We Think With our Hearts

On Friday night, I Zoomed in to a lecture given by the Jung Foundation of Ontario, We Think with Our Hearts, Reading Jung through Native Eyes, presented by visiting Indigenous Jungian Analyst Jeanne Lacourt.  I found the lecture to be an engaging exploration of the challenges of using a Jungian approach to indigenous cultures.

In retrospect, what came to mind were the lyrics by Van Morrison in his song, I Forgot that Love Existed:

If my heart could do my thinking
And my head begin to feel
I would look upon the world anew
And know what's truly real.

The lecture explored Jung’s assessment on indigenous cultures in North America and his assessment of the “Primitive” as he called the native people.  His assessment of Indigenous cultures was not positive in a number of ways.  He decided that Indigenous people were less conscious and lacked free will and were in a prelogical state.  My understanding of the thesis by the presenter, Jeanne Lacourt, critiqued Jung’s assessment as being flawed due to Jung’s cultural biases and his lack of engagement with the North American indigenous culture. 

The lecture explored the understanding of the Participation Mystique – a theory developed by anthropologist Lucien Lévy-Bruhl and adopted by Jung.  One source described this:

Jung’s central notion of participation mystique – namely that in participation mystique experiences there is a blurring of psychological boundaries between individuals, between individuals and their environment, and in some instances between individuals and objects.

This approach, in my understanding, was criticized by Jeanne Lacourt in that the object in the Participation Mystique was passive and played no active role in the encounter between subject and object.  In the indigenous culture, there is a spiritual connection between subject and object.  The spiritual dimension is opened.  For example, in Jungian psychology, if we encounter an animal such as a bear in our dreams, the bear is not a symbol.  It is the spirit of the bear which the dreamer is connected to.

I realize that I am getting into the weeds of this to a greater extent than usual in my reflections.  However, I wanted to give this background in response to the lecture and the idea of Participation Mystique.  The participants were asked to share experiences they might have had with the phenomenon of Participation Mystique.  I shared my experience of encountering a piece of art - a mask by an indigenous artist of a wolf-man. 

 

I encountered this in 2002 when Lorna and I were on a trip out west.  While in Vancouver, we visited an art gallery.  I was completely engaged with the mask when I saw it, but it was quite expensive, and I hesitated to buy it even though I certainly considered it.   I had the opportunity to return to the gallery, I believe, two more times and the force of my engagement, if anything, increased.  I succumbed to the apparent inevitable and purchased it and it sits on the wall in my office where I see it most days.

The Participation Mystique of this for me is the wolf.  I haven’t had a direct encounter with wolves; however, I have encountered on a traditional aboriginal teaching which has resonated with me.  

A wise elder is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”

That mask spoke to me in a way that is beyond language.  I believe it was the spirit of the mask speaking to my spirit.  I hope you are blessed with the Participation Mystique on your journey.