So I heard an interesting fact that the deepest part of the ocean holds 90% of all life on earth. Being who I am and completely obsessed with living deeper layers of life I automatically went to the psychological implications of such a statement. This deep fact resonated and brought with it a big aha. It makes perfect sense that’s where the bulk of life on earth is lived, in the deep, and of course the same is true for us. For the most part how we approach our lives happens deep in the unconscious, a sort of automatic pilot, with searing or breathtaking pieces only coming to the surface once in awhile.
How we are living in the day-to-day is taken for granted or glossed over, meaning we don’t really make the deeper connections or give enough attention to the people and events surrounding us. We miss the deeper drives and intricate interconnections. Major events or shake-ups jolt us to the surface but most of the time we miss what’s underneath and how the choices we make direct our fate. All these rich internal gifts of life are carelessly overlooked rather than lived out loud.
These unnoticed deeper levels of life and the feelings and understanding it invokes are the very things that can open new worlds for us. Think about the rich dream life, fantasy life, or wishes and desires kept inside that never get our full attention. There are ideas and alternative paths that never take hold because we are sidetracked or don’t recognize them at all. They are too far in the depths. Amazing amounts of life are never experienced because we aren’t bringing enough energy and thought to the things we really want to do in this life we are living.
When we start the work of bringing more awareness to any part of ourselves we are shining a light on that rich and varied level of life that gets little air. This is the whole point of Jungian analysis, it’s about developing enough consciousness to see what’s going on in the dark. It’s also the goal of all those meditation practices, self help books, and conscious-raising groups. There are a million ways of being able to see deeper, but first we need to take the time to adjust our sight.
We provide the light, by redirecting our energy and intentions so that we can start seeing what we’ve been missing. There is more wholeness, more mystery, more treasure down in the depths of us than on the surface. Somehow the fear of being crushed or drowned gets in our way and holds us back. But just as the depths of the oceans are teeming with unimaginable, beautiful, and delicate life, so are we. It deserves our attention, to be brought to the surface, to be seen, and ultimately to be lived.
It’s time to dive deep into the life we’ve forgotten to live.
kb
