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‘The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if we know that the thing which truly matters is the infinite can we avoid fixing our interest upon futilities, and upon all kinds of goals which are not of real importance. Thus we demand that the world grant us recognition for qualities which we regard as personal possessions: our talent or our beauty. The more a man lays stress on false possessions, and the less sensitivity he has for what is essential, the less satisfying is his life. He feels limited because he has limited aims, and the result is envy and jealousy. If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change. In the final analysis, we count for something only because of the essential we embody, and if we do not embody that, life is wasted.
In our relationships to other men, too, the crucial question is whether an element of boundlessness is expressed in the relationship. The feeling for the infinite, however, can be attained only if we are bounded to the utmost. The greatest limitation for man is the "self"; it is manifested in the experience: “I am only that!” Only consciousness of our narrow confinement in the self forms the link to the limitlessness of the unconscious. In such awareness we experience ourselves concurrently as limited and eternal, as both the one and the other. In knowing ourselves to be unique in our personal combination – that is, ultimately limited – we possess also the capacity for becoming conscious of the infinite. But only then!’
One of the greatest psychologists in history provides a raw and painfully honest account of his own spiritual and psychological journey.
Universally renowned as one of the greatest psychologists of all time, Carl Gustav Jung is remembered as the creator of analytical psychology, whose ideas continue to inform contemporary life and understanding, including key terms such as shadow, persona, introvert/extravert, psychological complex, anima/animus, individuation, and the collective unconscious. However, Jung is remembered not merely for his contributions to the natural sciences but also for his openness to the paranormal and supernatural – a fact that would generate no shortage of controversy in his life.
Nevertheless, Jung continued to grow in popularity, and today, his impact is just as noticeable inspirituality and theology as it is in psychology. His myriad works remain best-sellers, such as The Red Book, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, and The Undiscovered Self. However, his most famous book was the one he least wanted to write. Only at the insistence of his trusted coworker Aniela Jaffé was he willing to divulge his life story. Thanks to her persistence, the resulting work has become one of the most popular autobiographies of all time. Yet unlike other autobiographies, Jung’s focusses almost entirely on his inner life – his dreams, visions, and thoughts. Of all his many writings, the final product offers the most detailed account of Jung’s spiritual journey and psychological development.
For Jung, life is a process of individuation – a discovery of who one truly is. In the midst of our overly rationalistic culture, we have forgotten the power of story and myth – the language of our unconscious – to communicate meaning and open us up to the truth of who we are. Nevertheless, our unconscious will find a way to manifest, such as in dreams and visions. Thus, Jung found that the best way to discuss his own life’s journey was not a catalogue of external events but rather the journey of his consciousness as it explored this hidden realm of the unconscious through the dreams, visions, and inspirations it stirred along the way.
‘In the end, the only events in my life worth telling are those when the imperishable world irrupted into this transitory one.’
Beginning in childhood, Jung relates a series of dreams and secret experiences that would have a profound impact on his later development, such as a nightmare involving a ‘ritual phallus’ object described as a ‘maneater’. These seemingly nonsensical episodes would be the first hints that life’s deepest and most meaningful revelations were shrouded beneath the veil of myth and dream. Yet as he grew older, he noticed that two different ‘personalities’ developed within him. The first was logical, rigorous, and scientific – yet also depressed, having stripped life of all that is meaningful and good. The second was more irrational, free, and, in his words, ‘pagan’. It was the source of his spiritual experience, which he encountered in all aspects of life. Unlike his father (who served as the village pastor), Jung’s ‘religion’ was not a dry adherence to certain doctrines but a living experience of the divine. Despite its perks, Jung felt compelled to suppress this second personality (a repression he believes to be common in the West) in order to pursue a scientific discipline. However, once he encountered psychology, he found a field that combined both the scientific and the spiritual.
‘The longing for light is the longing for consciousness.’
Jung showed remarkable talents and eventually attracted the attention of Sigmund Freud, who would come to consider him his ‘heir apparent’ in psychoanalysis. However, their differences would in time emerge. Freud was an atheist seeking to establish psychoanalysis as a scientific discipline. Jung came to believe that sexuality had taken the divine’s place in Freud’s worldview. One instance, in particular, epitomised the growing rift between the two. One day in Freud’s office, Jung began adamantly defending the reality of paranormal phenomena. Freud found this suggestion unscientific nonsense. To prove his point, Jung stated that the nearby bookcase would produce a banging noise on its own, which it promptly obliged. The episode shattered Freud’s scepticism, though a later letter (preserved in the book’s appendix) shows how Freud ultimately rationalised the encounter.
As Freud and Jung grew apart, Jung was able to explore novel directions in psychology. Through dreams, he began to surmise the existence of a collective unconscious and the role of psychological archetypes. In his explorations of Gnostic and alchemical texts, he also realised the remarkable correspondence between his own work and their thought. By delving into his own psyche, Jung noticed how these archetypes manifested to him as recurring characters, such as in the figure of a spiritual ‘guru’ named Philemon. The discovery of certain Eastern texts, such as the I Ching and The Secret of the Golden Flower, further helped him develop the concept of synchronicities (i.e., two or more events that coincide to produce a meaningful result).
The latter sections of the book contain reflections on various other aspects of Jung’s life, such as his numerous travels, the construction of his Bollingen Tower, his musings on religion and the nature of life after death, and even a catalogue of prescient visions he had at various points in his life. The work ends with a retrospective on his whole life and how it seems to have been a testimony of humanity’s need for mystery. As long as there is mystery – something new to discover and explore – there is a purpose to life. Sometimes, he muses, others will scoff at those who attempt to probe these mysteries, but it is far greater to obey that inner calling to explore and discover than it is to appease those around us, for only the adventurous are remembered as heroes.
‘The world into which we are born is brutal and cruel, and at the same time of divine beauty. Which element we think outweighs the other, whether meaninglessness or meaning, is a matter of temperament.’
Jungian thought has inspired countless works that bridge the divide between science and spirituality, and thousands attest to its efficacy. It was foundational for Alcoholics Anonymous; and likewise stirred renewed interest in esotericism and hermetic alchemy. By taking paranormal claims seriously (and even offering possible explanations of them), Jung brought much needed credibility to the scientific study of the spiritual. However, perhaps the most powerful aspect of this work (and why it remains his best known) is the visceral openness Jung displays of his own struggles and inner turmoil. While it is easy to celebrate his accomplishments, one can easily overlook the spiritual journey required for him to uncover the depths of his own unconscious. Yet this is the journey he suggests we all must take. To the degree that his story becomes our own, Memories, Dreams, and Reflections is more than just an autobiography; it is a call to follow the same inner voice that summoned Jung to discover for oneself the true source of who we are.
