Mastering Your Mind: Unlocking the Collective Unconscious for Deeper Connection

Developing an understanding of your own mind is one thing, but delving even farther into the depths of the collective unconscious is where the magic happens. Having an understanding of the collective unconscious can provide fruits such as deeper compassion for all of humanity, an ability to read others at a professional level, predictive qualities for how someone may react, and an ability to connect with people on a higher level.

Paradoxically, the deeper you delve into your own mind and unconscious, the more “others focused” your perception will become. The collective unconscious is the fundamental substance that we all share. In understanding this fundamental substance and making a study of it, you will be able to connect with others from all walks of life, even against the most outstanding of all differences. 



The collective unconscious refers to the part of the unconscious mind that contains shared universal experiences and memories that are common to all human beings, regardless of culture or individual experiences.

Carl G. Jung

Carl Jung & The Collective Unconscious

The Collective Unconscious is a cornerstone of Carl Jung’s psychological theory. The Collective Unconscious holds a reservoir of shared experiences, symbols and archetypes that are inherited from ancestral and universal human experiences. The Collective Unconscious is the wellspring of common patterns of thoughts, feelings and symbols that shape our behavior and expression.

Archetypes (another fundamental component of Jung’s theory), are fundamental elements of the collective unconscious. These are universal symbols and themes that can appear across cultures, time periods, myths, stories and religious traditions. If you are interested in learning more about Archetypes, you can read this short article.



Carl Jung believed that the Collective Unconscious holds immense power and is the fundamental operating system of the mind, one that we all share collectively, even if our cultures are completely different. And if studied and understood, can lead to a many personal and collective benefits.

How to Study Your Own Unconscious

Accessing your own unconscious can be done through a variety of methods and practices. It mostly comes down to developing an increased capacity for Introspection. The deeper you can look inwards, the more you will be able to uncover and recognize the Collective Unconscious within yourself. This may look like recognizing a certain trait or behavior that is existent in not only yourself but in others as well. Often times these traits and characteristics look like base-level drives that can be more obvious in nature, such as a drive for safety.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is an excellent representation of the majority of these base-level needs that exist in the collective unconscious. However, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is focused on motivational drivers within the mind.
The deeper you delve into your unconscious, the more you will be able to discover and identify the “whole” of the collective unconscious and begin to color in the larger picture. Once done, you will be able to reference this knowledge in any circumstance.

For example, you may recognize that you have a strong fascination with fashion. Although your fascination with fashion is unique to you, and others may not share this, you can begin to find the root of your fascination with fashion. With deep introspection, you may realize that this fascination is based in your unconscious drive for being perceived as who you truly are.
 In other words, a drive to match how you perceive yourself, with the external, so others can have a better idea of who you are inwardly.

After recognizing the core drive of this interest, you will not only be able to relate to others with this specific interest, but you will be able to relate to others through this core unconscious drive, even though others may be expressing this drive in other ways, rather than fashion. Furthermore, with this understanding, you can help others from this unconscious understanding to help them more accurately pursue their goals.

Fruits of Studying Your Own Unconscious

In developing an awareness of your own Unconscious, you will uncover many fruits that come with this relationship. Although the list is limitless, here are a few examples of some of the benefits of developing your awareness of your own Unconscious mind:

• Connection with others
• Ability to Develop Deeper Relationships
• Live more fully without guilt and regret peak experiences
• Deeper acceptance for other cultures and behaviors
• Have a more authentic character
• Find more success in any endeavor


As you begin to learn more about your own unconscious, or rather your own access to the Collective Unconscious, you can begin seeing how this same operating system is at work in others. In paying special attention to this, and finding the elements that compose the Collective Unconscious for yourself, you will not only be able to better optimize your own life, but you can help others do so as well. Ultimately, you can begin seeing similarities between yourself and others, even though on the outside the expression of these things might appear completely different.

