The Transcendent Function of Music

What transcendent function of the psyche the way the unconscious awareness and dialogue with each other towards individuation and psychological growth. Carl Jung believed that everyone has this feature, which wants to develop and beyond. This is an archetypal process which mediates opposites and enables the transition from one posture to another, a third way, by means of symbols. This function has healing effect by bridging the conscious and unconscious, facilitating movement beyond one-sidedness.

Since we are all unique expressions of our life, so is our process of growth and healing. We use different skills to cope with different times to deal with evil and suffering. Is this process without feelings, or to contact the disowned part of yourself, we all need a bridge to access the dark corners of our shadows. Art, music, yoga, poetry, dance, creative writing, and tai-chi are several ways that calm the mind and allows you to connect to hidden unconscious material.

Music has been used for many years as an effective tool for the rite of mind and body. Our innate ability to use music and sound in order to facilitate a deeper level of self awareness and transformation can be traced back the ancient times and in all cultures. Music is one of the most effective bridge between the cultures that exist. But most importantly, music can unite us with other living beings and the planet in general.

Music affects us attunes and mystery that lives in our depth. The healing power of music can awaken all of our patterns and liberate the potential to become our lives. Music, with its own special vocabulary of rhythm, melody, harmony, pitch, tone and says directly to the unconscious. This means that, due to the deeply buried feelings and emotions through the psyche to achieve the layers, which are cut off from the normal state of awareness.

The introduction of Dr. Allen Bishop
Dr. Allen Bishop is psychoanalyst, professor and musician living in Montecito, California. After serving as Chair in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, received his analytic training in psychoanalytic Center in Los Angeles California, is a former president of the Santa Barbara Music Club, and currently serves on the board of the American Beethoven Society. He continues to teach students, combining his life long interest psychoanalytic psychotherapy, music and culture to inspire creativity and a depth of between us.

As one of his pupils, I've had the honor of learning from his vast sea of knowledge. Along with Brenda Murrow, my dear friend of the author of this blog, recently had the pleasure to interview Dr Bishop for his thoughts about music and psychology. We will spend the next few posts of music and its use not only of personal therapeutic modality, but as a medium of healing in the collective.

During the interview, the question about the deep psychological and archetypal experience is that often in the music of speech, particularly the works of great composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. Dr. Bishop referred to the musicians as "having the capacity to develop a form of expression, which exceeds the time and not only fallen in the dust bin of history." Here's an excerpt from our conversation, and his answer to this question:

"Composers have the ability to think beyond the personal to the transpersonal experience and improve to what Jim Grothstein would be called the" transcendent position. "This means that in a sense, they moved beyond the normal way people interact and relate to life and so are not connected persons as the primary mode of experience, but connected to humanity. And so, they believe the gift to be shared with all humanity, not just a partner or spouse. They have these changes in their basic approach to object relations. In contrast to the average person, which often becomes caught by the compliance with the outside world and gets stifled. "
"There is a great artist and composer, the optimal amount of psychological pain and anguish, which serves as prima materia much more elaborate set of interiority and the lens to look at the deep psychological experience, not only personal. They articulate emotional truths about the human condition, that language is not able to provide. "

It seems to me, as if suffering pain and anguish can be used as an inner vessel in the direction of achieving this may be an average of photography; deeper human connection. Triumph in adversity, as in the case of Beethoven's deafness, it may "create a desire to invent itself as a unique individual creativity and to choose more than the conventional." When asked about his personal choice, Beethoven, Dr. Bishop said,

"Beethoven and his music has inspired a more complete development of my capabilities, availability and emotional breaking faith in the mystery of life. He helps us all stay close to our interiority."

Regardless of whether or not exposed to classical, jazz, rock and hip-hip, music allows us to contact a deeper part of our psyche and connect to the songwriter / composer to dream. In this way, we will be able to exceed to a higher level of awareness and connection to humanity.

What is your musical experience? How to surrender and allow ourselves to be overcome with a deeper sense of awareness of the music in your life?