Let’s start by amplifying “the transitional containing space” as a symbol.
Containment, the foundation of this creative approach, is like a vessel. According to Erich Neumann, the symbol of the vessel developed from the mother with her baby, and represents the positive all-giving mother, boundless love.
In ancient times, the making of a clay pot was associated with the making of a child, the shaping of life. The all-good mother contains, protects and gives birth to the new. This mystery of creation, the coniunctio, is a numinous experience.
As giving birth, the vessel is a creative symbol of life. As potbellied, she bears and incubates all things. But if the vessel is the womb, it is also the tomb and as such also represents the possibility of death to the old thing, transformation, renewal.
The transitional containing creative space is the foundation of my approach. Without a living container, there can be no creative process.
Throughout the process, always stay with the energy. If all the energy has not been “said,” it is incomplete. On the other hand, if you stay with the energy, you will not force the process.
The containing creative space is a space between conscious and unconscious, between day and night. As an in-between space, it is a transitional space, a symbolic space. It is not only a private and personal quiet space, but it is particularly defined by your attitude towards your work, by seeking the inner other.
The container and the unfolding process are inseparable, like the fetus in the womb. If one creates a safe, contained space and provides a creative medium during an emotional crisis, and if one enters that space with genuine sincerity, turning inward with respect, with expectation, something will emerge, because it wants to do so.
The creative medium is part of the space. Finding your right medium might take some search. It may be painting, drawing or sculpting, or dance or enactment, to name but a few. Simpler is better. It must suit your personality. If you enjoy what you are doing, it furthers the process. The right medium goes a long way in getting past the inner critic, and getting started.
Before you start, make a note of what is on your mind. After completion, write down how your work took shape. Take note of any associations, for it forms a part of the response of the unconscious and is usually important.
We start with what we have, an emotion, an idea, a dream fragment or fantasy, or we just start by handling the material.
When one is in the grip of an intense emotion and gives expression to the mood, and when it is allowed to unfold gradually, it brings a feeling of containment and inner alignment.
Often, we ignore the responses of the unconscious, the fantasy fragments, for it seems too simple, or stupid even, and then we miss its significant message.
Put your work somewhere where you can see it. By relating to the content, you project more and more into the image. The special way of looking and projecting unconscious content involve more than mere “looking at.” Jung used the word betrachten to describe it, which means to look at but also “to make pregnant… it is alive, it produces, it multiplies.” (Chodorow, 1997, p. 7)
The Legend of the Indian Paint-brush as written and illustrated by Tomie DePaola, demonstrates this process beautifully.
The Legend of the Indian Paint-brush
Little Gopher was an unusually small boy and could not keep up with the boys of his tribe. But he had a gift of his own; he liked to make and decorate things. He was different. When he grew older, he often went to the hills at dusk to think about becoming a man.
One evening, he had a vision of an old man and a young woman. They spoke to him and showed him paintbrushes and a white buck skin. The old grandfather told him that these were the tools which would help him find his own place in the tribe. The maiden told him to find a white buckskin and to paint a picture as pure as the colours of the evening sky.
As time went by, Little Gopher found the white buckskin and collected berries and stones, but could not find the right pure colours of the sunset. However, he did not give up, but continued to search. Even though he longed to ride out with his friends, he remained true to his vision. Then, one night a voice told him that if he went to the hills the following evening, he would find what he needed.
He did so and when he came to the hills the next evening at sunset, he was delighted and astonished to find brushes with paint on the ground, each a pure colour of the sunset. He took one paintbrush after another and painted his picture. Afterwards, he carried his painting back to his people, leaving the brushes where he found them. The next morning, the brushes had turned into flowers, and from then on they flowered every spring. And Little Gopher received his true name.
“If all goes well, the solution, seemingly of its own accord, appears out of nature. Then, and only then, is it convincing. It is felt as ‘grace.'” ~ CG Jung
Little Gopher is troubled and he goes to the quiet of the hills to seek help and guidance from the unconscious. He goes at dusk, the time space between day and night, an in-between space. He withdraws to a high place, he is sincere, he reaches out, and receives a vision with a task and a promise. Devotedly he does as he is told. It is not easy, but he perseveres. He is patient and believes in his dream, stays with his dream.
This period of trying and grappling is an important period of incubation. The emotions, the colours, have to be purified from the complex. When the time is ripe, help comes from the other side. Little Gopher accepts this unusual solution and the outcome is life-changing.
By giving your inner content shape, it enters the world. By relating to it, you are influenced to become more of who you are. To receive your true name, is to learn to relate to your self, to who you truly are, and grow towards it. In doing so you may gradually find your own right and fulfilling place in the world.
The key aspects of the alchemical process seem to be a containing space, an ethical, meditative attitude, projection, reflection. We find this same process expressed in the creative process.
In Alchemy, Mercurius as the vas is the womb and the fetus. (Jung, CW16:454) That is, he is the container and the stone, the divine child, the symbol-to-be, as well as its developing, unfolding process. He is the fire, and he is the water, (Jung, CW12:338) the eternal opposites forever in conflict. Without the containing vas, the unfolding volatile process will dissolve. As “the world creating spirit imprisoned in matter,” Mercurius stands at the beginning and the end of the work like the tail-biting serpent, constantly destroying and renewing himself. (Jung, CW12:404) As such, he is the Self.
The old alchemists, engaging with their material in their laboratories, strongly emphasized an ethical psychic approach, a meditative and imaginative attitude to the work. In this frame of mind, they unconsciously projected their own psychological processes onto their work, filling everything unknown and empty with psychological projections. (Jung, CW12:332) The unfolding of this process was objectively noted and reflected upon. (Jung, CW12:366)
References
Chodorow, Joan. (1997) Encountering Jung: Jung on Active Imagination. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. P. 5 – 17; 43 – 60; 73 – 76; 91 – 96; 146 – 153
Hannah, Barbarah. (2000) The Inner Journey. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books. P. 34 – 45
Kalsched, Donald. (1996) The Inner World of Trauma. London, UK: Routledge. P. 197 – 200
Jacobi, J. (1959) Complex, Archetype, Symbol. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. P. 74 – 88; 94 – 103
Jung, CG. (1969) Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York, USA. Random House Inc. P. 340
Jung, CG. (1968) Collective Works 12. 41 Princeton, NJ, US: Princeton University Press. Par. 322, 366.
Neumann, E. (1955). The Great Mother. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. P. 120, 125, 128, 132, 136, 158.
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