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ladytetra777In Lecture X, "Conversion – Concluded," James analyzes the event of conversion through additional cases, supplementing them with psychological research of his day. He states there is "[a] consciousness of the ordinary field, with its usual centre and margin, but an addition thereto in the shape of a set of memories, thoughts, and feelings which are extra-marginal and outside of the primary consciousness altogether," (233) in discussing the subconscious and the personal shadow. Traumatic events and repressed feelings exist among the "underground life" (234) that feeds off the primary consciousness, creating disease of body and mind. Here, James is taking his psychological toolkit to further expound upon the divided self. Here, the event of conversion will bring reconciliation to the subconscious and conscious mind.
Per James, there is a uniformity of these mental mechanisms at play here. Understanding on the field of consciousness, which was once understood to be a totality of mental life, is now being expanded to a conscious and subconscious through ongoing research. There is a magnetism to one's mental center of energy that can be directed, but its margins are blurry. It functions like a compass needle, guiding one through successive mental states (232). James describes here what Coué and Hill will later advance in their respective works, this center is suggestible and can be redirected in a process called auto-suggestion. I understand this principle to be key in practicing magick, that a person suggests a different self to themself and then assumes this life by pushing this suggestion past the conscious to the subconscious mind.
While the field of primary conscious exists seemingly contrary to an underground subconscious that is not immediately available, but in many persons is impeded upon by it. To my understanding, these "lower" or "baser" mental objects form what Jung calls the shadow, or what grimoires name as demons. As established in the previous lecture, the act of conversion is the unification of the disparate parts of the mind, and James provides an example from Luther using the image of Christ as a means to do this. For Luther, Christ "died not to justify the righteous, but the un-righteous, and to make them the children of God" (245). Here, the symbol of Christ's sacrifice becomes the overcoming of guilt, not that one must make themselves worthy of Christ, but that Christ is a means to banish guilt from one's mind.
James follows this by offering three characteristics to define the conversion experience, all of which can be found in his various examples: a central loss of worry replace by a sense of wellness, the deepening of one's capacity to understand life's mysteries, and a perception of "newness" about the world (248). These commonalities are shared by individuals who raise the state of their own consciousness; it is what James repeatedly refers to as regeneration in these lectures. The result is a state of ecstasy, a distinct love for life not previously found in the individual (254).
Perhaps most profound are the findings that even though there is a capacity for one to "backslide," that the mind if a fluctuating complex, what remains permanent is an identification with religious life (258). In other words, the religious experience of conversion is so significantly impactful on the individual that it appears to imprint upon their soul. I see this in my own life; select rare experiences I have had either meditating or playing music are events I can always recall. Even if my life as a person with schizophrenia and an addict is prone to fluctuation, my own faith in the existence of God and a higher life does not falter, even if my own behavior is not reflective of this. The through line for me is acknowledgement, a constant willingness to pray and meditate, and a determination to always get back up if I fall.
Per James, there is a uniformity of these mental mechanisms at play here. Understanding on the field of consciousness, which was once understood to be a totality of mental life, is now being expanded to a conscious and subconscious through ongoing research. There is a magnetism to one's mental center of energy that can be directed, but its margins are blurry. It functions like a compass needle, guiding one through successive mental states (232). James describes here what Coué and Hill will later advance in their respective works, this center is suggestible and can be redirected in a process called auto-suggestion. I understand this principle to be key in practicing magick, that a person suggests a different self to themself and then assumes this life by pushing this suggestion past the conscious to the subconscious mind.
While the field of primary conscious exists seemingly contrary to an underground subconscious that is not immediately available, but in many persons is impeded upon by it. To my understanding, these "lower" or "baser" mental objects form what Jung calls the shadow, or what grimoires name as demons. As established in the previous lecture, the act of conversion is the unification of the disparate parts of the mind, and James provides an example from Luther using the image of Christ as a means to do this. For Luther, Christ "died not to justify the righteous, but the un-righteous, and to make them the children of God" (245). Here, the symbol of Christ's sacrifice becomes the overcoming of guilt, not that one must make themselves worthy of Christ, but that Christ is a means to banish guilt from one's mind.
James follows this by offering three characteristics to define the conversion experience, all of which can be found in his various examples: a central loss of worry replace by a sense of wellness, the deepening of one's capacity to understand life's mysteries, and a perception of "newness" about the world (248). These commonalities are shared by individuals who raise the state of their own consciousness; it is what James repeatedly refers to as regeneration in these lectures. The result is a state of ecstasy, a distinct love for life not previously found in the individual (254).
Perhaps most profound are the findings that even though there is a capacity for one to "backslide," that the mind if a fluctuating complex, what remains permanent is an identification with religious life (258). In other words, the religious experience of conversion is so significantly impactful on the individual that it appears to imprint upon their soul. I see this in my own life; select rare experiences I have had either meditating or playing music are events I can always recall. Even if my life as a person with schizophrenia and an addict is prone to fluctuation, my own faith in the existence of God and a higher life does not falter, even if my own behavior is not reflective of this. The through line for me is acknowledgement, a constant willingness to pray and meditate, and a determination to always get back up if I fall.