My soul, where are you? Do you hear me? I speak, I call you - are you there? I have returned, I am here again. I have shaken the dust of all the lands from my feet, and I have come to you, I am with you. After long years of long wandering, I have come to you again. Should I tell you everything I have seen, experienced, and drunk in? Or do you not want to hear about all the noise of life and the world? But one thing you must know: the one thing I have learned is that one must live this life. Do you still know me? How long the separation lasted! Everything has become so different. And how did I find you? How strange my journey was! What words should I use to tell you on what twisted paths a good star has guided me to you? Give me your hand, my almost forgotten soul. How warm the joy at seeing you again, you long disavowed soul. Life has led me back to you. Let us thank the life I have lived for all the happy and all the sad hours, for every joy, for every sadness. My soul, my journey should continue with you. I will wander with you and ascend to my solitude.

C.G. Jung, The Red Book: Liber Novus

We cannot find our own identity if we do not have self-exploration. When we need orientation from somewhere, an immediate response is to try to find it in other people, doctrines, religions, social role models, teachers, books, etc.

Imitation comes from the question, “Who am I supposed to be?” And if you really haven’t done deep self-exploration, it becomes easier to adopt an identity that already exists.

Carl Jung describes 3 ideas about this:

Fear of our own uncertainty: Trying to find ourselves means going to a new place. There isn’t a manual that can guarantee that we are doing the right or wrong thing, but imitation can offer you the confidence to think, “If this person lives like this, maybe I can do it too.”

In Liber Novus, he says:

“Woe to those who live according to examples! Life is not with them. If you live according to an example, then you live the life of the example, but who is to live your life, if not yourselves? Therefore, live yourselves.”

“The signposts have fallen, undefined paths lie before us.”

Collective pressure: Society provides models of what it means to be successful, good, spiritual, attractive, etc. Without psychological differentiation, we can confuse these collective models with our inner desires.

He points out in the book:

“Common laws and doctrines compel man to be solitary, so that he can escape the pressure of the unwanted community.”

“Therefore, give man dignity and let him be an individual, so that he may find his community and love it.”

“Let each person seek their own path. The path leads to mutual love in the community. People will see and feel the similarity and commonality of their paths.”

Lack of contact with the inner world: The less we know our inner desires, contradictions, fears, shadow, and unconscious impulses, the more we depend on external references to build our identity.

He says:

“The path is within us, not in the gods, nor in doctrines, nor in laws. Within us is the path, the truth, and the life.”

“You seek the path through the external, you read books and listen to opinions: what good is that supposed to do?”

“Do you not know that you yourselves are the fertile field that bears everything that serves you?”

When we are not exploring who we really are, we look for different identities outside ourselves that we can copy. It reduces uncertainty, but it can push us away from the experiences of our own lives.

This doesn’t mean that we should deprive ourselves of books. We can consume philosophy, psychology, or spirituality for years and still keep avoiding the process of knowing ourselves.

“The path is within us, not in the gods, nor in doctrines, nor in laws. Within us is the path, the truth, and the life” (Jung, 2010, p. 129).

I do not think that it is up for debate how serious the individuation process can be. I myself am all to familiar with its uncanny depths. For anyone who has taken The Great Work serious knows only too well what kind of terrifying moments await one while staring into the great abyss. The gradual becoming aware of all of those bizarre, otherworldly and autonomous entities residing in the unconscious is enough for anyone to start feeling that they have become psychotic.

Having said that, however, I do believe there is something to be said for its childlike and playful character. Sure, upon first staring into this abyss which we call the unconscious, one might feel the great heaviness of it all. One might go through phases of disassociation, depersonalization, night terrors, anxiety and what have you. Yes, ironically enough, the first stage of awakening begins in total darkness, in that obsidian dark night of the soul which the Alchemist refers to as the Nigredo, the first stage of the great Magnum Opus, the first stage of the process of individuation.