Methods for Studying Your Own Unconscious Mind

There are a variety of practices and methods that can put you more in touch with your unconscious mind. This can be easier for certain personality types, and potentially the easiest for the Intuitive Introvert types (find your Meyer’s Briggs personality type here). However, even if your personality type is not naturally introspective, you too can utilize these practices to unlock the benefits.

The simplest launchpad for delving into your Unconscious Mind is meditation.

 Meditation is a simple practice that can be done for free, and without any supplies. It simply requires you to sit down and focus your attention on a singular point, such as your breath. If you are new to meditation, you can begin learning with this simple guide.


Apart from Meditation, you can also begin a Dream Journal, documenting your dreams. This practice is not for everyone, though if it’s something you are drawn to, it can be extremely fruitful in developing a very deep and colorful understanding of your unconscious mind.

Dreams typically carry a specific “feeling” or message. Although the dream itself may appear to be random and not make any sense, you should be able to identify a particular feeling that the dream gives. This feeling is the message of your dream, and sometimes the mind is very creative in how it gives you this feeling.

Dream Journaling is simple; you just need a journal and a pen. Every morning after waking up, spend 5-10 minutes jotting down everything you remember from your dreams. It may be fuzzy at first, but the more dedicated you are to this practice, the more your recall and clarity will increase.

Other methods are simple introspection or developing a constant awareness of your thoughts and motivations as you go through your day. Introspection can be done at any time and in any situation.

Introspection can be very simple; it requires the observance of your thoughts and feelings as you go through your day. An example might be dropping your kids off at school; feelings may arise of anxiety or fear, and from that point, you can access why exactly these feelings have arisen and how others might share these same feelings too. In this, you can more easily relate emotionally to other parents who are going through the same (even though minor) feelings as you. This is accessing the Collective Unconscious.

Negatives of Studying Your Unconscious Mind (and the Shadow)

If you do choose to delve into the study of your own Collective Unconscious, it may be challenging to reveal these undiscovered layers of your mind. If you have been operating above them, it can feel like you are over-simplifying life or revealing the core structure of how your mind operates. Although there are many benefits for this, there is always a risk that your current belief systems or world-view may be debased. It can be particularly challenging to realize that you may not be as unique as you once thought, and that we humans are all variations of the same operating system.

Delving into the depths of your mind is a journey and must be taken with precaution. Before doing so, spend some time studying this topic and ensuring that you are comfortable stepping into this study.

As you delve into the depths of your mind you will be confronted with the Shadow, or the “dark side” of your mind. The Shadow is a place that Carl Jung described as the hidden or repressed aspects of oneself—the parts of our personality, desires, and emotions that we tend to deny, ignore, or suppress. These aspects often include qualities we consider undesirable or socially unacceptable, such as anger, selfishness, or insecurities.

As you explore your mind, you will undoubtedly come into contact with these shadowy aspects of your mind. However, as Carl Jung said, confronting and making peace with your shadow leads to very strong personal development. Confronting, understanding and making peace with the shadow nature of the collective unconscious can be very fruitful in itself.

You will also be able to see how these shadow components of the Collective Unconscious can manifest themselves in things like war and all kinds of atrocities. This is particularly because most of us repress, or try to hide these things away, and as Carl Jung also said, “everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.”

If you are interested in learning more about the idea of the Shadow, and how you can explore it to better your life, read this article for a foundational understanding.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the practice of studying and developing a relationship with your unconscious mind will lead to an abundance of fruits and reveal new excitement and magic in your life. You will not only be able to relate to others more easily, but you will have a strong understanding of yourself that no one can take away from you. Practices such as meditation, dream journaling and introspection can help you on this journey. Although there may be some challenges along the way of developing a relationship with your own unconscious mind, the benefits are ultimately fruitful.

If you have experiences with the idea of exploring the collective unconscious, please share below. Or, if you have advice for others on methods that you have found that worked for you, please share those below as well.