bearing. Sometimes an image comes up, or a metaphor suggests itself.
Or I may have an emotional response of my own, either to the mate-
rial or to the way it’s expressed, which I note. My mind is actively
working, but in a receptive way, stimulated by my absorption in the
other person.
What I respond to during an analytic session is like one part of a
large mosaic, an important detail in a much larger, only partially
completed picture of this person in therapy with me, who is also
someone with whom I am involved in a reciprocal process. If we
are engaged in transformative work, an emotional field is generated
between us powerful enough to touch us both. As Jung noted, ana-
lysis involves the totality of both personalities. Both conscious atti-
tudes and unconscious elements in doctor and patient are involved
in a process in which both are deeply affected: “For two personalities
to meet is like mixing two different chemical substances: if there is
any combination at all, both are transformed.”^1
In doing therapy, I gradually became aware that—in addition to
the interactive, receptive, Aphrodite consciousness that facilitates
change and growth—I also had to keep an optimal emotional dis-
tance. If I feel too much or am too closely identified with my patient,
I lack some essential objectivity. If I am too distant and lack love for
my patient, I lose a crucial empathetic connection, without which
there isn’t enough transformative energy to bring about deeper
change. Befitting Aphrodite, who had the invulnerability of a virgin
goddess and the involvement of a vulnerable goddess, Aphrodite
consciousness has both qualities.
Aphrodite consciousness is present in all creative work, including
that done in solitude. The “relationship” dialogue is then between
the person and the work, from which something new emerges. For
example, observe the process when a painter is engaged with paint
and canvas. An absorbed interchange occurs: the artist reacts or is
receptive to the creative accidents of paint and brush; she initiates
actively with bold stroke, nuance, and color; and then, seeing what
happens, she responds. It is an interaction; spontaneity combines
with skill. It is an interplay between artist and canvas, and as a result
something is created that never before existed.
Goddesses in Everywoman