a great place for energized blogging on Archetypes and Spiritual Development.  I thought I would start a Pod on Archetypes and see what you wonderful people might say.  So go ahead, say something, archetypes are fun!!! and numinous!!!!

For a good summary of how Carl Jung, the great psychologist,  conceptualized archetypes, is the following web site, which stays very close to Jung’s original ideas:

http://changingminds.org/explanations/identity/jung_archetypes.htm

Archetypes “reside” in the Collective Unconscious, which is the deepest part of mind.  The relation of the Collective Unconscious to the individual mind has been metaphorically depicted as something like the underground watershed, through which each individual mind, like a well, emerges to the surface.  In this way, we are all connected.  Archetypes are like templates for experience that guide us and through development, “unfold” in our experience, and in doing so, we grow.  Such growth and integration of the Archetypes into our Self was referred to by Jung as Individuation.  By integrating archetypes and experiences into the Self (capital “S” denotes The One), we develop spiritually.  The mention in the previous website of returning to a wholeness that was there prior to birth, reflects identification with The One.  Some Jungian Psychologists have used the archetypal symbol of the Uroboros, or the serpent swallowing it’s own tail to represent this undifferentiated state.

   

The newborn is thought to lack differentiation between self and other, between self and mother.  Think of the fetus in the womb (ahhh, how nice :) ).  This is a natural state of umbilical feeding, represented symbolically in the serpent eating it’s own tail.  This state of the infant is considered psychologically similar to merging with The One, but as an addult it occurs in greater awareness during spiritual development.  We are all one, like wells, connected to the watershed.

Also included in the symbol of the Uroboros, from one important perspective, one must devour the self (ego, social identifications, etc…) to become the Self.  Undoing the false identifications and transmuting these into greater and more inclusive awareness is represented in this process.  The sense of paradox that the spiritually developing often have experienced in their journey also seems captured in the Uroboros. 

This site is close to Jung’s original ideas and is interesting: 

http://www.iloveulove.com/psychology/jung/jungarchetypes.htm

Here are some points that are added for clarification, edification, and discussion:

The Universal Unconscious is also referred to as the Collective Unconscious. 

Regarding integration of the archetypes, Jung referred to this as Individuation.  This should not be confused with becoming independent and autonomous, as is so highly valued in American and some other cultures.  Rather, it is a process, arguably driven by what may be called the master archetype, the Self (capital “S” refers to the divine nature of this idea), toward personal realization.  For many, this includes spiritual growth and development, and as indicated above, identification with The One. 

Here are some expanded ideas of Archetypes, through literature:

Don't be shy, archetypes belong to all of us, and we to them.

Again:
One of the goals of this Pod is to ask yourself this: What is the role of the archetypes and archetype like symbols and their integration into the Self in spiritual development?  Then, you or someone can provide the answer on this Pod.