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CHAPTER V
THE CARE OF SOULS AND
THE UNCONSCIOUS
THE material presented to a spiritual adviser in the course
of a talk with a confidant can be extremely varied. The
confidant may mention matters of the most diverse kind. He may
switch from one topic to another in a manner that makes it very
difficult or even impossible for the listener to discern any
connecting link between them or any single thread of purpose
running through them.
But whatever the subject of the confidant’s conversation the
adviser soon becomes aware that he is receiving only a very
superficial indication of what is going on in the mind of the
speaker. Although he may dwell on his present situation and
emphasise current difficulties and problems he seldom confines
himself to them. Probably he is already aware, though but dimly,
that the causes of his present troubles must be sought elsewhere
than on the plane of contemporary circumstances. Very often he
will remark on the fact that he cannot in those circumstances
find any satisfactory explanation of the emotional distresses
from which he is suffering; or else will reveal by some expression
of bewilderment his difficulty in seeing a relation of cause and
effect between his personal difficulties and the explanations of
them that he offers. Phrases like, ‘I know it sounds absurd but
I can’t help it . . .’ or, ‘I can’t explain it, but that is what
happens . . .’ reveal this inward dissatisfaction.
Many a confidant in this state of mind hasreached beyond the
knowledge that his position is difficult and that he is in need of
help. He perceives that there may be a connection between his
present difficulties and his past experience. He realises that
unsolved emotional problems may well be the occasion of the
strain which is attending his present efforts to manage his
life and relationships, and he will co-operate in any course of
action, including deep-probing, that may help him to find
freedom.
Very often, however, the spiritual adviser becomes aware that
the confidant’s problems are intractable because he is unwilling
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