The Subconscious Message of Outer Conflict
Whatever is suppressed to the depths of the subconscious will emerge into reality one way or another. It will manifest in thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, and emotions. These manifestations exist on a personal and collective level as similar subconscious material is activated and channeled into whatever avenues societies provide. The combination of individuals’ subconscious realms influences actions on a population-level scale. Carl Jung popularized the idea of a collective unconscious existing as the result of our inherited brain structure that produces similar mental concepts and instincts that emerge across all populations. These universal instincts and images can mobilize and control our behavior if we do not become aware of them. Populations, and humanity as a whole, can share underlying subconscious material that can mobilize events and experiences on a mass scale. In other words, we can collectively create an external reality that is stemming from an unacknowledged internal reality of each individual.
With this in mind, whenever there is external war or conflict we should view this as a reflection of internal war or conflict. As we look to the conflict in the East with Russia and Ukraine, and the general unrest occurring globally, it is important to reflect on the dynamics of our internal world that correspond with the external world.
The COVID experience of the past two years has invited all of us to take a deep look at ourselves, our societies, our institutions and leaders, media outlets, governments, and the people around us. For much of the population, trust has completely eroded in the established institutions that have been the foundation of our societies. They lash out against the tyranny taking place that seeks to exert more and more control over their lives. But how many of them have examined the roots of their internal tyranny that has been controlling them? The belief systems that propped up the system they now oppose. The internal wounds, fears, and desires that the established order exploited. The roots and triggers of the resentment and betrayal they feel. How much subconscious material is being overlooked because people are more focused on the external sources of distress? When inner turmoil and distortion is not addressed properly it influences how we interact with the outside world, manifesting external turmoil. This is the internal conflict that must be engaged. This process is just as necessary as external action. For as the status quo crumbles, so do aspects of our own identities; and in order to transform ourselves (and our world) into something better, we must understand the relevance of these aspects that were plugged into the old order. If we do not understand and transform our internal world, external changes will become irrelevant.
On the other side, there is a large number of the population who did not lose trust in the status quo. Their identities are still connected to the established order of the old society. Instead of lashing out against the establishment, they lash out at those who oppose the establishment. It is a way to protect their belief systems and identities that are threatened by the possibility the dissidents are right in their criticisms. One of the most obvious internal conflicts among this group is death anxiety. Their behavior and attitudes are motivated by an irrational anxiety of either themselves or someone they know dying from COVID if they waver from the dictates and protocols from the established order. (I wrote about their religiosity here
) Many of them have not done the inner work necessary to have trust in their existence, thus the fear of death and need for safety is so strong it consumes them. A victim mentality fosters dependency on outside sources for the responsibility of their safety. They also seek to control the behavior of those around them as this is an attempt to control the perceived chaos of the world because it quiets the internal chaos they have not alchemized. They externalize their subconscious fears by making enemies of the dissidents and giving away their power to the official narrative and authorities.
I used these groups as prominent examples to highlight that there are internal, subconscious conflicts accompanying every external conflict. It is no wonder with so much of the world divided in ideological battle, while not addressing their deep-seated internal dilemmas, that physical conflict manifests. All people have been initiated by recent events to journey into their inner worlds and address internal wounds and conflicts. To ignore this process is to invite more conflict into the external world. In order to bypass the daunting task of internal analysis, the self-defensive ego finds scapegoats to wage war against. It is easier to make external enemies you must defeat than attempt to conquer the internal aspects of yourself. This is just as true for world leaders as the average citizen. To rise to such a position requires elements of narcissism and sometimes even psychopathy. They are unable to be self-aware of the distorted subconscious drives feeding their egoic power trips. They are unable, or refuse, to address their wounds and trauma. So they externalize their internal distortions by exerting control over populations, waging wars, and accumulating power and material wealth.
The message of the subconscious is simple in this context. Wherever external conflict is manifested there is bound to be internal conflict of some sort. It is an invitation to reconcile our inner turmoil that is disrupting our peace. Become aware of your internal conflicts and engage in the transformational process of self-analysis and synthesization of your inner aspects. What is manipulating and controlling you under the surface? Face the wounds, and traumas, and desires that have shaped who you are. Understand them, embrace them, heal them, and then you can transmute them into personal gold. This is the path to inner peace, which manifests outer peace. A population unable to achieve reconciliation of internal conflict cannot create a world without external conflict. If we really want peace, we must start within ourselves.