Grounded in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages, alchemy formed a bridge: on the one hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.
Carl JungRead
Shrinking away from death is something unhealthy and abnormal which robs the second half of life of its purpose.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Avoiding the reality of death detracts from living a meaningful life.
Carl Jung suggests that fear of death can prevent individuals from fully engaging in life, thereby undermining its deeper significance. He argues that embracing the inevitability of death allows one to find purpose and meaning in the latter part of their existence, encouraging a more profound appreciation for life itself.
Themes
DeathLifePurposeMeaningEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about embracing life's challenges.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes →The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
Carl JungRead
Complexes are psychic contents which are outside the control of the conscious mind. They have been split off from consciousness and lead a separate existence in the unconscious, being at all times ready to hinder or to reinforce the conscious intentions.
Carl JungRead
We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
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From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any aesthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex.
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I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
Carl JungRead
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The bigger a state becomes the more liberty diminishes.
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Thinking gives off smoke to prove the existence of fire. A mystic sits inside the burning. There are wonderful shapes in rising smoke that imagination loves to watch. But it's a mistake to leave the fire for that filmy sight. Stay here at the flame's core.
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