How Alchemy Can Unite Us with Our Soul Purpose
Michael Ebbinghaus • March 7, 2022
How Alchemy Revealed the Mysteries of the Psyche
Jung’s masterwork on alchemy, the Mysterium Coniunctionus, is a bold and revealing study into the phenomenology and goal of this arcane art. To the mind of the medieval adept, there was little differentiation between man and materia, or psychology and mat(t)er. It therefore contaminated the chemical transformation process with a psychic one, and the subjective experience of the alchemist became as much a part of the work as the physical transformation of substances. Because they conducted their work in secret out of fear of being labeled heretics, many independent cases could be studied and a startling, some might say, impossible, number of similarities occurred in the imagery that arose and the conclusions the adepts came to (though we know these to be matters of synchronicity). The alchemists were interested in the transformation of their souls, the medium to be transformed that is also the agent of the transformation. When their souls were transformed, they could likewise bring the procedure to the collective.
The outcome of the alchemical procedure was the mysterium coniunctionus, the mysterious union of the opposites. Great antagonism reveals a desperate longing for closeness, things seemingly inimical to one other betray an unbreakable tether. There is a connection that runs through the opposites, and once transformed in the vessel of the individual, the vessel that is the transformative substance and the substance to be transformed, one can transmute into the lapis philosophorum or the philosopher’s stone.
In order for potentiality to become reality, the one (potentia) must become the many (actuality, embodiment). The multiplicity endemic to the individual renders and tears the one apart until the pieces can be differentiated, brought into consciousness, and then integrated into a whole larger than the sum of its parts, the emergent properties of holarchy as described by Wilber.
Our problems, neuroses, and political strife are born out of a failure to recognize our inherent wholeness and reconcile the opposites and duplicities within. Many will say of Man that he is egocentric, and that even the work of Jung and the exploration here undertaken are manifestations of a pathological self-fascination. However, consciousness is itself a more or less consistent projection of the Unconscious, one of the seminal theses of the Mysterium, ergo this self-fascination is not merely narcissistic inflection but characteristic of consciousness (or the Unconscious) itself. It is for this reason that Jung and others refer to the totality of the personality as the capital-S Self. Exploration of the Self, far from being an egotistical endeavor, shifts the locus of attention away from the little-s self into a broader, more complete awareness.
"Our problems, neuroses, and political strife are born out of a failure to recognize our inherent wholeness and reconcile the opposites and duplicities within."
How exactly can this knowledge serve us? To unite the duplicity within can be characterized as the union of soul with spirit, embracing one’s individual uniqueness as a perfect manifestation of Spirit. This is the critical first step in the alchemical process, the acknowledgment that one is somehow separate and that how the individual has characterized herself is arbitrary in the worst way, i.e. separated from reality. The tincture that will cure our unnecessary suffering, that will bring us into a divine and ecstatic union, is at first debilitating and brings us to the undeniable aspect of our separation, the stage corresponding to the nigredo (the blackening). The center of consciousness must move away from the ego, that which is most perceptible and corresponds to the light of the sun, to the totality of the Self, the proverbial shifting of the ego from master to servant. This is the exploration of the dark side of the personality or the shadow.
Through working with the shadow, the parts of oneself that were/are not conscious, something like a chemical transformation occurs. It permits us to see that we are separated by the powers of creation we seek to unite with (namely Spirit, the Universe, Source, God, etc.) This separation makes way for our understanding and ability to unite the soul with the body, to unite that which we conceive ourselves to be with the totality of what we actually are. This is where the corpus of our work takes place. All of this is tied in with the transcendent-immanent property of Spirit, i.e.
it is at both not fully contained within yet fully expressed at each level of reality.
Once this transformation takes place and the soul is united with spirit and the soul united with the body, the unus mundus or one world can be achieved, and one lives out the destiny of individuation through each cycle of breath, to contribute one's specific purpose to the whole Kosmos. This is what the alchemists referred to as the hieros gamos, or holy marriage between one's consciousness and the Unconscious, though Supraconscious or Transconscious also speak to Its nature.
