The Dynamics of Depression

Mobilize That Melancholy Mood
Two Videos on the Dynamics of Depression

Tonight, we are going to screen two videos on the subject of depression. I have been asked by several people to say more about depression, as it often occurs as a defense against anxiety. So, we can consider tonight’s presentation as the beginning of an exploration into what can morph into the traditional dark night of the soul, which occurs just before the new dawn.

We will start with a general outline of how Jung perceived depression and its function in psychic development. It is often the beginning of an awakening. But one can also be so captured by the lower death drive that the soul cannot free itself from the emotional quicksand that is pulling it down. But it is not the case that sometimes there is true depression and at other times it is a call for awakening. It is always in the power of the Self to decide the meaning.

We then switch to a discussion of the Lacanian theory of depression and the principles of its clinical treatment. It is perhaps useful to note the differences between the atmanological paradigm and the psychoanalytic. The Lacanians do have a concept of the lower death drive, but not of the existence or function of the upper death drive. Nor do they have a concept of the soul. They do refer to the difference between the subject and the ego, but cannot clarify the liberating dialectical relationship that develops between the soul and the ego, once the soul awakens. They do also value creativity, but do not have a clear sense of the sublimation channels or the higher assemblage points, so the treatment remains on the personal level, and cannot guide the consciousness to its transcendent and superconscious levels.

Lacan did have the brilliant insight that depression results from an ethical failure in the use of language. The depressed person suffers from not being well-spoken. The innate capacity for uninhibited self-presentation and self-representation has been stunted. All this is true, but what Lacan cannot see is that the misuse of language is not simply a refusal to speak truthfully from an interpersonal—or even an intrapersonal—perspective, but a failure to listen to the Fundamental Mind, and to speak the Word of God, poetically and prophetically. This disconnect from one’s infinite intelligence compounds the effects of the even more primal misunderstanding of language that results from concrete objectification of signifiers. This double failure of the intellect enables the repetitive language program of the ego complex to take over the mind.

These videos are being shown as part of our wisdom school curriculum, as all of you may one day be called upon to guide others on the ascending journey of consciousness, as you complete your own rite of passage. Blessings for courage, skill, and grace!

Om Shanti
Shunyamurti