Ancient Egypt and Modern Psychotherapy: Sacred Science and the Search for Soul

164 Pages·2017·1.082 MB·English

by  Todd Hayen

ANCIENT EGYPT AND
MODERN PSYCHOTHERAPY

In Ancient Egypt and Modern Psychotherapy, Todd Hayen explores what the spiritual
concepts of the enigmatic ancient Egyptians can teach us about our own modern
psyches and the pursuit of a meaningful life.
Hayen examines the ancient Egyptians’ possession of a concept contemporary
academics have labeled “consciousness of the heart”: an innate knowledge of the
entirety of the universe. While all human beings possess this consciousness of the
heart, our modern culture has largely lost the ability to tap into this inborn knowl-
edge. By examining the material accomplishments of ancient Egypt, and how the
Egyptians’ seemingly deeper awareness of their inner world created a harmonious
outer world, we can begin to understand how modern psychotherapy, through
a Jungian perspective, could be instrumental in achieving a more profound and
meaningful personal experience of life.
Ancient Egypt and Modern Psychotherapy will be insightful reading for analytical
psychologists in practice and in training, Jungian psychotherapists and psychologists,
and academics and students of Jungian and post-Jungian studies and ancient
spirituality.
Todd Hayen is a psychotherapist in private practice in Toronto, Canada. He
received his Ph.D. from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara in depth
psychology with an emphasis on psychotherapy.
“Todd Hayen’s book does what all good, creative scholarship does: it opens our minds to
new ways of seeing something we thought we already knew. But it does more than this: it
shows how we today can benefit from exploring the remarkable ‘sacred science’ of ancient

Egypt. We need not ‘walk like an Egyptian’ to profit from understanding how they did, and
their insights into the much-neglected soul seem to me to present better ways of healing
our own fractured psyche than any amount of modern pharmacology. Hayen does not solve
the ‘mysteries of Egypt;’ he invites us to share with him his evident passion for embracing
them. The first step in any psychotherapy is taking our inner world seriously. The reader of
this book soon sees that Hayen does.”
Gary Lachman, associate professor in Transformative Studies at
the California Institute of Integral Studies, USA and author
of The Secret Teachers of the Western World
“Despite the fact that Todd Hayen draws from a very ancient culture, his views of modern
psychotherapy are fresh and insightful. He confronts us with the shadow of modern society—
materialism and an accompanying empirical science—that robs us of a vital connection to
soul. By pointing out that the locus of intelligence has moved from the heart to the head, he
recalls the sacred science of ancient Egypt where the heart was the threshold to the soul. As a
psychotherapist, Todd knows first-hand the wounds suffered by this dislocation, and presents
us with a new marriage between a sacred sensibility to what really matters in life, and how to
revive the neglected soul in therapy. Anyone interested in this ancient wisdom tradition and
who longs to ‘wake up’ to the splendor that lies hidden amidst the turmoil of modern society
is advised not only to read this book but alchemically bring its words to life!”
Thom F. Cavalli, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Embodying Osiris
and Alchemical Psychology: Old Recipes for Living in a New World
“A major theme of Ancient Egypt and Modern Psychotherapy: Sacred Science and the Search for
Soul is that the psyche of an individual has a direct influence on the material world that
individual inhabits. In this courageous, well documented, and heartfelt book, the talented
composer and depth psychologist Dr. Todd Hayen draws from his personal experiences as
well as his research into the consciousness of ancient Egypt to illustrate his concern with
the lack of soul in our modern materialistic and rationalistic paradigm, a concern that he
places squarely in the depth psychological tradition stemming from C.G. Jung, particularly
Jung’s research into the relationship between psyche and matter. The mysterious archi-
tectural achievements of the ancient Egyptians open the door to a wide-ranging survey of
Hayen’s metaphysical and parapsychological interests, and to a compelling reflection on
what a sacred science might look like today, especially in the context of psychotherapy. At
the core of this book is a meditation on the mystery of the relationship between inner and
outer, psyche and matter, and subjectivity and objectivity that opens the reader’s mind to
new thoughts and intuitions concerning both ancient and contemporary experiences of the
interconnections between the seen and unseen worlds.”
Thomas Elsner, J.D., M.A., Jungian analyst,
Faculty Pacifica Graduate Institute, USA
ANCIENT EGYPT
AND MODERN