Exploration of the little-s self allows it to give way and all that remains is the Self, all that one truly is. All that one is not, i.e. trauma responses and all unnecessary adaptation to social conditioning are melted out as impurities in the alchemical procedure. Past sins are forgiven and cast out of the prima materia and we are therefore no longer chained to the overly-protective ego which keeps us locked in repetitive cycles of behavior. Once one realizes what one really is, the process can be continued ad libidum, as the work of the lifetime never ceases.
At this stage, one is liberated from a great karmic cycle that the current epoch in Western civilization encourages, namely the fitting into and establishing coherence with cultural standards and norms. This is the basis of Bill Plotkin’s
description of our culture as patho-adolescent, as it is right and proper for adolescents to find a place and fit into their cultural framework, however the grander goal should be the attainment of timeless wisdom to improve the collective via apprenticeship and direction from true Adults and Elders, people we are unfortunately scarce in. Once cultural enmeshment has occurred, we can then turn our eyes to ancient and farther wisdom. Thankfully we have not been idle in producing pathways and tools for mastery and improvement of the condition, but the structures that employ such tools often do not promote attainment of fuller consciousness. Since such structures are culturally lacking, it is up to us as individuals to come together and build up these structures together so that the alchemical process can occur on grander and grander scales. One of the greatest gifts of consciousness is to be able to move forward and capitalize on our successes while mitigating our mistakes.
"...the grander goal should be the attainment of timeless wisdom to improve the collective via apprenticeship and direction from true Adults and Elders..."
There is a destiny that called us from beyond this life, and it was the promise of this destiny and the infinite pathways by which we might fulfill it that brought us forth from sleep forever and ever. We have and always will be fated to have our original wholeness fractured by our parents, parent cultures, and the bitterness and tragedy of Nature. Without this fracturing the whole cannot be made conscious. Through all of time, majesty, and calamity, life endures, and we enjoy the full incarnation of the Godhead through our own corporeal existence, though at times this is precluded by the very barriers created around our wounds that will lead us to it. By embracing the entirety of our form we can receive the fullness of Love and Ecstasy that awaits and allow this to be the fuel by which we strive through life. It is at once a fervent desire and something one is pained to neglect. We avoid our destiny at the wrath incurred by the Psyche.
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What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy? Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is a modality that uses low dose ketamine alongside talk therapy to access non-ordinary states of consciousness, helping clients process trauma, depression, and anxiety in a new and deeper way. One of the most common complaints about traditional psychotherapy is that it can take a very long time for unconscious material to surface, even after a solid relationship has formed with your therapist. While there are techniques we utilize in our practice that do not require substances (e.g. dreamwork, sentence completion, automatic writing/drawing, etc.), the introduction of intentional medicine work can reliably shift one into an altered state of consciousness, catalyzing access to unconscious material. After a brief introductory period, you will take ketamine under supervision from your therapist either in-office or virtually in the comfort of your own home. The therapist will guide you to take your own journey as well as direct you towards areas that might benefit from exploration in an alternate perspective. Learn more What is Ketamine? Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic acting primarily on the glutamate neurotransmitter system. This differentiates it from the traditional psychedelics like LSD and psychedelic mushrooms which are much more prominent in the serotonin system. Ketamine increases neural plasticity, meaning that the brain becomes more flexible to change, open to new insights and behaviors. Ketamine has been used for over 50 years as a surgical anesthetic. It has no impact on the respiratory system, making it one of the most safe and effective medicines available. It is classified as a WHO top 10 essential medicine, and it is so safe that it is still the anesthetic of choice for children. It is a schedule III medication approved for off-label use in assisted psychotherapy, meaning a healthcare professional must be supervising in some capacity. Screening is essential, see below for more information. How KAP Works One of the things we like to stress is that the medicine is taking you to a place within yourself. It is not the ketamine "doing" anything other than relaxing your emotional defenses and allowing for exploration of consciousness. That said, you will feel a degree of