Mountain

Something big in ones life; reaching a wider awareness of our life or situation; eternity; something which stands above the commonplace; beyond the fears and anxieties of everyday life; separation from others or from everyday life or society; isolation; attainment achieved by facing the difficulties of life.

Because the mountain indicates states of mind or being that stand beyond the commonplace, and links with what essentially is your latent potential, it can show you opening to that power of change and growth. In other words, it indicates an influence from your core influencing your personality. But also it may be a way of escaping form worldly pursuits into a form is asceticism or mysticism. See Core

Jung mentions a man who felt himself capable almost of flying, and who eventually fell from a mountain. Jung intimates that the man may have in fact stepped into space out of his hubris-a lack of humilty. The aim in climbing the mountain is to access your potential while still recognising your personal smallness in the scheme of things.

In many past cultural traditions ascent was associated with purification or refinement – as in the ascent to heaven, or a holy mountain. It also suggested becoming more detached, or finding a different perspective. We could see it also as evolution of ourselves to a newer level. Because we often move to a wider view of things, becoming more aware of our situation or surroundings as we get higher, ascending is often linked with change, and perhaps leaving things behind, the dropping away of what occupied you below. It can also be an attempt to remove yourself from the difficulties or experiences of the world – there may be a link with losing touch with reality.

Sometimes treasure or a wonderful meeting is found on a mountain. To quote a man, “There is also the sense I have that the cave that has been dug, that has been mined, connects with natural caves that go deep into the earth within the mountain.  I have a sense that these link with the far past, with the origins of life on earth, and our own beginnings.

If one is climbing the mountain: The struggle with oneself, such as facing lack of confidence and forging on; meeting the difficulties of life and trying to move on; sensing the eternal. See: hill; last example in flying.

 Example: ‘I was on top of a mountain with my sons, but was terrified I was going to fall.’ John A.

John feels alone in a high position and fears failure.

 Example: Now the preparations have ended and I am to go off alone up the mountains to meet whatever waits for me there. Now it feels as if something is flowing into my body. I am now experiencing a state or condition that has been very marked or strong in my life lately. My breathing became very slow, it seems even at times as if it has stopped, and everything becomes very still. It feels like being dead. My body becomes so still it disappears and all that is left is awareness submerged in enormous emptiness or space. There is a paradox in this experience because it feels as if I, my sense of self, has melted away, and yet there is still a very definite experience of existing. I suppose what has stopped is what I have called movement. The movement of thinking, of feeling, of longing or hoping for things.

There is this huge reality confronting us all the time. We call this reality death. And often that has an awful face for us. But I am feeling it as joy, a most wonderful joy. It is here in the darkness I am experiencing – that joy. The waves of this gentle joy flow through me. It is like floating in a subtle ocean and my consciousness, my being, is gently lifted and moved by the waves of this quiet joy.

Example: Next I/we came to a town, high up on the mountain, near the peak. I was very impressed by how interesting, gay, and full of character the town was, quite opposite to the town at the foot of the mountain. I saw the peak of the mountain above the town, and decided to climb on. I went on with my companion and a boy child. It was cloudy at first, and there was no view from such a tremendous height, but the clouds cleared, and wonderful vistas were revealed. I believe I was singing in the dream – singing loud and strong and wonderfully clear and then we reached the top, and stood there together, looking out upon the clouds and the world.

Useful Questions and Hints:

What did I feel on seeing or being on the mountain?

Was I climbing or near the top?

Did I feel fear or joy on the mountain?

See Archetype of the Search for Self – Being the Person or Thing – Enlightenment