Dangers of Suppression

Written by Tayria Ward on March 18, 2010

It was Carl Jung’s theory that an angel, if suppressed, becomes a demon. Rilke spoke of it too.

I have just finished trying to catch up on the news of the week. I DVR the news, so on busy weeks I sometimes go through several days all at once. Ouch. It can hurt. In tonight’s catch up, I kept seeing stories and situations where the idea that Jung speaks of, which I have observed during my life and believe to be true, was demonstrated clearly. I would love to use the examples I am thinking of, but am new to the blog world, so I don’t want to offend anyone specific or get sued. I don’t judge the people I am thinking of either. I feel the sad stories come out of ignorance in our culture and training, and should not be pinned on persons alone, not ever.

One specific example I will risk commenting upon to illustrate what I am speaking of is the sad story of the large number of incidents of sexual abuse by priests in Germany reported recently. I take full responsibility for what I am about to say. It is not to be blamed upon Jung or anyone else, it is my feeling. Celibacy is unnatural to most humans. To ask it is to ask for these kinds of crimes. Humans are born with sexual instincts and drives for a reason, and it is my belief that the reason is not just to serve the propagation of the species. That intention is in the heart of the human only the tiniest percentage of the time when they feel the desire for sex. What are nature’s intentions then?

I believe that when understood and appreciated for what they are, sexual drives are angels in our life that help us to fulfill our humanity. They bring us into experiences of love, intimacy, grace, divinity, pleasure of the highest quality. Science tells us that energy is neither created nor destroyed. When the angel of human sexuality is suppressed its energy doesn’t disappear it goes underground, and comes out in unconscious possessions of mind and nature. We become demon possessed. Words are tricky things because by demon I don’t make a judgment either. A demon is an unconscious angel. It’s all just energy. Consciousness is key.

I think I could name a dozen or two stories out of just one session of news catching up that tell of human sorrows and tragedies that result from the suppression of natural human instincts and drives that then have to go underground, their energy moving into the unconscious. They have to come out somewhere, but since they are denied they will come out in ways that an individual would never wish for consciously; the person is just overwhelmed by the energy. It is so sad. I wish I could help. How can we help?