PSYCHOTHERAPY
Sacred Science and the Search
for Soul
Todd Hayen
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
 2017 T. Hayen
The right of T. Hayen to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Hayen, Todd, author.
Title: Ancient Egypt and modern psychotherapy : sacred science and
the search for soul / Todd Hayen.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016032187| ISBN 9781138122178
(hbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138122185 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315650593 (ebk.)
Subjects: | MESH: Psychotherapy | Psychoanalytic Theory |
Jungian Theory | Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical |
Psychology, Comparative | History, Ancient | Egypt
Classification: LCC RC480.5 | NLM WM 420 |
DDC 616.89/14—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016032187
ISBN: 978-1-138-12217-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-12218-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-65059-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
For Cindy

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments viii
Introduction 1
1 Why ancient Egypt? 5
2 The miracles of ancient Egypt 18
3 What is sacred science? 38
4 The psyche-to-matter problem 53
5 Modern materialism and the loss of soul 69
6 Contemporary pioneers of the new sacred science 89
7 Jungian psychology and the search for soul 105
8 Personal insights to a modern psychotherapy grounded in
the principles of sacred science 118
9 Conclusions 133
Bibliography 141
Index 150
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I offer thanks to the ancient Egyptians for their unsurpassed soulfulness and the
inspiration they stirred in me during their frequent visits into my imaginal space.
Among the scholars and scientists who furthered my understanding of the mys-
teries of Egypt, appreciation goes to Christopher Dunn for his exacting work in
the deserts of Egypt, to Robert Schoch for his incredible discoveries regarding the
age of the Sphinx, to Gary Lachman for his astonishing scholarship and inquisi-
tive mind, to Stephen Braude for his bravery in stepping out on a limb, and to
R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz for his remarkable insight and ability to see the ancient
Egyptians in a way no one before him could see. Gratitude also goes to Jeremy
Naydler, a consummate scholar and source of inspiration.
I am deeply indebted to Tom Elsner for his belief in my work and in me.
Thanks to Mike Denney and Robin van Löben Sels, who were the first to review
these pages, and to Jan Freya as well for her impeccable work as my editor.
I extend thanks to my family: to my two sisters, Charla and Tara, for their
unending emotional and creative support, and to my stepfather, Harold Herman,
for being a father to me during most of my later childhood years and teaching me
about purpose and value in creative pursuits. Deep gratitude goes to my late wife
Janice, who encouraged me many years ago to embark on this academic and spir-
itual journey and whose love and support nurtured me through the first part of my
life; to my mother, for her soulful creative spark, which lit the way for me as an
artist; and last but not least, to my wife Cindy, whose love, dedication, and belief
in me casts a bright, burning illumination onto many dark and murky shadows.
Material from the film Matter of Heart is included here by kind permission of the
C. G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles.
Desert Dream by Michael Parkes is included here by kind permission of Michael
and Maria Parkes.
INTRODUCTION

