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
All neurotics seek the religious
Interpretation
What this quote means
People with emotional troubles often turn to spirituality or religion for understanding and solace.
In this quote, Carl Jung suggests that individuals who experience neurosis—often characterized by significant anxiety or emotional instability—are often drawn to religious or spiritual beliefs. This reflects the human instinct to seek meaning and comfort in something greater than oneself, particularly during times of distress or confusion. Jung believed that such pursuits can provide a framework for understanding one's struggles and can be a source of healing and integration.
Themes
NeurosisReligionSpiritualityComfortUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a therapy session discussing coping mechanisms for anxiety, one might quote Jung to emphasize the search for deeper meaning.
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.
Carl JungRead
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.
Carl JungRead
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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Of the liberty of conscience in matters of religious faith, of speech and of the press; of the trial by jury of the vicinage in civil and criminal cases; of the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus; of the right to keep and bear arms.... If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny.
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