The nature of receptivity
Routledge eBooks October 9, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780429449093-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that mystical experiences are never received without obstacles, since conscious beliefs and unconscious resistance block receptivity and the overwhelming experience itself carries fear and the potential for rejection. Proposes that such experiences aim to change the ego's sole identification with normal ego consciousness, and that attributing them to the divine offers a convenient but doctrine-complicated framework that can channel their impact. |
Abstract
Receptivity to a mystical experience (ME) is not characterised for any person by a wide-open highway where there are no obstacles. The nature of a ME and Jung&s;s numinous experience in terms of its psychoanalytic significance is that it essentially creates something new that has a particular form. The potential for rejection is contained within the overwhelming experience; a ME always has an element of fear. There are many barriers to the reception of a ME, both from consciously held views and from unconscious resistance. When a ME is directed to its relationship with the ego, its purpose is to change the ego&s;s sole identification with its normal primary object – ego consciousness. The attribution of an experience to the divine offers an immediate and convenient framework that is complicated by alterative religious doctrines and can channel the impact of what has occurred.