Spiritual Direction using Jungian Psychology and Visual Arts

The intent of this paper is to focus on spiritual direction that uses Jungian Psychology in conjunction with the creative process for making art. On an explicit, concrete level, art can be used to reify the directee’s dreams, ideas and visualisations, but perhaps more importantly it can be employed to reveal the workings of the mind and the soul. For this reason, a level of competence with regard to the the making of art is required of the director. Art as a spiritual practice, especially when accompanied by a director, becomes a way of receiving from God through one’s own bodily experience and through one’s own actions. It is a pathway to insight and greater understanding, but it also readies the soul to receive God’s grace. It is this period, before transcendent experiences are even possible, that the spiritual director needs to take the greatest care in her approach to the directee. Using visual art in the service of therapy is not new. Margaret Naumburg inspired many by her studies with children as early as 1943 and she recognised, through an understanding of anthropology, archeology and modern art like the Surrealists, the importance of art as “symbolic speech” to ancient and modern human societies. Art represents and interprets the world but it 1 cannot generate the empirical data in the way science can. Art is the first language of image and symbol. It lacks words or numbers, which are considered more sophisticated ways of communicating meaning to others. For these reasons, although it is a deeply human activity that denotes consciousness, it is sometimes considered by intellectuals to be a discipline of negligible use. Perhaps because of its primitive origins and mysterious status in the developed world, it lends itself well to Jungian Psychotherapy. Although it is difficult to measure the value of art, neuroscience has taught us something about the way in which it is created. We know now “that there is no single ‘art centre’ in the brain, nor does one hemisphere play a privileged role in art production per se.”This suggests that art making is the type of cognitive activity that has the 2 capacity to encourage both creativity and reflection. As well, the study of art-making of autistic children teaches us something about the importance of silence during the creation of art work.3 The need to remain non-verbal when drawing corresponds well with visual art as a means of prayer and meditation in spiritual direction. Visual Arts can be used in explicit and implicit ways in Spiritual Direction. It is a means of deepening a relationship with God in which the director helps the directee to tap into the Unconscious, explore archetypes and metaphors, and facilitate transcendence. Art can play an important role in various aspects of spiritual direction, including the God-image, the triadic relationship of the director, directee and God, and the deepening communication with God . With respect to each of these aspects of spiritual direction, the following art making activities will be discussed: collage, contour drawing, and the creation of the mandala. Some art techniques, that lend themselves easily to Jungian psychology, disable the conscious mind, thereby making a directee more aware of God’s presence. These are tools commonly used by artists as they make their way through the creative process. They disable the conscious mind by distracting it with specific linear tasks that are technical challenges in art and design. While the directee is preoccupied with following instructions, the Unconscious can then reveal itself. The efforts to construct a collage that follows the elements and principles, or to Margaret Naumburg, “Art as Symbolic Speech,”The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 13, 4 1 (Jun., 1955), 436 - 437. Anjan Chatterjee, (2015), “Neurospsychology of Visual Art,” Oxford University Press, 343, accessed 2 February 23 2020, https://responsitory.upenn.edu/neuroethics_pubs/140. Chatterjee, 344. 3 2 create a contour drawing that focuses specifically on the task of seeing, distracts the directee from the incidental content of a composition. Only in reflection can the implicit meaning emerge using critical thinking. The directee can then look back and discern what the Spirit is saying. The process of discernment also needs the eyes of the spiritual director, someone who can help “the traveller read the maps, avoid dead ends, and watch for potholes.” This is one of the reasons 4 why it is so important for the director, who uses art, to have at least a competent level of skill in the language of art and design. A director cannot effectively mirror the directee if she takes visual material at face value, and is blind to nuance and ambiguity in artworks. As well, a director could be unduly influenced by aesthetics which misses the point of creating art for this purpose. This is comparable to admiring someone’s vocal qualities, vocabulary or manner of expression as evidence that the person is developing spiritually. The other critical element with regard to spiritual direction is intentionality. The use of the mandala is an explicit way of approaching spiritual direction using visual arts. Jung observed that “the mandala is an archetypal image, whose occurrence is attested throughout the ages. It signifies the wholeness of the self…the divinity incarnate in man.”Jung used the mandala as a means of meditation.The basic design of 5 the mandala incorporates both the circle, a symbol of the Self, and the square which is recognised in Jungian psychology as a symbol of “earthbound matter, of the body and reality.”6 Engaging in prayer and meditation during meaning making of any kind is critical to the outcome of such works, whether they are procured by implicit or explicit means. The activities suggested for exploration of the God-image, the triadic relationship of the director, directee and God, and deepening communication with God are used to illustrate the way in which participants can access the Unconscious, but they are not intended to be an exclusive list. The God-image for most adult directees has something in common with visual perception. Many people remain fixed in their childhood or adolescence with regard to their image of God. According to James Fowler the synthetic period of faith development can last “through middle age and even into old age.”Similarly, with regard to visual acuity, many 7 people maintain the perspective of children. They do not see with their eyes, but instead revert to memory when creating a portrait. For example, a person who stands over six feet tall, if undirected, will create a portrait from the viewpoint of a small child. When confronted with photographic evidence using a grid, many will deny that their own facial proportions are adult sized, even though the math says otherwise.There are always exceptions to the rule with regard 8 to the spiritual maturity of people who approach spiritual direction, but there may still be something left over from childhood or adolescence of which the directee may not be aware. Any image of God will never be definitive; it is a means of approaching him at a particular moment in William A. Barry and William A. