I am an artist, teacher, and lifelong psychology student.  I believe in our inherent potential for growth, self-actualization, and healing. Connect with the community on social media platforms, subscribe to keep up with this growing community, and to participate in upcoming group art sessions. We focus on the whole person, in a safe, empathetic, and non-judgmental space to explore our authentic selves, fostering personal meaning and emotional well-being through genuine connection. ~Doria R. G. 

“When people see truth visualized, it bypasses the carnal noise of mental chatter and speaks directly to the nervous system. The image becomes a mirror for the psyche — helping people feel what the intellect alone could never quite articulate.”
~Cup of Peace

Symbolic Intelligence in a Conscious World

The river of realization moves inward, awakening awareness to the living patterns that structure being. The loop of participation flows outward, carrying that awareness back into daily life through symbolic interaction. Together, they complete the circle of consciousness—the movement from knowing → meaning → participation → renewal.

Some philosophers and mystics have suggested that this river is the expression of a cosmic mind—a universal consciousness in which all forms arise and dissolve. In this view, our individual awareness is not isolated but reflective, like a single wave aware of the ocean that gives it motion. The universe, seen symbolically, is not a mechanism but a living mind communicating through pattern and meaning.

Awakening to the Symbolic World

Realizing the profound nature of our symbolic world can mark a decisive turning point in consciousness. It reveals that our experience is not merely a random collection of facts or sensations, but a living structure shaped by deep patterns of meaning. These patterns form the connective tissue between the personal and the universal, suggesting that life is not simply happening to us, but speaking to us through symbols. This awakening—what Carl Jung might have called the realization of the “psyche’s objective reality”—invites us to see the world not only as material, but as meaningful.

Jung’s insight was that symbols emerge from the unconscious as expressions of forces language alone cannot describe. Dreams, myths, and archetypes serve as channels for communication between conscious awareness and the unseen depth of the psyche. In this way, symbols are not random creations but living bridges connecting the inner and outer worlds. When we learn to work with them, we engage in a dialogue with the deeper intelligence within us. What we call “coincidence” or “synchronicity,” for example, might reflect this mysterious link between the psychic and the physical, the subjective and the objective.

This symbolic mode of consciousness sharply contrasts with the modern tendency to reduce experience to data and measurable phenomena. Rational analysis, though invaluable, can only take us so far—it dissects, categorizes, and predicts, but it often removes mystery and meaning. Symbolic awareness brings back that missing dimension. It teaches us that meaning isn’t just in facts but in relationships, resonances, and metaphors that point beyond themselves. A tree, for example, can be a biological organism, but it can also symbolize growth, rootedness, or the connection between heaven and earth. To perceive symbolically is to look beyond the literal surface of things into their deeper significance.

“It is the language of God! One day, the eloquence of this silent art will be appreciated. I have lavished all my care and endeavour on this eloquence, whose character, nature, and spiritual power have never been satisfactorily defined. The evocation of thought through line, arabesque, and technique: this is my aim.”

Gustave Mureau

The Symbolist literary and artistic movement, originating in late 19th-century France, emphasized dreams, imagination, and subjective experiences over realistic representation. It spread to painting and theatre, featuring themes like mythology, spirituality, and irrational concepts, and served as a precursor to movements like Surrealism. Key figures include French poets like Charles Baudelaire and painters like Gustave Moreau, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, and Odilon Redon. Symbolic art uses objects, colors, and gestures to represent abstract ideas, emotions, or concepts beyond their literal meaning. It conveys deeper, often hidden, messages and can be inspired by mythology, dreams, or spirituality. The meaning of a symbol can be universal, cultural, or specific to the artist and is often subjective, relying on the viewer to interpret its layered meanings. 

Symbolically engaging with the world also encourages psychological integration. It allows opposites within us—reason and emotion, ego and soul, will and surrender—to coexist within a larger framework of meaning. By working with our dreams, reflecting on recurring motifs, or exploring art and myth, we connect with aspects of ourselves that seek expression. Jung called this process individuation: the unfolding of the whole self through the reconciliation of its inner divisions. In this way, symbols do not merely decorate experience; they transform it, guiding consciousness toward wholeness.

In our era of information overload and spiritual fragmentation, recovering symbolic consciousness may be one of humanity’s most pressing tasks. It invites us to re-enchant the world, to feel once more that life speaks in patterns that connect us and the cosmos itself. Through symbols, we rediscover a world that is not just observed but participated in—a world alive with meaning, waiting for our awareness to complete the circle between inner intention and outer expression.

Part I: The Symbolic World as a Turning Point

Recognizing the symbolic nature of the world can be a significant turning point in human consciousness. It opens a new perspective—a way of seeing where reality is not just a physical collection of objects but a symbolic and participatory field. Every pattern we observe, from city designs to the rhythm of our lives, reflects deeper archetypal structures that provide coherence and meaning to existence. These patterns remind us that reality is not static or random but relational, dynamic, and full of significance waiting to be discovered.

