In Jung’s autobiography, he recounts a number of premonitions he had through dreams and visions. One of the most interesting sequences began in the fall of 1913, when he felt that “the atmosphere actually seemed to me darker than it had been before. It was as though the sense of oppression no longer sprang exclusively from a psychic situation, but from concrete reality.”
In October 1913, while traveling solo, a vision swept over him. He saw a “monstrous flooding” that covered the northern and low-lying area between the North Sea and the Alps. As the flood water approached Switzerland, he saw that the mountains grew higher to protect the country. “I saw the mighty yellow waves, the floating rubble of civilization, and the drowned bodies of uncounted thousands. Then the whole sea turned to blood.” The vision, Jung wrote, lasted an hour.
Two weeks later, the vision recurred, even more vividly. He wrote that “an inner voice” spoke to him and made it clear that the vision was “wholly real and it will be so.”
He subsequently concluded that the vision had to do with him and that he “was menaced by psychosis.”
In the spring and early summer of 1914, he dreamed – 3 times – that a terrible cold “had again descended from out of the cosmos.” But at the end of the dream there was a lone leaf-bearing tree, but without fruit. Jung thought of it as his tree of life. Because of the frost, the leaves had been transformed into “sweet grapes full of healing juices. I plucked the leaves and gave them to a large, waiting crowd.”
On August 1, 1914, World War I broke out.
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This story is included in chapter 6, Confrontations with the Unconscious. It’s one of the most powerful in his autobiography.
If anyone has bought a copy of Jung’s Red Book and read it, we would love to hear wht you think about it. It’s selling on Amazon for $105.
Teapots – wow! Thanks for the link. I'm on my way there right this second.
I'd still love to own the book, but for now cannot afford it … fortunately, there is a pdf free for downloading!
https://justinfinity.tumblr.com/post/393324846/daily-ebook-carl-jung-liber-novus-the-red-book
love the story of the glasses – and bottom line!
So there WAS a message. How cool.
Your query of "Is there a message?" got me free associating about meaning and interpretation. I liked the idea that it was a confirmation that Universe will always supply a missing piece (even tho' I wasn't looking.) Then just now, out of the blue, I get an email from my ex who lives in Europe that he's seeking the exact date of our divorce (25 years ago) to complete a request for dual citizenship. He checked his archives and no longer has his copy of the decree but I still do. I supplied the missing data and wished him luck with the bureaucrats. 😉
Musing – that's a really odd synchro! Is there a message?
My comment is not related to this post but the synchronicity experience of today was odd enough to share. Two days ago as I returned to my truck with groceries I noticed an attractive pair of sunglasses about a foot away from the left front tire. I was about to bend down and pick them up when I noticed that the right sidepiece was missing. (It's called the temple I learned.) I opted to leave the glasses, avoid the germs and hurriedly left on other errands. Today, again in a hurry, I returned to my truck from a different store and there on the pavement about a foot from the left front tire was a black sidepiece for the right temple of a pair of glasses and no other parts around!!! I left them there and "grinned aloud."
😉
not on ebay yet – checked there, too – but perhaps it will be soon – for the more expensive books i also check the "like new but used" section at amazon – just a waiting game it seems on red book without going all the way on the price!
psychology, yes now there would be an inexact science, my HS friend told me the problem is it still changes constantly. Problem is the over complications of things. Such as with a certain subject which some people deny even exists, "sin" complicates things. It is when the conscious and the sub-conscious are in unison that a person is lucky, he can go through life without even thinking (largely), but for boring, how bout philosophy. Only question in philo. 1st question last question, only? What does it mean to live well….. @Nevine, you west of the sierras, the guy here once recommmended "Pillars" on record, internet,TV, 6 monthst later Ophras got it on her best book list. It been out for about a decade at the time. synchros LNOther,seems.
I love books, but even at 95 it's a stretch. Maybe it'll go up on ebay.
well, i just got back from circling the www for red book – now, walmart has a deal for only $95 plus shipping!!! best deal on the web – unless, that is, one might be willing to settle for a red pony, a red dog, a red river, a red….
🙂
We thought the price was too steep, too. If you get any insights in that meditation – if Jung's around!:) let us knowl.
Wow, I would love to read Jung's Red Book… but not at such a price. Instead, I'll meditate and see if he has any advice to share with me, if he's not busy at the moment. 🙂
I adore Jung and have read several of his books…(before child)…LOL. He is a master. Oh, I he'd be good for my White Wizard Council…
Just catching up on your posts. Great stories. Carl Jung has always been my favorite psychologist. This book should prove very interesting. Like Einstein, and so many other gifted individuals, I believe him to be in touch with his intuition, and gifts from a universal consciousness. In this case, he was surely seeing the future of WWI.
very compelling jung story [well, as all his are] – that i'd not heard – the clarity of his dreams is fantastic – great imagery – and i have to say, too, that i was very sorely disappointed in my psych classes – one of my instructors was a dear friend with a brilliant mind – our little group would sit and have fascinating discussions – but charlie just couldn't "teach" – so to speak – anyway, great great post – and i would love to hear about the red book also as i won't be buying it anytime soon –
The psych's probably don't know quite as much as they give themselves credit for knowing. I was writing an article on my blog the other day where I criticized the scientific establishment for their preconceived notions about prehistory. Preconceived notions effect a lot of areas of study. Scientists like to parade their data around, but it's been my observation that even data can be left up to different interpretations.
Sad to say, college psyc classes tend to disappoint those who thought they would be interested.
Carl Jung is unequivocally the master of the unconscious and subconscious. I majored in psychology, and although many of Jung's theories have been debunked and replaced by modern lab-tested, lab-supported theories, I find his travels into the human psyche unparalleled by any other psychology expert. There is something about the human mind that just can't be studied in a laboratory, people. When will those psychs figure that out?
Not to stray from your main topic, I have not read Jung's Red Book, but thank you for mentioning it – something interesting to add to my Wish List.
By the way, Rob and Trish, you guys tackle some amazing issues.