The old man continues to amaze
Published in ILLUMINATION
Oct 18, 2023 (Medium.com)
Why do so many people — including my good self — still bang on about someone who has been dead for 70 years?
Surely there’s someone (or something) more relevant by now?
If I’m honest, I don’t have a clear answer. All I know is that some advice is timeless and Carl Jung dished out his fair share. Like this little gem:
“The privilege of a lifetime is to be who you truly are.”
And this:
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
And this:
“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”
Need I say more?
Not really but I will, not for my own benefit but because I would be doing Carl Jung an injustice.
So, here goes. Here’s the best of Carl Jung — condensed into tiny sentences.
“The world will ask who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you”
There are many groups of people who love to dish out name tags, job titles, and labels. But it takes a brave soul to look within, ask questions, listen to their intuition, and seek refuge in their own heart.
It takes a brave soul but the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases”
To carry on this metaphor, all of the feet in the world and all of the shoes make life beautiful. So, celebrate your uniqueness, encourage others to do the same, and enjoy the unfolding dance.
“Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life”
That’s why he also said:
“I must also have a dark side if I am to be whole”
“The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it”
Mark Twain put it another way:
“The first half of my life I went to school, the second half of my life I got an education.”
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves”
That’s why he said, “We meet ourselves time and again in a thousand disguises on the path of life.”
Until we have liberated these parts of self we can never be free. That’s why these irritating people are important, however frustrating they feel in the moment.
Quite simply, they reveal parts of ourselves that would otherwise go unknown. So, thank them because they’re inadvertently doing us a favour.
“Every problem is a gift — without problems, we would not grow.” — Tony Robbins
“Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you.”
I’ve added this one here because it shows a side of Carl Jung that rarely gets recognised — his dry sense of humour and sarcastic tone.
Here’s another one to prove it:
“Thinking is difficult, that’s why most people judge”
“A man who has not passed through the inferno of his passions has never overcome them.”
Mooji put it another way:
“When you can bear your own silence, you are free”
“The most intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security and calm that is not easily disturbed.”
“It is just these intense conflicts and their conflagration which are needed to produce valuable and lasting results.” — Carl Jung
I know this from my own confrontations with my Dad.
Although in many ways he’s been one of the worst role models in my life, exactly because of that he’s been one of the best.
Once I had healed my childhood trauma and saw the gifts it brought, I came to love him because of it.
This has created a sense of calmness in me where there was once only turmoil.
“Whatever is rejected from the self, appears in the world as an event”
When I first heard this quote it made sense and I could see how it was playing out in my life.
When I felt anxious, inadequate, or small, for example, or if I feared being judged by others, people would show up and play out that role in order for me to experience it. When I compassionately accepted myself, on the other hand, no one was needed to validate my self-worth because there was no hole to fill.
“What you resist, persists” — Carl Jung
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart“
Greg Evans put it like this:
“Love is not what the mind thinks. Love is what the heart feels”
So, choose love. It’s more fun.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate”
James Clear put it another way:
“You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it”
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people”
There aren’t many relationships that can’t be healed with compassion, humility, acceptance, and love. But that first starts at home.
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”
The good news is that there are only ever two choices: To be who we are or not to be.
Ultimately, which one we choose ultimately determines our entire reality. So, “My friends, it is wise to nourish the soul, otherwise you will breed dragons and devils in your heart.” (Carl Jung)
How do you nourish the soul?
What are some of the things that are holding you back?
·Writer for ILLUMINATION
Spreading joy through writing and breathwork https://www.somabreath.com/#a_aid=AndyMurphy