(This blog was originally posted on January
19, 2016)
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| Photo by Sara Fogan |
It is human nature to draw comparisons between things (and even people)
we see in the world around us. How many times have you looked at someone and
said, “He reminds me of so-and-so”? Have you ever mistaken a large tree stump
or branch as an animal or even a prowler lurking near your house before
realizing what the object actually was?
Sometimes I wonder why these inanimate objects take on shapes or images
that are so familiar to so many people. Psychologist Carl Jung wrote about collective metaphors and believed that humans all over the
world shared images and meanings regardless of their background or geographic
location. Hypnotherapist and Hypnosis
Motivation Institute founder John
Kappas, Ph.D., might consider these images subconscious knowns, created by
information that is shared from one generation to the next to help make sense
of the world. Our suggestibility—how we learn—facilitates this process.
For example, this Good
Morning America segment featured a special-interest report about a rescue
cat named Kory, whose physical features seem to eerily resemble those of Adam Driver. For those who don’t
know or recognize the name, he is the actor who portrays Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Apparently
an animal shelter originally posted the kitty’s photograph on-line just to
attract potential adopters for the stray. Their strategy worked, big time.
Internet browsers quickly noticed and commented about the physical similarities
between Kory the cat and the Star Wars bad guy. Now Kory the Cat’s new Forever
Family know him by his new moniker: Kylo
Ren. I wonder if the cat would have received so much love and attention quite
so quickly if someone had not pointed out this resemblance to other Star Wars
fans out there. How much of their interest was in adopting an adorable adult
cat versus the idea/fantasy of having a cuddly, real-life, feline representation
of the blockbuster film living in their home?
Last week, someone posted a photograph on Facebook of an image she had seen while
taking pictures of the Aurora
Borealis (Northern Lights). The picture featured an image of a running
wolf. The woman didn’t even need to include text with her post to explain the
shape she had seen. Since it was shared on a Facebook page that is dedicated to
wolves and wolf conservation, no explanation was needed, anyway. We all knew
what the shape represented, and many people commented that they had
seen/recognized the wolf right away. I certainly had. Again, though, I had to
wonder: was the shape a Jungian icon that our collective subconscious minds
immediately recognized? Or, did we recognize the wolf image because we saw it
on a specific forum that is dedicated to honoring wolves?
On other occasions, people have shared pictures of clouds that took on
the shape of a dolphin or orca (killer whale). Just a couple of days ago,
someone posted a picture of a sunrise where rays of the sun perfectly
intersected at right angles, just like a cross.
While I have never yet seen anything so impressive in a cloud formation
or sunrise or sunset, I have noticed a lot of repetition in the shapes and
forms of various objects that seem to occur naturally in the environment. Case
in point: A couple of years ago, the chocolate-chip cookie dough formed the
shape of a heart while it baked in the oven. Or, so it seemed to me. This shape
probably came about because I inadvertently cut the cookie when I slid it off
of the tray. I was so impressed by this image that I took a picture of it (and
the symbolism of its shape) to keep for posterity. When I bake, I like to think
and tell people who enjoy my treats that the secret ingredient that makes them
so yummy is that I bake them with love. In this case, my secret ingredient took
on a literal form.
© 2017
