Shamanism for the Age of Science: Awakening the Energy Body - Kenneth Smith 2018

The Psychology of An Energetic Anatomy
Anatomy of the Energy Body

Jung helped illuminate the nature of the psyche, which he thought of as our complete mind and all knowledge contained in it. However, he did not equate it with the conscious part of awareness, as he recognized that in large measure it functions unconsciously.³²

He also thought that, while mind and body influence one another, they have separate dynamics. Jung also put forward a model of what mind is and how it works, a schematic comprised of the conscious, the unconscious, and the personal and collective attributes of each. Models, according to Jung, are a means of exploring fields of inquiry. They do not make something so; they allow the observation of useful constructs.³³

As a result of Jung’s work we have another perspective with which to assess the Toltec map. The separate dynamics of mind and body Jung cites correspond to the functions of the energy and physical bodies, for instance. The personal and collective aspects of the conscious and unconscious pertain to individual and group processes of the known and unknown. And the conscious and unconscious elements of the psyche correlate with the first and second energy fields.

The Conscious: First Energy Field

Jung articulated his view that humans have a type of consciousness where the unconscious predominates and another where self-consciousness prevails.³⁴ Superimposing the shamanic schema over this, the first energy field represents the conscious region of overall awareness. Its refinement enables an ever-expanding sense of the natural order and provides a step-ping-stone away from reason into a fuller utilization of the psyche. The first field is also that aspect of consciousness ruled by self-consciousness or that which has become known. Usually only a slice of the first field has been awakened. This is mirrored physiologically, in that only a small portion of the brain is used.

The Unconscious: Second Energy Field

The unconscious compares with the unknown or second energy field. It has significant influence, but in ways a person cannot account for as we often reduce our awareness of the second energy field. Boiled down, Jung’s concept of the unconscious is everything that is available to perception but not known. It is also that which is capable of being made conscious or known. In addition, he held that the unconscious contained potential; an order reflecting a real, metaphysical reality.³⁵ From this viewpoint, potential may also be considered to be an existing order, which has not yet been learned and therefore not yet made conscious. The parallels with a depiction of the energy body appear obvious.

Jung also held that the unconscious constitutes a “different medium” than the conscious. The unconscious contains both personal and collective aspects, with each pertaining to an individual’s psychic connection with others.³⁶ Cohesion and uniformity, then, may relate to both the personal and collective unconscious domains. Uniformity establishes the boundaries of what the collective may form into realization. Cohesion may either influence, or be influenced by, the collective.

The Supraconscious: Third Energy Field

We begin to step away from Jung’s work when introducing the third field, the supraconscious, which is a dimension beyond typical considerations of the human psyche. In like manner, it exists outside the structure of the energy body. At the same time, this enhanced view offers authenticity as it supports rather than obviates his efforts.

The third field contains the conscious and unconscious, the first and second fields, and yet is vast beyond human measure. It is the unknowable, that which is beyond the veil of ordinary human consciousness. However, there evidently are procedures for placing the assemblage point in the supraconscious. In the works of Castaneda, this ability is mentioned as a hallmark of a new cycle of Toltecs who rejoice in the pursuit of pure freedom. They aspire to awaken the entire energy body so that personal consciousness can be fully placed into the supraconscious. One transcendent application is being able to burn with “the fire from within.” This involves completely entering the supraconscious and leaving this earthly existence behind and taking the physical body in tow.³⁷

If true, this possibility adds further credence to considerations of the physical body being predominantly influenced by the energy body. A shift in awareness—such as the fire within that produces a resurrection, if you will—highlights marked control over the physical body, even the physical world, and carries with it knowledge of virtually any sphere of human activity.

As an educational tool, just the concept of the third field stimulates continued reexamination of the human condition. It also becomes the basis of a learning posture, an orientation to remain open and honest, as well as humble, because most of existence is beyond the human capacity of knowing.