Psyche logo

Her Psychic Prison

There lives a Judas in all of us

By Kay Johnson-ClennonPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
1

Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot was one Jesus' original 12 Disciples. He betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when the Sanhedrin came to arrest Jesus. Judas revealed Jesus' identity to them when he called him "Rabbi" and kissed him.

To be accused of being a Judas means that you have been deceitful; you betrayed your friends or country or even one's self.

The freedom 'chant'

“I am free, praise the Lord I’m free. I’m no longer bound, no more chains holding me. My soul is resting it’s just a blessing. Praise the Lord, alleluia I’m free!”

A metaphor

A metaphor is a comparative figure of speech often used to add creative flourish to the way we talk; one element of an experience is used to understand another. For example, Tom is a cow. Metaphors may be used to simplify the complexities of organisational life. What is portrayed is dependent on the metaphor used.

The Psychic Prison

This metaphor offers a powerful set of perspectives for exploring the hidden meaning of our taken-for-granted worlds. It encourages us to dig below the surface to uncover the processes and patterns of control that trap people in unsatisfactory modes of existence and to find ways through which they can be transformed. Morgan (an organisational behaviour author) points out that structures, rules, behaviours, beliefs, and the patterns of culture that define an organisation, are not only a corporate phenomena, but also profoundly personal…

Introverts vs Extroverts

Her family wears a mask; each member should adhere to a code of conduct. There is a blend of introversion and extroversion. She being the introvert is seen as abnormal. She has been accused of being unfriendly, ungrateful and cunning. Her family’s argument is based on the proverb ‘silent riva run deep eh nuh’. Jamaican patois for "Still waters run deep".

Carl Jung defines introversion as the flow of psychic energy to the inner world. An introvert is quieter, more classic, and does not need that social event outside to be at peace with one’s self. Extroversion is quite the opposite. It is the flow of psychic energy to the outside world to people, events, and competitors.

The extroverts in her family fail to make the differentiation. They do not realise that when she comes home, and she goes to her room, it is not that she is being rude and anti-social; she simply wants to relax and reflect, after all, she is from a culturally different background. The discussions that her family has excludes her and drives her further into introversion.

Betrayal of herself

Her Judas came out - she betrayed herself. She found herself trying to fit into their world and their perception of how she should behave. Forgetting her Jamaican roots, and even speaking with a ‘French’ accent. In her family’s opinion, she should be eternally grateful that she was ‘rescued’ from the horrors and slums of her homeland.

Her Psychic Prison

Her family is her prison, owing to the fact that her psychic energies are locked up – her family emphasises a certain way of being, which prevents her from exploring other ways of being, giving rise to her shadow. She once read that her shadow represents those things that she wishes to avoid knowing about herself. Her shadow includes deceit, betrayal, vindication, selfishness, evil intentions, and fear.

Jung noted that these irrational qualities will never accept their banishment and will always look for ways to surface, for example, through stress, lying, cheating, depression and nightmares.

When she went to France, she was constantly stressed out. Two years after arriving, she finally acknowledged to herself that she had been depressed and wearing her own mask for the past two years. It was at this point that she vowed to return home after her studies.

Owning her shadow (Judas)

She reconciled with herself that the only way to cope with her shadow was to get to know it. However, she knew that getting to that point would be a long and continuous journey. From her reading of Jung, she knew that becoming acquainted with herself can be something of a shock; and what a shock it was for her.

She lives in fear each day – fear of not knowing if she will always have somewhere to live whilst she resides in France and that one day her lies and other aspects of her shadow will overtake her life. With the hopes of leaving a good impression, especially on her uncle’s mind – ‘dat good likkle gyal from yaad’ (Jamaican patois for "That good little girl from Jamaica.") and being accepted by all, she tries to anticipate every complaint and task that needs doing.

Revisiting the freedom chant

Rev’s sermon provided the mechanism through which she started to come to terms with her shadow.

The words:

“I am free, praise the Lord I’m free. I’m no longer bound, no more chains holding me. My soul is resting it’s just a blessing. Praise the Lord, alleluia I’m free!”

were sung repeatedly. To date, she still sings them repeatedly in her mind.

Conclusion

She was in a self-sealing environment, from which she needed to break free. A concept from one of Iyanla Vanzant’s book came flooding back – self-love and worth. Supporting Jung’s theory that what one cannot cope with in their shadow, they project onto others – of this, she was definitely guilty.

Her failure to acknowledge the unconscious and continuous projection of her shadow onto others, has resulted in her thinking and acting in the way in which she believes is the manner in which others act. This has become the focus of her thoughts and perhaps one day this may lead to insanity – Her Psychic Prison.

coping
1

About the Creator

Kay Johnson-Clennon

I’m a Wife | Mother | Author | Associate Actuary

Find out more here: https://linktr.ee/kaynijo

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.