Myth, Dreams and
Consciousness
****please don’t copy and past
I Attached 2 files one of them is a rubric and one of them is more information for helping you to write better.
“The sign is always less than the concept it represents while a
symbol always stands for something more than its obvious and
immediate meaning. Symbols … are natural and spontaneous
products. No [one] has ever sat down with a pen or brush
in hand and said: ‘Now I am going to invent a symbol’…a symbol
…hints at something not yet [fully] known.” [“Man And His Symbols” p. 41]
Identify, describe and explore the experience and meaning behind two or three personal
symbols that in a deeply felt way reflect something about you and your experiences in
life. How does the force or feeling of the symbol resonate within you and in your life?
What is its history? How does it impact on your life situation? Why is it personally
meaningful?
A symbol might be part of one’s spiritual/personal life such as an individual, an event, a
ritual, a memory, a relationship, an image, an object, a habit or other behavior (e.g.
OCD checking behaviour), a place or environment, a way of being, a creative
endeavor,
a work of art or piece of music, a book, a conflict, a hope, an interest, and it probably
exercises a powerful influence on what motivates, drives or guides you.
During your discussion, try to hold onto the Jungian notion that with a symbol there is a
level of meaning that while intuitively or experientially understood might be difficult if
not impossible to articulate or even fully comprehend as it remains shrouded in the
mystery that is your life. Despite this, there should be much to discuss as one endeavors
to contemplate and explore the meanings of one’s personal symbols.
Guidelines:
• Your personal symbols are personal and not personalized culturally determined
ones. For example, a religious amulet, though highly significant to you, is to a
large degree, defined by the religious context it reflects, whereas a personal
symbol is primarily personal to you in that its meaningfulness is grounded in your
own experiences. Now if a person, with whom you have a valued relationship,
gave you a religious amulet, then the personal symbol here is the one who gave it
to you and the relationship it represents. This means that any religious or other
culturally implied connotations associated with such an amulet, though of some
importance, will not be the primary focus when discussing its symbolic
significance to you.
• Another example of a widely shared, cultural experience is music as millions of
people in the world listen to, love and are ‘moved’ by music. For this reason,
identifying listening to certain types of music as a personal symbol is to be
avoided unless you have been musically involved in some capacity for at least
five years.
• If you want to discuss a relationship or an event that has changed your life, make
sure that five years have passed in either case before choosing one of these as a
personal symbol. [Note: Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.]
• Feel free to provide an illustration, photograph or artifact as one way of enhancing
your presentation. In the past, photos have included grandparents, parents, friends,
pets, tattoos, objects, places.
• Please be aware that each symbol discussion will be comprised of a descriptive
and an in-depth analysis component.
• Lastly, you are to choose to write about two or three symbols. If you choose two,
obviously you will be writing more about each one to meet the 850-word
minimum word count. This would be advantageous for those who strive to do
very well on this assignment. However, if you choose to write about three
symbols, this suggests that you won’t be going into as in depth an examination of
the meaningfulness of each one. In this case, it will be more difficult to excel.
Format: Typed…Double-Spaced…12 Point + Cover Page.
Length: A minimum of 850 words.
