessities. Chief among these risks is what functions as the life-blood of our contemporary life: money. Money has become our operative religion. More than any other single factor, we have become unalterably attached to money, as if “In Money We Trust,” would sum up every department of our lives. The powers that be that operate the world’s financial system know this, count on this, rely on this “belief” system, and operate as grand priests of the money temple. What we are not told, what is kept from view, is the degree of risk building up throughout the world. The risk is denied. Yet, the collapse of all great powers and empires has been triggered by risk gone wild and triggering the collapse. Because money has become more foundational in our lives than any other factor, this coming collapse poses catastrophic risk for everyone’s welfare. And, sad to say, most everyone is denying this risk.
Third, is the Denial of Love. We can only do to others and so much of what is happening in the world, when we deny love. We can only do to the life of the world, what we are doing, when we deny love. We can only do to our habitat, our home, our earth, when we deny love. As unconsciousness persists, as money invades and pervades every facet, love disappears. Freud spoke of the great battle between Eros and Death. Without love, death of most everything of value will be what we live. That is our present future.
It is not clear there is sufficient human will to say no to power and money and the commodification of desire.
Dreams are raising this issue as a great question mark.
[To be continued…]
Comment by Paco Mitchell…
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Among your many insights in this post, Russ, one stood out to me immediately. It’s where you say:
“Unconsciousness pervades our involvement in the groupings we become part of, and our unconsciousness multiplies with others’ unconsciousness to maximize the corrosive potential of collectives at all levels of cultures, nations, and all else.”
The multiplication of our unconsciousness with the unconsciousness of others, reminds me of something Jung once said, to the effect that “there is nothing so contagious as emotion.” He made a pointed distinction between feelings, which he designated a conscious, rational, i.e., “judging,” function, and emotions, which are only partly conscious, with their living roots drawing energy from the organic darkness of our unconsciousness—metabolic, homeostatic, instinctual, animal-energy, etc..
Most people today don’t bother to distinguish between “feelings” and “emotions.” They confuse them all the time. When they are in the grip of an essentially unconscious emotion, they mistake the emotion for a feeling, and identify themselves with the former, as if it were a result of a conscious operation.
“This is my feeling,” they say or think, and, although it’s an emotion that has them in its grip, they tend to take it literally, and are prompted to act on it without much, if any, examination. They react under the spur of the emotion as if it were a feeling-judgment. But, as you suggest, Russ, too much of what passes between us is not the result of considered judgment at all. That’s why all forms of crowds, are so dangerous—Trump rallies, British soccer matches, American mega-church “services,” military actions,” television audiences, advertising campaigns, and so on. The list is endless.
You speak of the “corrosive potential” of these collectives, as if somehow, in their unconscious contaminations, they eat away at some aspect of our substance the way acid dissolves solid metal, or oxidation results in “rust.”
Ironically, humans are regarded as having a “herd instinct,” something whose necessary benefits should not be ignored, but whose dangers, at the same time, should be kept under a watchful eye. This is all the more important as our planetary numbers mount beyond all reason, threatening to overwhelm the biological basis of life.
After WWII, and despite the widespread loss of life during the war, global population first reached 3 billion souls around 1950. Only half a century later, around the year 2000, the planet’s human population had doubled, eclipsing the 6 billion mark. Now, 16 years later, we’re well past 7 billion, and counting.
Even for herd animals, these numbers do not bode well, and the individual consciousness you are calling for, informed by the awareness of what we are denying—Truth, Risk and Love—still might serve to some extent as a necessary hedge against the contaminating effects of multiplied unconsciousness. There is no doubt that we have reached a critical stage.