Egypt—the name of this enigmatic place can be alluring to those who have even
scant knowledge of its history and cosmology. In ancient times, the word that
was used to describe the name of the land now known as Egypt was Kemi or
Kemit, which meant “black land,” due to the unusual richness of the soil nurtured
by the yearly inundation of the Nile. The familiar modern designation comes to
us through several permutations, beginning with the Greek Aiguptos, which is
believed to be a variant of the Egyptian Hat-kuptah: “Temple of the Ka of Ptah.”
What is it about this place that holds such magic and mystery for so many that have
experienced it either directly, through study and travel, or through a more subjec-
tive route including dreams and literary or imagined fantasy?
Perhaps we are attracted to the thirst-quenching oasis of spiritual enlightenment
and are drawn to the awareness the ancient Egyptians possessed about the true
nature of reality—a wholeness of being, infusing animated life into all things physi-
cal and nonphysical. The ancient Egyptians believed that the material world as well
as the imaginal inner world was infused with spirit and spirits. They believed in a
wholly integrated reality, which included the physical forms of nature as well as the
unseen images, gods, goddesses, powers, symbols, and meanings that go beyond
a rational, intellectual comprehension to present a harmonized inner and outer
perception of reality.
This book utilizes a method of inquiry that keeps soul in mind while interpret-
ing the resources used to investigate the spiritual substance of important concepts
such as the psyche-to-matter problem (discussed in Chapter 4) and the loss of
an awareness of soul in a modern materialist paradigm. This book explores how
ancient Egyptian sacred science relates to the variety of ways in which humankind
has defined soul and spirit and how this ancient Egyptian way of being could
be integrated in modern modalities of science, medicine, and, most significantly,
the practice of psychotherapy. From a conventional perspective, psychotherapy is
2 Introduction
presently considered from a largely materialistic viewpoint, with little or no regard
for the unseen and immeasurable presence of soul. This book examines how the
integration of the principles and practices of Egyptian sacred science would impact
today’s understanding of reality and our own individual management of our lives.
The general consensus among mainstream Egyptologists is that the First Dynastic
Kingdom of ancient Egypt began approximately 5,000 years ago. Alternative his-
torians believe the civilization may be much older than that. The last kingdom
of ancient Egypt ended with the rein of Cleopatra VII and the Ptolemaic–Greek
period in approximately 30 BCE. For the following 1,760 years the great temples
and structures of a 3,000-year-old grand civilization sank slowly into the sands of
Northeastern Africa. Into the underworld Egypt descended, sinking deeper and
deeper, through the Roman conquests and the subsequent Arab invasions and
occupation, all but disappearing as the centuries marched on. The Napoleonic
campaign into Egypt in 1798 can be seen as a symbol of Egypt’s emergence from
the underworld—lifting her once proud and noble presence from the sands of the
desert, signifying the end of this particular cycle in human history. After Napoleon
began to brush the sand away from her treasures and the secrets of the Rosetta
Stone were finally revealed, ancient Egypt began once again to show her brilliance
after her journey through the shadowy underworld of obscurity and faded memory.
She now brings an awareness of her secrets to the modern world and sparks a keen
desire from its current diverse occupants to learn her ancient, mysterious, and
sacred ways.
This book also takes the reader on a journey into the underworld of transforma-
tion, starting with descriptions of the miracles found in ancient Egypt, which could
only have been executed with an understanding unknown to modern sensibilities;
through a brief explanation of possible mechanisms for the implementation of
these wonders; and finally into possible means of integrating into our own modern
psyches the cosmology of the ancient Egyptians. This book is not about histori-
cal Egypt per se—you will not find histories of the Pharaohs, descriptions of the
Egyptian gods, or details of the military campaigns in the ancient Middle East.
You also will not find a concise methodology for integrating an Egyptian way of
being with modern psychotherapy, although suggestions as to how to implement
this special and unique perspective are certainly proposed. It is not necessary for
us to become replicas of the ancient Egyptians in ritual, look, and style, to benefit
from the concepts of their sacred science or to apply an ancient way of relating to
the universe through similar rituals and customs. The Egyptian way can be applied
in our modern culture by our adaptation and immersion in the fundamentals the
ancients expressed in their cosmology.
Mainstream Egyptology is a noble pursuit, like all serious study founded on the
spirit of curiosity and the quest for knowledge. Most Egyptologists are passion-
ate and dedicated scholars, striving to understand an enigmatic people who lived,
worked, and worshipped their gods a very long time ago. They do, however, work
within the confines of a materialist paradigm and cannot, or do not care to, expand
their speculations and conclusions to include more metaphysical and nonmaterial