Chapter 97 listen to inner conflict

HermanJesse and Rilke are both listening to their inner conflicts, but in different ways. Nobel Prize winner Herman.Jesse, had received sixty sessions of psychotherapy.He said his psychotherapy had taught him not to suppress or give in to the subconscious's scrambles and uncontrollable thoughts.His popular novel "Wandering Youth" is a self-analysis work done after receiving psychotherapy. Playwright William.Inge, on the other hand, believed that psychotherapy gave him a more fundamental understanding of human life and Western civilization as a whole. This type of artist believes that psychotherapy can help them grasp the spontaneous and elusive inner conflicts, gain insight into their essence, and trace their deeper roots, which will help their creative activities.

But another class of artists, such as the poet Rilke and the novelists Kafka and Joyce, avoided psychotherapy for fear that it would damage their creativity.After receiving psychotherapy, Rilke said in a letter to his friends: If the devil in my heart leaves me, I am afraid that the angel in my heart will also take flight.These artists feared that psychotherapy would dissolve their subconscious conflicts that were the source of their creativity.Therefore, when therapy tries to take them away from their inner conflict, they instead rise up to defend it and interrupt therapy. In fact, both types of artists are listening to their inner conflicts, but in different ways.With the help of a psychotherapist, Hesse may have a new understanding of his own problems, but Rilke prefers to explore and explore by himself.

Psychoanalysts believe that creative activities are self-psychotherapy for artists. They are particularly sensitive to their inner conflicts, and they can face up to and listen to these conflicts. This is probably the attitude we should have when facing various conflicts in life!