In our photo, you can see a large group of Serbian refugees taking advantage of winter rates at Venice’s’ Lido beach, defraying the cost by joining Carl Jung’s experiment, A Search for Archetypes.
The participants were given note cards and asked to look, search, or explore the receding tides for something worthy of a story. They were to observe the ebbing tidal wash, using one of the three verbs as a focal point or ground of being for their story, then return to the lecture hall and write for ten minutes the results of their survey.
When Dr Jung was asked the purpose of this experiment he replied, “The discernment of the human spirit is my goal. What affect does a chosen verb have on the human psyche?”
Dr. Jung intends to publish the research in his latest book, I Came, I Saw, I told a Story, study of the power of a chosen word.
According to Dr. Jung, “All research begins with observation. But observation may be tainted by the effect of the verbiage with which we choose to observe.
“Where I find ‘looking’ to be a neutral objective verb, ‘exploring’ an active, playful verb, ‘seeking’ is often stressed by the need to find something lost.
“Are these ideas archetypes? Are lost keys easier to find if I stop seeking and just look. These subjects are out of their element at Venice’s Lido Beach, being on vacation at a beach in the cold are unusual factors and gives my sampling new, useful data. Having the subjects write their story from a ‘found’, ‘seen’ or ‘explored’ position puts a subtle twist that may show up in a dominant way in the story, giving the writer new insights into their discovery process. It may become a new approach to psychotherapy, detaching the professional, the all-knowing doctor, and enabling the patients to answer their own questions and eliminate further costly and often useless therapy, by changing the verbs of the patients inner dialogue.
“Creating new situations, discerning how a person gathers information, what primary verbs are involved, and the manner in which they are able to change the primary verb, may give patients new behavior, flexibility, and offer more choices to respond to life. It is the seeming lack of choice that paralyzes and condemns us to repeat behavior and form inappropriate and often insane conduct. It is seeing or acting in only one way that traps humanity in endless circles of wars and aggression.”
When asked if any of the stories supported his hypothesis, Dr Jung replied, “Thus far I have noticed that those who ‘looked’ for an object wrote shorter stories, lacked creativity, and were dominated by objects. I found the stories boring.
“Those who ‘searched’ used many more verbs, were involved in working toward an answer. They created a problem they had to solve.
“Some who chose to ‘explore’ claimed to discover magic and beauty. Their stories often contained humor and touched on elements of the unknown. Some ‘explorers’ wanted more time and extra paper.”
The research is in its infancy, but already I can see value to writers in their choice of verbs. A good story depends on the skillful use of verbs. Perhaps a good human being also depends on how they put themselves into action through the use of verbs.