When my patients come into my office in El Masnou, their attention often gets caught by a painting on the wall with the image of a man. Some ask who the man is and why the painting is there, others wonder if he is a relative or a guru, given the central position I gave him in my working space. Well, the man inside a beautiful black frame hanging on my wall is Carl Gustav Jung. He took the place of a mandala that used to be there, and is now inspiring my work, while he also gets known by the people who step into my office. Now, who was Carl Gustav Jung and why is he hanging on my wall? When I say his name many do not know him, so I prefer to explain him through another relevant figure.

Jung was born nineteen years after Sigmund Freud, who is the father of Psychoanalysis and the theory of the unconscious mind. However, when I used to study Psychology in Buenos Aires, during the 1990’s, Jung was only mentioned as the one who disagreed with Freud’s theories and choose a more “mystic” approach, which is why he then parted ways with his early mentor. Years later, while I was studying to become a yoga teacher, more or less twenty years ago, I heard again about Jung: I learnt that he studied oriental techniques and arts, including yoga and spontaneous production of mandalas, and opened a dialogue between East and West about these topics. When I arrived in Spain, fifteen years ago, I felt the need to know more about him and his work, so I started to read about him as an autodidact, and then took a specific course on his school of thought and contribution to Modern Psychology. He was born in Swiss on 26th July in 1875 from a family of humble origins, his father was a pastor and his mother a medium. He died at 86 years of age, on the 6th of June in 1961. Unlikely Freud, who was a neurologist, Jung, who was a psychiatrist, never saw the existence of the Unconscious as a means to treat mental illnesses, while his work was focused on athorough analyses for self-realisation of the human being to the fullest potential, the development of personality and creative activities. His objective was to find the connection between the individual and the universal soul, or the Collective Unconscious. Jung was a pioneer in the field of the soul and believed that the soul is connected to the spirit. This also shows a connection with the ancient oriental practices, such as the philosophy of yoga. The study of soul was Jung’s passion and damnation too, because his own soul was also troubled. Due to his breakup with Freud in 1913, to define his approach, Jung abandons the word “Psychoanalysis” and chooses “Analytical Psychology”, as it is known nowadays.

Collective Unconscious, archetypes, extroverted/introverted, the analysis of the “shadow archetype” (the unknown side, everything a person is not fully conscious of) are all words which we have to thank Jung for. He also created a number of important concepts: the “anima/animus”, describing the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, each transcending the personal psyche; the symbolism used in the work with dreams to access the Shadow, and the differentiation of it from the Self and the Ego. In Analytical Psychology, through the “individuation process”, individuals become conscious of the Persona, which is the mask we take on in our every day life. After different stages which to be explained would require an extensive writing, the experience of the Self happens with greater self-consciousness.

I’d like to finish this post with a powerful sentence that I bring with me in my daily work as a psychologist and is related to the creation of a relationship that can heal: “Psychotherapy is basically a conversational relationship between a physician and a patient, a dialogue as a tool for
knowledge and understanding”. (Carl Gustav Jung, Complete Works, Volume 11).

“To Agni we speak and to the trees, to the plants and to the herbs; to Indra,
Brihaspati, and Sûya: they shall deliver us from calamity!”. Atharva Veda

In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian holistic medicine, treatment comes from plants and trees, that is mainly from the plant kingdom, but also minerals can be used to heal. Ayurvedic physicians know the importance of respecting Nature for its boundless healing power.

At Christmas time, trees take on a particularly important meaning, because some of them become the “Christmas Tree”.

Decorated with lights and special objects, these trees spread their enchanting power and catch the attention of those who can feel it. Nevertheless, have you ever wondered why the Christmas tree is decorated?

Certainly, trees are significant in many of the world’s mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. They symbolise the cosmos and its perpetual regeneration; the evolution of life with death and regeneration after it. Their leaves fall and a new cycle begins. As seasons go through their changes, trees react to their cycle. Have you ever noticed that? Which is your favourite tree? As symbols, trees allow us to communicate with the three levels of cosmos: through their roots we can go deep into the Underground and reach hidden and buried places; throughout their trunk and lower branches we can touch the Surface of the Earth, that is the worldly and material, everything we can see and touch, the experiences we live through our senses; and lastly, through the upper branches and leaves, we can build a bridge with the celestial heights and the Light. This help us establishing a connection with the Divine, the Spiritual and the Transcendent. That is why trees are considered a connection between Heaven and Hell. Trees also put together the five elements of Nature: they have a place in space, air nurtures their leaves, water flows through their lymph, fire can be made thought the rubbing of their branches, and the earth blend in their bodies through their roots.

In yoga, “the tree” or vrikshasana is a popular body pose of balance and concentration, where weight is shifted to one leg and the entire sole of the foot remains in contact with the floor. The knee is bent and points straight out to the side. Hands are first kept in prayer’s position at heart level, and then over the head to finalise the asana. Being a symmetric pose, vrikshasana requires to repeat the exercise with both legs. While practising vrikshasana your mind should focus on these questions: “Am I more into the material through the contact with the earth? Or is my weight more on the spiritual level and its relation with heavens? What is your mind attached to? The drishti, the focal point or gaze we use in Yoga, will bring us steadiness, clarity and consciousness, any thought during the asana can hinder the balance we have reached. Going back to the lighting Christmas tree and its meaning during Holidays, wasn’t it Buddha, Siddhartha Guatama, who also “enlightened” under the Bodhi tree or Ficus religiosa?

Also, trees give shelter to many animals of the earth and air, and provide shade and protection to those who are looking for them. Perhaps the ritual of tree hugging is a sort of saying thank you for everything they give us.

What is your relation with trees? Do you put up a Christmas tree? What’s your bond with it? I’d like to further explore this topic with you, and I invite you to look a the the image in this post and let me know what it says to you.

Let me conclude for now with a quote I want to share: “If the branch is to flower, it must honour its roots”. Fréderic Pacere Titinga