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THE CARE OF SOULS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS
set in motion by saying the right word at the right moment. An
ordinary spiritual talk, during which one appeals to the
consciousness of the confidant as the final tribunal, can open up the
unconscious. Gadelius is certainly right when he says that
consciousness is, in normal conditions, the decisive forum of the
mental life. It is the main depot for the reception of both
internal and external messages and impressions. Here the many
forms of mental activity occur, are controlled and followed up.
Nothing in the psychic potentiality can become part of the
psychic present and so be actualised without the assent of
consciousness. In normal cases this actualising process is not
subject to any opposition. It is hindered only when certain
mental territories are obscured from the light of consciousness
or association paths are blocked: that is, when active repression
is occurring.
In this situation special methods of exploring the unconscious
must be used before spiritual treatment can be effective. Some
of these methods will now be described. It should be said,
however, that only the spiritual adviser who has been thoroughly
trained in psycho-therapy should employ any of these methods,
and then as a rule after consultation with a physician with
whom agreement is reached about the measures appropriate in
each special case.
Free Association
Contact with the unconscious can sometimes be made with
the aid of the method known as ‘free association’. The word
‘association’ here means the relations between ideas,
sentiments, feelings and other mental contents. To use the method,
the confidant is instructed to relax physically and to allow his
mind to become as passive as possible. He is not to try to
coutrol or direct his thoughts, but merely to be an observer of
his own mental imagery and to relate what comes into his
mind without making any attempt to give coherence or
meaning to what he thinks or feels and describes.
To understand more clearly what happens when contact
with the unconscious is sought in this way, it is appropriate to
consider the difference between logical and associative thinking.
During a deliberate act of reasoning we are in a state of tension.
We have before us a number of ideas or mental pictures from
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