Synopsis: The crew of the Defiant comes across a planet that exists in two universes.
This episode can be seen as an analogy as to what happens in one’s psyche when one becomes too one-sided in favoring the Logos-driven ration conscious ego over the Eros-driven, irrational instincts and urges of the unconscious.
In “Meridian” Commander Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space Nine takes the warship Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant, to continue exploring it. The crew of the Defiant comes across some strange gravimetric readings and when they go to investigate them a planet appears out of nowhere. When they beam down onto it they are told by its leader that the planet intersects our universe and one in another dimension. In the other dimension they exist as pure consciousness, but in our universe they are able to engage in the needs of their bodies. Unfortunately, they are now spending so much time in pure consciousness, that they are unable to reproduce and are dying out.
This mirrors what happens to our psyches when we become too one-sided, too rational, and suppress or repress the needs of the body, or soma. However, our unconscious is not quashed, instead it persists and bits of material from it will break through to our consciousness through what Analytical Psychologist Carl (C. G.) Jung called complexes. And while complexes can be opportunities for learning, too often the rational ego sees the bits of material from the unconscious as undesirable and will further suppress them. This is an ongoing escalation, much like what occurred on the planet Meridian. But instead of suppressing the unconscious, if when confronted by bits of material from it we instead acknowledge it and work to integrate it into our conscious egos, our egos become stronger and our psyches more whole. This is the stated goal of analytical psychology.
mydailysoultrek 