It is holiday time again. Families and friends gather together. There are last-minute preparations as the leaves fall and the air feels crisp. But underneath all of the activity something else may be percolating. There is a heightened sense of divergence seeping into our lives. I hear about it everywhere, from acquaintances and clients, and from people whose lives I casually interact with. I hear accounts of increasing disagreements over small affairs and about split-ups between those who formerly cooperated with one another. I see an increasing propensity for conflict and a parting of ways, which can be accompanied by avoidance, strife, or even litigation.

As I think about all of this, I recognize a strong link between our personal stories and what happens on a collective, societal, or world level. Often, what gets played out in culture outside of us resonates with what happens internally. I want to bring this association to our awareness. With more insight we can begin to hold a wider, freer perspective. When we stop assuming that all disappointments, frustrations, and rejections are entirely personal, then awareness allows us to step back and see things more clearly.

Psychoanalyst C.G. Jung contributed important insights to this dynamic by introducing the concepts of the personal and collective unconscious. The personal holds our unique experiences, memories, and feelings, which we can be aware of. The collective unconscious holds what are usually not aware of. It is shared by all human beings, including universal experiences and patterns called archetypes. He unreeled the dynamic interplay........

© Psychology Today