Complexes are the building blocks of the DNA of our Psyche. Embedded in the personal and the collective unconscious, they are the sand grit around which the oyster of our personality can gestate the pearls of new potentials. They help us harvest the gifts of the archetypes that form the nucleus of the complexes. The first to use the term complexes was Breuer, from whom both Jung and Freud borrowed the concept. Jung established the experimental evidence for the complexes using his word association tests. This led to a transient collaboration between Jung and Freud and Freud established the centrality of the Oedipus complex as central dynamic of neurosis. This also led to the eventual breakup of their collaboration when Jung proposed that there are infinite complexes, and they may have an enriching impact on the personality if made conscious and assimilated in the Ego complex. Complexes are the foundation of the psyche and form the matrix in which the archetypes, alchemy, typology and individuation may blossom. Jung had his own complexes based on the word association tests – we will explore these as well. A complex, well integrated with the ego complex leads to individuation, a complex at war with the ego complex leads to neurosis, a complex takeover of the personality leads to psychosis. Join me in exploring the mystery and the mastery of the complexes.
JUNGIAN.DIRECTORY
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