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.
Learn your techniques well and be prepared to let them go when you touch the human soul.
Interpretation
What this quote means
One should master techniques but be willing to transcend them when engaging with deeper human experiences.
This quote by Carl Jung emphasizes the importance of mastering one's skills and techniques while also recognizing that true connection with others often requires going beyond those techniques. It speaks to the balance between knowledge and empathy, reminding us that when we engage with the complexities of human emotion and experience, rigid adherence to learned methods may hinder genuine interaction and understanding.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of human connection, this quote could emphasize the need for emotional intelligence in leadership.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes βThe majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Similar quotes
He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder.
In vain I have looked for a single man capable of seeing his own faults and bringing the charge home against himself.
Find out who you are and be that person. That's what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.
I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.
Life without knowledge is death in disguise.
If we shall take the good we find, asking no questions, we shall have heaping measures.