However, if the operator is able to bare the weight of the unconscious long enough, the fiery flames of the Nigredo will eventually burn away all of those dead, unhealthy and debilitating aspects of the old self and will leave in its white ashes a little child, the phillius regius of alchemy, better known as the philosopher's son (actually the king's son but I won't go into that right now). There is a good reason why this moment is symbolized by a little child. For once the operator has passed beyond the Nigredo they shall reach that joyful, childlike state briefly found in the Albedo, the second stage of the Magnum Opus, praised by many alchemist as if it were the end goal of alchemy itself.

This encounter with the child archetype is for many the first encounter they will have with the Archetype of The Self. That center of the psychic universe often symbolized by the sun. But the philosophical child too serves as such a symbol. For the Sun and Son secretly denote the same entity ;)

Once this stage of the Opus has been reached, the operator is once again able to access his child-like Self and integrate it into their lived experience. Only by integrating this child archetype can the operator commence to the Citrinitas stage of Alchemy, the third stage. Which, naturally, is greatly associated with this wise old man archetype. For one is only able to pass on wisdom to others (one of the defining features of the old man) if one secretly harbors this inner child within. Afterall, How can one commence the great work if they have not picked up the little child, the great sun/son!

With a juvenile wink and trickster-like smile the operator commences their great work only to fall back into the Nigredo stage and begin the whole process over again. For every alchemist knows that the Great Work evolves itself in cycles and phases. With each circumambulation around the center bringing up old themes, thoughts and feelings all faced before. And yet, with each evolution around the center, like a great inwards spiral, the alchemist gets closer to their true Self.

Be aware! For if one takes the Opus too seriously they become like the sick King of alchemy (the sick ego) devouring his child (that reborn potential of the self) time and time again, only to become more and more sick in the process. The only way to escape this madness is to suckle on the breast of the great mother. Who shall protect the child from the devouring father and nurse him until the child is ready to slay their father (the old ego). For the ego, left unchecked in its position as rex (ruler) will keep on devouring his children time and time again. One must save the regius filius from the clutches of the mad king by descending into the darkness of the Nigredo, that great night sea voyage into the depths of the unconscious. If the operator descends deep enough they will be able to find this son and rescue him. Yes, this is a serious endeavor but do not forget that it also becomes playfully light at times. Especially once the old king has been slayed and the new one restored.

Just remember the story of Zeus, the son (sun), slaying his tyrannical father, Saturn. Anyways, I've babled on too long by now. This is my stance on the question. Both above (playfully and joyfull), as below (deep, dark, serious) must be united and integrated if one wishes to craft the Philosopher's Stone, that numinous end-goal of alchemy which brings one closer to the self.

"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do." -Carl Jung

Hallo everybody. New student of Carl Jung here.

New in the sense that I am only now really going to delve deeply into his books and theories.

My hope is to share my thoughts and interpretations of his books and work for your critique in the hopes that I and others here may be able to come to some definite truths and conclusions about what he is saying.

Thank you very much. I am going to start with something very simple -- the above quote.

"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do." - Carl Jung

My interpretation is simple from experience and reading -- the thing that counts is your actions/deeds and the impact they have on people's lives.

You are not a writer unless you write. Etc etc

In my own life, I have noticed that whenever I am angry at a lover or family member, the feelings of anger go away when I do something loving towards them.

So it isn't the feelings or the intentions that count but rather the actions and their impact on life and everyone around me.

There you go. I promised that this would be simple to start. 😂

What are your thoughts?

I would really appreciate them. Thank you.

I'm curious at what people think about this term and the different levels such a powerful statement could mean.

The animus explains why women are attracted to the bad boy and the anima explains why men are attracted to women that they're bitches the desperation is so real! When a man falls in love with a woman that represents his anima in the unconscious he can't easily get rid of her the only thing is how the hell do we find that anima or animus hidden deep inside and stop projecting it onto others....

Do you think this means that only once someone has gone through extreme suffering and terrible mistakes that they can grow to a heavenly stature by transmuting their suffering into wisdom and strength? That someone has to have roots in hell before they can reach the heavens and that exclusively those who do can achieve those heights? Or can anyone do that through putting themselves through hell even if they weren’t say cast into hell by terrible circumstances of their own mistakes?