Zeitgeist v. The Spirit of the Depths
In the early 20th century, the visionary psychiatrist C.G. Jung described two pulls on us human beings – the Zeitgeist or spirit of the times and the Geist der Tiefe or spirit of the depths.
The spirit of the times pulls us into the conventions of our day. It encourages us to fit in and be concerned with what is current, fashionable, convenient for life in our society. The spirit of the depths pulls us into ourselves, and to a primitive, inchoate place where the individual connects with the cosmos. It is concerned with timeless, wild matters. It is not convenient or civilized.
Psychotropic medications are very much a part of the Zeitgeist. They’re so in the Zeitgeist that they are in the water supply. They’re so in the Zeitgeist that the parents of school children are routinely asked to fill out a list of medications being taken. College students borrow meds, take them without supervision, take them recreationally. Many of the people you know are taking a psych med. They’ve become as normalized as aspirin or Vitamin C.
Yet we know that these drugs are deeply flawed and bring a cascade of impacts into people’s lives ranging from unhealthy weight gain and sexual suppression to psychological disintegration and suicide.
Just by being who you are, facing the reality of these drugs, and suffering through your own recovery from them, you are leading the way to a new awareness of what these drugs are about. Just think, not that long ago cigarettes were considered safe. You are seeing more of the truth, and saying your truth, and this is affecting society in obvious ways, such as attitudes towards the health care industry, but also in less obvious ways.
Right at this exact moment, you are helping society open more to the spirit of the depths. Simply by questioning the dominating Zeitgeist, you are contributing to sociological change, to a tipping point. Your life is pushing society to deepen its understanding of the reasons people get on these meds, and the ways people can be helped that are more effective, humane, and soulful than taking these toxic drugs.
Psychotropic medication shuts down feelings, which takes people’s power away, which leaves the powers that be full rein to reign. Getting off the meds gives you your mind back, but the process is sometimes so hard that it does a lot more than that. It leads to an awakening in relation to one’s society and the authorities. There is often a new understanding of how many lives are being affected by these meds on a global basis, and a determination not to let the established economic and political power structure and the Zeitgest continue to have so much unexamined influence.
