How to Free Yourself from the Possession of Your Unconscious?

A Guide to Free Yourself from the Strong Chains of the Unconscious.

Perhaps the title of this post is not entirely appropriate, as we will focus on two very common types of possession and the most important ones to address: the possession of the anima and the animus. However, this applies to the possession of any other unconscious element.

First, we must explain what we mean by “possession” because it is likely that someone who is “controlled” by an unconscious element does not even realize it and thinks it is simply part of themself (identification). However, we can use a very common example: complexes. Being possessed by a complex is like being overtaken by an emotion or pattern of thought that you cannot control.

Few people experience seeing that there is a possession within them. However, those who practice deep meditation or other practices like active imagination are likely to see that something instinctive indeed takes control of parts of us that remain in the dark.

For example, someone with stage fright is simply possessed by fear when they have to speak in front of a group of people. It is not a conscious choice, but due to their lack of awareness, it is easy to identify with it and worsen their self-concept.

In our daily lives, we are possessed by behavior patterns, unhealthy habits, impulses, thoughts, etc.

In the case of the anima, a man is often possessed by his emotions or even his imagination. In the case of the animus, a woman is possessed by her judgment. Below, we will explore both cases in depth:

How to Free Yourself from the Possession of Your Anima

Regarding this, Carl Jung says:

“Therefore, I say to a man: you must differentiate between yourself and your anima, between yourself and everything that is contained, thought, or felt through its influence and emotion. To a woman, I say: you must differentiate between yourself and the stream of thoughts that runs through your head: do not assume that things are as they are just because you think so; do not assume that others think the same way just because that thought is in you. Criticize it and check if it is truly yours.” Source: Seminar on Nietzsche's Zarathustra, Session V of the Fall Term of 1934.

The anima, as the feminine principle in man, is linked to emotions, the irrational, and the unconscious. If a man is unaware of it, he can be possessed by his emotions in a way that drags him without control. This can be seen when a man is dominated by inexplicable mood swings, hypersensitivity, irrational outbursts of love or hate, or an extreme idealization of women (since the anima is projected onto women).

Therefore, when Jung tells a man that he must differentiate between himself and his anima, he means that he should not completely identify with the emotions, intuitions, or images that arise under its influence.

Jung warns: differentiate yourself from the anima. Do not confuse its emotions and reactions with your true self. Do not believe that everything you feel in a moment of intensity is an absolute truth. I would also add: observe how your anima influences you, experience the conflict between thoughts and feelings.

Jung also explained on another occasion that a man must learn to "unilateralize" himself from his anima, which means the same thing: to differentiate his consciousness from what is emotional, to consider what both thoughts and emotions are saying.

How to Free Yourself from the Possession of the Animus

Carl Jung explains it very well through a story in the same session of the Zarathustra seminar:

"Once I met a lady at a social gathering. She was my hostess and spoke to me for an hour and a half without interruption, so I had absolutely no chance to insert a single word. Then suddenly she stopped talking and said: 'Now tell me, what have you observed? What do you think of me?' 'I think you are a little nervous.' 'Oh, yes, I know, that’s nothing new to me.' So I responded: 'Well, if you insist on knowing, I must say that you are not thinking.' With this, as expected, she shot up like a rocket, as she had been talking about very difficult philosophical problems; my head almost exploded, and I had a hard time keeping up. In a way, it was an intelligent and highly intellectual conversation that any listener would have said: 'Wow, she is impressive!' Naturally, she found it absurd that I said she wasn’t thinking. She added: 'But you must explain what you mean! We have been discussing the most difficult things.' Discussing, you know. That’s what women call discussion, a projection of the animus. 'Well,' I said, 'I can explain it to you: five minutes ago we were “discussing” such and such a problem, and you made wonderful remarks about very difficult issues, but I could read what you said in any philosophy manual or dictionary.' She replied: 'But that’s how my mind works. I focus it on a specific point, and it enters my head already prepared.' I said: 'That’s all well and good, but if you are talking to me, and I am interested, I want to know what you think, not what the books say.' Then she said: 'If you want to know, I must think about it first.' How naïve! It was completely true that everything was prepared; it entered her mind miraculously, and she just let it out. It flowed like a river. But it was not her thinking. It was the thought that floats in the air, in libraries, in philosophical articles, and university classrooms, but it was not what this particular woman had to say about such a problem. She did not differentiate between herself and her animus but identified naïvely with that river of thought that flowed from her."

After that great explanation by Dr. Jung, we have little to add.

More Words on Archetypal Possession

Carl Jung continues:

“But as we recognize that we are identical to the archetype, obviously imbued by its contents, we must remember that we also exist, and we interpenetrate, we are impregnated with that spirit. We are something; we do not disappear. When we analyze the current that flows from us, we discover not only what the old archetype says but also what we say. So, in all the conversation that woman produced, she was also everywhere, only in a way that was totally invisible to her. She was speaking, but through the medium of the archetype. Therefore, both were wrong: the archetype was wrong, and she was wrong because one distorted the other.”

When Jung says “we are identical to the archetype, obviously imbued by its contents,” he is pointing out that, at certain moments, our psyche is so absorbed by an archetypal image that we practically disappear into it. We become the archetype without realizing it.

In the end, when we start connecting all these currents within us, we experience one of the most spiritual realizations: they are all about being yourself. Ultimately, both the path of the archetype and that of consciousness lead to the same destination—being truly yourself.

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Remember: I’ve committed myself to deeply studying all of Jung’s work and also to freely sharing what I learn, so my content will always be free. But if you’d like to support my project, I’d gladly accept a coffee:

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I also recommend that you read my following publications:

• A Natural Law Older Than Homo Sapiens That We Are Not Following

• How to Deal with the Demonic Forces of Your Shadow

• Is Our Collective Unconscious Seeking the Annihilation of Millions of People?