relaxation in your body as well as your mind, which allows things which we keep buried to come up to the surface. By shifting into an alternate state of consciousness, we are able to sublimate many of the barriers we have in place that remain opaque to us. Oftentimes simply allowing this material to surface creates greater harmony, and you ma find yourself saying "Oh - this is what I've been afraid of for so long? It's not so big and scary after all." This is not always the case, of course. The nature of what is hidden can also be very painful, which is why the presence of the therapist as well as the therapeutic relationship is imperative when first working with alternate states of consciousness and healing trauma. What Does KAP Treat? Ketamine's claim to fame comes from its potent and immediate anti-depressive effect . While this requires lifestyle change and further exploration - greatly benefitted by depth psychotherapy - this can be incredibly helpful to those experiencing treatment resistant depression. It does this primarily through breaking up rigid neural networks (enhanced neuroplasticity), limiting one's ability to ruminate. Ketamine for depression can be powerful, indeed. In a meta-analysis of over 2,500 patients, it was found that 45% of people had significant drops in clinical depressions inventories, with 30% in remission. The benefits were often sustained at 6-month follow up. Ketamine-assisted therapy can be helpful for those who experience post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD . The clinical evidence here is quite strong, with multiple meta-analyses and an open label study showing durable and significant reductions in PTSD symptoms in as many as 69% of respondents and up to six-months' follow up. Ketamine for trauma is widely studied and efficacious. Anxiety is also significantly reduced after brief KAP treatments. In a glimpse, ketamine can treat: Treatment-resistant depression PTSD and trauma-related symptoms Anxiety and existential distress Addiction and maladaptive coping Spiritual exploration or life transitions What Does Treatment Look Like At Ebb & Flow Depth Psychotherapy, we believe in the importance of a strong therapeutic relationship to help sustain the positive effects from ketamine treatment. To this end, prior to any medicine session, there are 6-8 preparation sessions (this can be reduced to 2-4 if you are already working with another therapist). From there, we will conduct two initial dosing sessions with an integration session in between each. We would then conduct another 6-8 dosing sessions, also with an integration session in between each. Our Approach During each session, you will be gently guided into your body utilizing a simple meditation or, if preferred, ambient music. We utilize sublingual lozenges, tablets which will be dissolved and swished in the mouth for 10-12 minutes, then spit out. This offers a psycholytic approach rather than a psychedelic approach. We prefer the psycholytic approach for two main reasons: 1) This helps to make ketamine-assisted psychotherapy more affordable, as the presence of a medical professional such as an RN is not needed as they are in IM (intramuscular) or IV (intravenous) injections. 2) Psychedelic ketamine therapy can be effective, but in our hustle and bustle world, the subtle work often gets overlooked, and it is the subtle work that carries us the farthest. If you’re seeking a full psychedelic experience, I often recommend doing so on your own time and terms, ideally in nature or a supportive setting. There are few practitioners I would trust to guide me through such an experience, and they come at an extraordinary financial cost more often than not. With psycholytic ketamine therapy, we are nudging gently and entering into an altered state but not breaking open the doors of reality. Through the experience and through the journey you've taken thus far, which includes your triumphs and your traumas, we will expand not only on who you are but who you are meant to be. Your exuberant and mature presence is sorely needed in this world, and it requires reconciliation of our darker nature and highest aspirations. Who is KAP for? Ask yourself now: "Am I in a place where I am ready for deep self-exploration?" "Am I open to the idea of letting go of things which both pain and comfort me?" "Can I remain off of substances and away from process addictions (such as pornography, over-eating/bingeing and purging, sex, etc.) for at least three days?" You may not be ready for KAP if: Are experiencing active psychosis or mania Have untreated Bipolar I or II disorder Have a personal or family history of schizophrenia Are currently struggling with active substance dependence If you are in a grounded place and ready to make shifts in your life, KAP may offer the support you've been looking for. Ketamine Therapy In Austin, TX - How to Get Started Contact me today for your free consultation to see if ketamine assisted depth psychotherapy might be right for you. Myself and the fine clinicians over at Journey Clinical are ready to help you find deeper meaning in life and be the change in the world you wish to see. We conduct ketamine-assisted therapy in Austin, Texas as well as virtually all over the state. Reach out to us today!
