Jung, who realized the universality of archetypes, nonetheless maintained that their historical cultural expression was not readily transferable, and could be problematic if exotic deities and rituals were simply adopted.
he suggested that a western way of transcendence would fruitfully arise from Christianity.
currently reading St Edith Stein's The Science of the Cross, a phenomenology of John of the Cross' mystical practice, revealing insights and directions common to Mahayana Buddhism.
and, of course, Alchemy. these threads are interwoven.
"Not much effort is needed at the beginning of the work; it is sufficient to approach it with “a free and empty mind,” as one text says.
But one important rule must be observed: “the mind must be in harmony with the work”
and the work must be above all else.
one must keep the eyes of the mind and soul well open, observing and contemplating by means of that inner light which God has lit in nature and in our hearts from the beginning."
the evolutionary process of expanding human consciousness and integrating opposing energies from the unconscious is a longstanding struggle.
"Insofar as spiritual being is life and change, it cannot be captured in static definitions,
but must rather be a continual movement seeking fluid expression.
This is also true of faith.
After all, it is of itself a spiritual being, and therefore movement: an ascent to ever less conceivable heights
and a decent into evermore immeasurable depths.
Therefore, the understanding must seek to hold it by means of manifold expressions in so far as this is at all achievable."