How deep is my issue? The iceberg metaphor

Depth of Issue ~ article 4 of 5

How deep is my issue? The iceberg metaphor

If you ask, “How deep is my issue?” then Sigmund Freud's iceberg metaphor of the psyche illustrates "depth of issue" clearly

Above the water line ~ The part we see above water, represents expressions, creativity, habits and behaviors we consciously choose and know.

Everyone has at least two more levels of expressions:

Just below the water line ~ Look over the edge of your boat, down into the water the iceberg floats in and you can see ice below the surface. You can see some ice there yet you see it only dimly; you see something--but unclearly. This represents our subconscious.

In three selves terms, this is the basic self or inner child. Our sub-conscious attitudes towards life are held in our inner child. The waking self experiences these mainly as vague feelings of comfort or discomfort. Forgotten childhood memories from this lifetime are also here.

You have at least one more deeper level of expression.

Far below the water line, underneath the floating iceberg is ice and ice shapes you cannot see at all from the surface. For example you cannot see the bottom of an iceberg from a boat on the surface. On a large iceberg, parts of your iceberg are so far underwater, light does not reach them; light from the surface is blocked by the iceberg itself. It’s dark far under the iceberg.

Here we have memories, attitudes and mores invisible to the waking self. They include repressed childhood memories and orientations towards things acquired in prior existences.

Peel the artichoke

The process of clearing our issues is analogous to peeling a cooked artichoke. Keep peeling; leaf by leaf, work your way towards the heart of he matter.

3) Top leaves ~ conscious issues, you know what needs to change here or any friend can tell you.

2) Middle leaves (subconscious issues) ~ you get to these thru communicating with the inner child. Anyone who can talk with your inner child can assist you to explore and redirect habits here.

1) Inner leaves ~ Core issues, unconscious. We are each blind and deaf tour own issues here. Sometimes we can still feel them. You have to ask for assistance to reach these. This is why we need each other to heal, a theme take further in Self-Healing 101! Awakening the Inner Healer.

Also, you can guess, can take a shot in the dark, and see if you can locate your target by luck or dead reckoning.

Language is leverage

Our unconscious memories, habits and behaviors are NOT hard-wired. However because factory-style K-12 educational systems except Waldorf ignore this dimension of the human being, few of us have much language for this material—and language is leverage.

It’s dark down there! Issues can be hidden, cloaked and disguised here. You have to be an explorer or work with an explorer who’s been there before to navigate in the unconscious.

Next: We have responsibility on three frequency levels