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everything but scientific proof of unconscious concepts is hard to come
by. Of course, explanations can be helpful without being true.
Many TA-psychoanalytic "explanations" are hard on parents,
blaming them for "witch messages" that mess up the child. We have to
remember that parents had parents and a childhood too. And,
remember: everything is lawful. Perhaps feeling responsible for
ourselves and less of a slave to the past would lead to more self-
growth.
Insight therapies are about as effective overall as learning-
behavioral-cognitive based therapies. Unfortunately, there have been
no evaluations of the impact of the best-selling books by Berne,
Missildine, Harris & Harris, James & Jongeward, etc. Yet, there have
been many thousands of faithful believers.
A major advantage of these methods for dealing with the
unconscious is that they attempt to deal with the complexity of human
feelings and interaction. If human behavior were simple, it would be
clear exactly why everyone does everything. The concept of
unconscious motives at least encourages us to explore for many voices
and conflicting urges inside. Yet, even unconscious concepts may be
far too over-simplified. Examples: having a global judgment of "I'm
not OK," being fixated at the anal level, having an "I'm a weak, sickly,
dependent child" life script, believing sexual urges account for most of
our interactions, believing that feeling OK or not OK account for most
of our interactions, etc. Not likely!
It has to be assumed that there are certain dangers inherent in
attempting to uncover the unconscious, perhaps stress, lowered self-
esteem, increased self-deception, etc. Yet, surely refusing to peak at
one's own unconscious invites even more problems. One should realize
that some people become overly absorbed with their unconscious
motives and thoughts. Deep "understanding," approaching obsessive
mental voyeurism, can, in some people, replace changing bad habits,
modifying emotions, and improving relationships. Other "insight
freaks" become obnoxiously insistent on "analyzing others," explaining
the games you are playing, telling you their sordid past is probably
true of you too, etc.
Lastly, especially for people who are earnest about exploring
myths, it seems quite possible that a careful study of myths around
the world, many of which in ancient and primitive cultures closely
resemble our own modern religions, will raise some doubt about our
own personal God being the only true and omnipotent God. Humans
everywhere have invented thousands of Gods and mystical forces or
powers to explain the unknown, just as each of us has adopted and
adapted beliefs we have heard to make up our own "inner stories" or
explanatory myths. Of course, the "danger" of questioning our own
God is real, although most agnostics have found that the idea of a God
fades very slowly, often taking years. God isn't destroyed by raising a
few doubts one evening. On the other hand, questioning some of our