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction, (New York: Harper 4 Collins, 2009), 145. C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, ed. Aniela Jaffe, trans. Richard and Clara Winston (New 5 York: Pantheon Books, 1963), 334f. Aniela Jaffe “Symbolism in Visual Arts” in Man and His Symbols, (New York: Doubleday, 1964), 3692, 6 3874. James Gollnick, Religion and Spirituality in the Life Cycle, (New York: Peter Lang, 2008), 103. 7 Rocco, P. “The Hero Portrait,” (Workshop Presentation, Ontario Society for Education Through 8 Art Conference. Toronto, Ontario. October 17, 2009). 3 time. In the Protestant tradition, “human creativity and imagination has been viewed negatively with suspicion,” but in contemporary times, there is a more sophisticated understanding of the second commandment prohibiting idolatry. One would expect that members of Christian 9 denominations where imagery is part of their tradition, such as Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, to be open to exploring the God-image. It is precisely because they already have a framework, and likely have grown up with anthropomorphic iconography, that they may be prone to resisting any development in their understanding of God and of their prayer life. In the Catholic tradition, this is the reason why Bernard of Clairvaux resisted any type of ornamentation, criticising “lazy monks who rely on other people’s images (those of painters and sculptors) and thus get distracted from interior prayer.”In order to help a directee open up to 10 the idea of the innate God-image as understood in Jungian psychology, the use of the collage can be helpful. This type of collage uses found materials, usually from magazines. It is a highly prescribed process for the directee whose only goal is to create something aesthetically pleasing and eschew content entirely. In the pursuit of aesthetics and not meaning, the Unconscious continues to assert itself during the creative process, even though it remains “under the radar.” Images are chosen based solely on their colour, shape or simulated texture. When the images are assembled they seem absurd, in the same way that dreams are sometimes absurd on the surface, but can be fraught with meaning. This type of activity is merely a prayerful step toward God, but it has an uncanny ability to reveal the inner life of the directee. While the directee consciously chooses according to the elements of design, the unconscious is choosing the content. In the final product, the Self makes itself known and the God-image is revealed. It is not just the individual images themselves that give meaning, but the images in juxtaposition to one another. The relationship of the director, the directee, and God is made both easier and more complicated with the use of visual arts. It is made easier since the transference that is experienced by the directee in therapy can migrate to an art object. A director can experience countertransference, not only from what is spoken, but also from what is revealed in the artworks. This is another reason that the director should have some critical awareness of the language of art. In Jungian psychology, this is where evidence of the archetypes could make themselves known, and a director should be prepared for that outcome. It also places the directee and the director on an equal basis. As well, the relationship is made more complicated because as helpful as art can be, in this context it must serve as an exigency to spiritual growth. If it fails to do that, the developing relationship with God can stall. What is worse, it can transform into an idol. For example, the God-image that the directee creates through collage is really just a shadow of what the Self or the image of God is for that person. Art work, in this context, functions as both a sign which “is always less than the concept it represents,” and as symbol which “always stands for something more than its obvious and immediate meaning.”This is not to suggest that 11 anyone would seriously violate the second commandment, but there is a risk that the art would become too precious and a thing in of itself. Art is useful because it is a visual representation of thoughts and feelings, but a spiritual director must be attentive to what, in fact, is being expressed. She must remind herself that she is not creating a relationship between God and the Karen Buckenham, “Creativity and Spirituality: Two Threads of the Same Cloth.” Religion & Theology. 9 Vol. 18 (2011), 58, accessed February 21, 2020, https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/ 10.1163/157430111X613665. Mary Carruthers, The Craft of Thought, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 84. 10 C.G. Jung, “The Importance of Dreams,” in Man and His Symbols, (New York: Doubleday, 1964), 687. 