Y2K and the Collective Unconscious

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Dec 1, 1999

Carl Jung divided the unconscious into two separate sections: the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The second can be seen as a realm below the level of active consciousness which represents the inherited collective experience of humankind. This veritable storehouse of humanity's experiences is found in various archetypal images which often present themselves in dream. It is when we tap this fountain that our personal unconscious may derive it's individual expression of them within our particular society or cultural belief systems.

According to Jungian depth psychology, the storehouse of symbols and myths in the collective unconscious is accessible by all humans. This theory was created around Jung's finding that many of his clients dreams frequently contained images which seemed to reflect particular symbols which can be found in the myths of many of the world's cultures. Often these symbols were manifest in the client's dreams, even if they had no knowledge of the mythological systems. Hence, Jung devised the collective unconscious to explain this ongoing phenomenon.

As we look to the Millennium, perhaps it is somewhere within the collective unconscious that we find a source for Y2K madness. Many of my friends and family have begun stockpiling water and food stores in their basements, purchasing kerosene heaters and other amenities they think will be needed when the power stations fail, computerized checkout counters fail and we are left in a ludite society where technology has caused the world as we know it to end. Of course, what they fail to realize is that they may be acting on a coding in their unconscious minds which arises from the destruction myths found the world over, and which Jung would have us believe may be imprinted in the archetypal images of our dreams.

The great flood, fires, the changing climates -- all of these have affected humankind over the centuries and each time humankind has still remained. Sure, there were changes to be dealt with, but we are a highly adaptive, and innovative species. However, perhaps we are unable as a whole to escape the effects of a collective unconscious that causes many to perceive a coming of the end of the world, a primal fear dating back to the earliest evidences of humankind. It does not seem so far fetched that this would be etched into our being in a realm just beneath waking consciousness which would manifest in dream.

My motto has always been to each his own, and if preparing for real or imagined Y2K catastrophes eases the minds and dreams of my fellow humans, I say let them prepare. Jung

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