Symbols serve as a bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind. They give form to what lies beyond rational understanding and create a language through which the depths of the psyche can communicate with our waking awareness. Engaging with symbols—whether through dreams, art, myth, or reflection—can bring healing and coherence to the inner world. They reveal hidden emotions and unresolved conflicts, helping us navigate inner turmoil by reconnecting us with a larger story of wholeness. Through this bridge, the unconscious ceases to be a dark, chaotic realm; it becomes a source of wisdom and renewal. These messages do not instruct so much as invite: they call us toward wholeness, helping us integrate what has been divided within us. In this way, symbols are both mirrors and pathways, reflecting our condition while guiding us toward transformation.

Recognizing the symbolic dimension of existence also reconnects us with patterns of participation that modern life has largely forgotten. Ancient societies understood that rituals, myths, and sacred stories were not mere fictions but symbolic maps that aligned human life with cosmic order. When we re-engage these symbolic forms, we rediscover the sense of belonging to something greater than the isolated self. This awareness can dissolve the fragmentation of modern individualism, replacing it with a living sense of unity—what traditional cultures might have called harmony with the cosmos.

Evelyn Pickering De Morgan, who lived between 1855 and 1919, can be described as either a late Pre-Raphaelite or an English Symbolist. What stands out in her works and makes them exceptional is their spiritual and idealistic subject matter. She painted in a technically perfect, rather academic style, which grew softer and more luminous in her later years. Her most mystical paintings were executed during the last fifteen years of her life, and were therefore painted in the twentieth rather than the nineteenth century. They were continuations of an evolution begun earlier and remained in the spirit of the last decades of the nineteenth century. 

The power of symbols lies not only in their meaning but also in their ability to transform. As contemporary thinker Jonathan Pageau notes, a symbol can “powerfully transform me… [by] reactivating, reconfiguring my machinery so that I become capable of interacting with the world.” Through symbolic engagement, the self is reshaped from a fixed, separate entity into a fluid and responsive participant in the web of reality. To work with symbols, then, is to engage in a living dialogue that changes both the perceiver and the perceived.

Many philosophers and scientists exploring the symbolic dimension have proposed that this transformation points toward an even more profound truth—that the universe itself is a form of cosmic mind. In this perspective, consciousness is not a late byproduct of matter but the organizing principle from which meaning, form, and experience arise. Our individual consciousness becomes a focal point within this vast, universal intelligence, perceiving and expressing its order through the language of symbols. When we realize this, we understand that living symbolically means living consciously within the cosmic pattern—perceiving meaning woven into every moment and, in our own small way, participating in the unfolding intelligence of the universe itself.

Ma’at is the ancient Egyptian concept and goddess of cosmic order, truth, and justice, which was central to both their worldview and daily life. Her importance is evident in her role in the afterlife judgment, where a person’s heart was weighed against her feather to determine their fate. Ma’at also served as a guideline for rulers and individuals to live a balanced and harmonious life, with the principles of Ma’at reflected in laws and personal conduct. Egyptian symbolism was important for conveying religious beliefs, royal power, and cultural values in a largely illiterate society through art, architecture, and amulets. It provided a framework for understanding the world, with symbols representing concepts like life (Ankh), stability (Djed), and power (Was scepter), and served to protect individuals in both life and the afterlife. This rich symbolic language helped pass down culture and myths across generations and was essential for the functioning of religious and political life.

Part II: Practicing Symbolic Awareness in Daily Life

To live symbolically is to move through the world as if every moment were a conversation. It begins with a quiet shift in perception—a willingness to see meaning where once we saw only randomness. In daily life, this means pausing long enough to notice patterns: recurring numbers, shapes, encounters, emotions, or dreams. Rather than dismissing them as a coincidence, we can ask, What might this be showing me about my inner state or my relationship to life’s flow?

This practice is not about superstition or decoding secret messages. It is about participation—feeling that the outer and inner worlds reflect each other in a continuous exchange. A broken object might mirror a part of us that feels fractured. A spontaneous act of kindness may symbolize the restoration of trust. The outer event and inner awareness converge at a single point of meaning, forming a loop between self and world.

In the realm of surrealist art, Remedios Varo stands as a luminary, crafting enigmatic, mesmerizing worlds in her paintings. Born in Spain in 1908 and later finding her artistic voice in Mexico, Varo’s works possess an otherworldly quality, blending mysticism, science, and the subconscious into intricate masterpieces. Her paintings were rich in symbolism, weaving intricate narratives that invited viewers to delve into the depths of their own imagination. “Exploring the Labyrinth” is a testament to her affinity for intricate details and hidden meanings. The painting features a complex maze inhabited by peculiar beings engaged in various activities, inviting observers to decipher the symbolism embedded in every corner.

Symbolic awareness also changes how we handle challenges. Instead of fighting discomfort or confusion, we can see them as symbolic teachers. For example, the emotion of fear might represent a boundary; grief could signify preparing the ground for new growth. When we learn to listen symbolically, we realize that every experience offers both a message and a transforming energy. Small rituals can help anchor this awareness—lighting a candle when starting something new, walking mindfully to reconnect with the body’s rhythm, or journaling dreams and symbols as a dialogue with the unconscious. These simple acts remind us that meaning is not separate from the everyday, but woven into it.
Practicing symbolic awareness transforms life into a living text—one written by a greater intelligence’s hand, yet interpreted through our own heart and growth. When we live this way, the world no longer feels distant or abstract; it becomes intimate, responsive, and filled with silent dialogue between what is seen and unseen.