ABSTRACT
Humanity redeemed! The myth of redemption is so pervasive that it permeates global politics, education, ecology, feminism. Depth psychology is not exempt. Ostensibly the analysand starts an analysis in pursuit of consciousness, but covertly the process can conceal a quest for redemption, masquerading as individuation, actualization, psychological health, wholeness, centeredness, mindfulness, or whatever new jargon accommodates the old myth. The smell of redemption is easily recognizable. It is the belief that analyzing the unconscious will lead to a clean, pure, healthy psyche and that one will evolve into a luminous, loving, digni®ed, paci®ed soul. Having attained this level of enlightenment, this cleansed soul wraps itself in a (metaphorical) white robe and awaits initiation into the world of the resuscitated, the individuated, the Elysian ®elds of psychological saints. Such a utopian dream would be nice were it not for the fact that it produces an odious, sanctimonious persona. To break the trance, one needs to differentiate redemption from individuation, salvation from wisdom. The following letter from a friend, a former colleague, shows somebody who suddenly understood that the time allotted for our life is ®nite, but the quest for perfection is not. His ego-driven pursuit of perfection was causing exhaustion. With his permission, I reproduce his letter.