11 4 directee, but fostering it, using art as a means, not as an end. The creation of the self-portrait 12 using a controlled contour method of drawing is a good way to ground both the director and the directee. It is also a very accessible method to anyone who does not know anything about drawing. Since the director’s role is one of accompaniment rather than therapeutic, it is appropriate and even desired that the creation of art in spiritual direction should be done by both director and directee. Art in spiritual direction is not a spectator sport, nor should it be valued for its aesthetic quality. Controlled contour is a simple exercise that, when done correctly, places the person in a meditative state. The control comes from breathing, and the discipline to record only what one sees without lifting the pencil. Our eyes take in visual information, but when those details are processed and recorded at the end of a pencil, something much more significant than a photographic image emerges. This is especially true when we place ourselves at the disposal of God. Even though he is “wholly other and inaccessible to us,” God can become a presence through art-making.In spiritual direction, the self-portrait is a means of experiencing 13 transcendence and as with all artwork, invites verbal and written responses as another method of reflecting on experiences. A directee’s desire to deepen communication with God will always lead to disruption of some kind. The experience of spiritual direction challenges ideas about God at any point in the directees life. As one’s bodily existence changes so does the relationship develop and evolve. Many people desire the “more fully integrated life” that is derived “from the same source to love God with all of one’s heart,” but may be reluctant to change in order to bring this to fruition.14 They may find themselves confronted with images and ideas that do not correspond to pre-conceived notions of what it means to be a Christian. Used as a means of prayer, art can become a conduit between God and the directee. The directee gains control of the art materials in order to lose control before God. This is one reason why the use of art in spiritual direction can be daunting. The advantage to praying with art is that as a directee experiences stagnation or upheaval, the focus is always outward in the art itself. The work can be examined and reflected upon even as it prompts the directee to experience fear and sadness. It offers a degree of personal safety for the directee and director but also facilitates growth rather than a retreat from difficult situations. In Jungian psychology the Shadow presents a challenge to Christians. When confronted with the Shadow, a directee may resist the idea that this “dark side” has anything to do with God or his relationship with us. Resistance to this archetype gives it the power to influence our decision making. Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way, points to this focus on survival and reproduction as the greatest threat to creativity and to spirituality. It is not a threat because it exists, but because most people are in denial of its existence. As a result of persisting in this denial, some have allowed themselves to be censored where “anything unknown is perceived as wrong and possibly dangerous.”In the presence of God, this particular denial of 15 the Shadow can manifest itself as an unhealthy attachment to material or sensual things, but may also influence what the directee determines to be the nature of spiritual life. For example, Luke16:14-31, the story of Lazarus and the rich man, might be more palatable to some people Barry and Connolly, Spiritual Direction, 41. 12 Karen Stone, Image and Spirit: Finding Meaning in Visual Art, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Books, 2003), 13 10. Barry and Connolly, Spiritual Direction, 148. 14 Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way, (New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1992), 13. 15 5 seeking spiritual direction than the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. That parable asks the Christian to take risks with the gifts she has been given. Sometimes people “resist the deepening consciousness, the loneliness, the sense of crisis implied in all growth. They tend even in religious matters, to cling to the things of a child.” It is a normal reaction to retreat to the 16 place that is safe, and it understandable that some directees will try to regress. They may be running from a barrier to spiritual growth that they could not name, or did not know existed. In moments of crisis or turning point in spiritual direction, art activities can act as “scapegoat, a positive enactment of ritual transference and disposal.”They can also act as a means of 17 reconciliation and acknowledging our vulnerability and dependence on God alone for strength. The creation of the mandala lends itself well to this task. As previously mentioned, it offers the directee a way of becoming, and for the director it offers a way of acceptance. Similar to the Examen in Ignatian spirituality, it is a way to look back prayerfully and consider, through the use of the imagination, what God is communicating. Of central importance in the creation of the mandala is the application of abstraction and pattern to represent thoughts and feelings. The mandala is a means of controlling any chaos, not to tame it but to give it form and substance. As the image of the Self, it is a place for healing and synchronicity, where both the directee and director are radically changed.18 When spiritual direction uses Jungian psychology in conjunction with the art making, a sacred space is created for the director and directee as they encounter God. Jungian psychology lends itself well to spiritual direction. It “is a form of transpersonal psychotherapy” that recognises the existence of the sacred.Those who approach spiritual direction in the Christian 19 tradition can assume that God loves humanity, and that he is always communicating to them whether or not they are listening. God creates and redeems them through the work of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christianity is unique in that God came physically into our world to become one of us in Jesus Christ. The gospel of John tells us that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” (John 1:14) When one engages in art making within spiritual direction, God reveals himself in tangible, compelling ways. Barry and Connolly, in the The Practice of Spiritual Direction identify the “problem of language” and “our tendency to become abstract.”20 Art making embodies that which might remain intangible in words alone. However, when art is incorporated in spiritual direction, it should be used judiciously. If it is used without respect, that is only as an aesthetic experience, it could become merely a diversion from spiritual growth. Spiritual direction that uses Jungian psychology and visual art brings the yearning for God down to earth with human beings and paves the way for a numinous experience.

Bibliography

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Rocco, P.“The Hero Portrait”. Workshop Presentation. Ontario Society for Education Through Art Conference. Toronto, Ontario. October 17, 2009. Stone, Karen. Image and Spirit: Finding Meaning in Visual Art. Minneapolis: Augsburg Books, 2003. 7 8