Activating the food dream image to feed the subtle body: An archetypal perspective of food imagery and the symbolism as viewed through the cycle of life archetype.

摘要

The cycle of life archetype presents a primary pattern that is true to all organic life forms. Life gives way to death, and death, by means of transformation, regenerates life in a new or renewed form. Death and change are the only facets of life that we can be sure of. Fear of death and resistance to change become obstacles that block the natural flow of the cycle of life archetype.;Misalignment with the cycle of life archetype can result in blockages in either somatic unconscious or psychological unconscious, the two poles comprising the subtle body. As the situation progresses, physical or psychological symptoms, such as food addiction or an eating disorder, may emerge. Providing a container in psychotherapy to heal the subtle body is essential in treating an eating disorder. Food dream images that are activated and embodied provide the coagulating factors or materials that can serve to repair the fabric of the subtle body. This research argues that activating food dream images provides a way to nourish the subtle body. When embodied, these images provide the coagulating factors essential to the healing of the field of the subtle body, personally and transpersonally.;The research is designed as a theoretical study, making use of a hermeneutic method of interpretation on a theme. The hermeneutic theme threading through this work is this: To eat, be eaten, and thus be transformed, is the essence of the cycle of life archetype---life, death, and regeneration. The premise of this work is that the activation of the food dream image nourishes the subtle body, which in turn feeds the personal psyche and soma and the psyche and soma of the world.;The activated food dream image functions as a mediator between the psyche and the soma, strengthening the integrity of the realm of the subtle body through metaphoric consciousness.