The Creation of Consciousness: What Old Testament Myths Teach Us About Sexuality and Healing
by Dr. Denise Renye
Last week I attended The Old Testament Creation Myths: A Psychological View with Jon Jackson, PhD, a neuropsychiatrist, poet, and Rilke scholar whose work bridges theology, archeology, and depth psychology. His exploration of the two very different creation stories in the Old Testament was not a theological debate, but rather a profound psychological inquiry into how myths shape consciousness itself.
What struck me most was his framing of these myths as symbolic accounts of the birth of human consciousness. One story emphasizes order, structure, and separation, the creation of distinctions that allow consciousness to perceive, categorize, and orient itself in the world. The other story moves us into intimacy, desire, temptation, and the paradox of knowledge and limitation. Together, they mirror the tensions we live out daily: our need for both boundaries and belonging, clarity and mystery, selfhood and connection.
In my work as a trauma-informed psychologist and sex therapist, these themes feel deeply alive. Creation myths, much like personal histories, are not simply stories of origin, they are living templates that shape how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and our desires. Trauma often disrupts one’s sense of order and coherence, much like the chaos before creation. Healing requires re-engaging in the creative process: making sense of fragmented experiences, re-establishing safe boundaries, and allowing new forms of meaning to emerge.
Sexuality, too, is woven through these myths. The story of Adam and Eve does not simply caution against desire, it points to the inevitability of desire as part of consciousness itself. To know and to long for more is human. In therapy, I often see how individuals wrestle with shame or confusion around their erotic life, as though the impulse itself is forbidden. But when seen symbolically, the act of reaching for what feels beyond us—the fruit, the mystery, the intimate encounter—becomes part of what makes us conscious, alive, and fully human.
Dr. Jackson’s reminder of the Hebrew roots of these stories was particularly moving. In ancient Hebrew, words carry layers of meaning that are often flattened in translation. For example, “to know” is not only intellectual but relational, even erotic. Consciousness is not born solely from thought but through embodied experience, through intimacy, rupture, longing, and repair. This resonates deeply with my belief that healing cannot remain only in the head. It must be lived, felt, embodied.
For me, the gift of this lecture was not just a richer understanding of biblical texts, but a renewed sense of how creation is ongoing. Each of us carries both stories: the impulse toward order and clarity, and the equally vital impulse toward desire and expansion. Therapy becomes the place where these mythic forces are invited into dialogue, where individuals and couples can re-create themselves with greater compassion, honesty, and freedom.
As Jungians have long said, myths are not “out there,” they live in us. And when we work with them psychologically, we discover not only the story of human origins, but the story of our own becoming.
If you are struggling with sexual shame, desire, intimacy, or connection, therapy can help you explore these experiences safely and deeply. Together, we can uncover the ways your inner stories influence your erotic life and relationships and create a path toward greater pleasure, authenticity, and fulfillment. If this resonates, I invite you to reach out and begin the conversation