Man and His Symbols - A look at Preconceived Notions

Hey Steemians,

I am currently reading Jung, and I came accross this interesting excerpt-

"The more that consciousness is influenced by prejudices, errors, fantasies, and infantile wishes, the more the already existing gap will widen into a neurotic dissociation and lead to a more or less artificial life, far removed from healthy instincts, nature, and truth". Pg. 46 'Man and his Symbols'

I find the bulk of Jung's work to be interesting but this quote in particular hit home for me. Often times I find I am my own worse enemy and I will build things up in my head to be worse than they are in reality. For example it could be thinking someone does not like me, or I will fail at something so why even try. Often times I find my own negative preconceived notions are just from my own mind, and do not end up being true.

Here Jung puts it plainly, the more you entertain false negative notions you carry around in your head based off your past, the further you will be from living in truth. Specifically Jung calls it an 'artificial life' and I think that is a perfect word to describe a life held back by your own negative opinions of yourself and the world. Of course prejudices are needed to some degree, but I think at times they can become out of control and lead to a negative impact in our lives inhibiting our growth on a personal level.

I suppose then to live closer to truth would be to not carry around prejudices about yourself and the world, and to try and take everything for what it is in that moment. I believe we all carry these prejudices around in our own way, and if we work to recognize and combat them we could all be a little happier.

Some food for thought, thanks for reading :)

If you are interested in reading further - https://monoskop.org/images/9/97/Von_Franz_Luise_Marie_Jung_Gustav_Carl_Man_and_His_Symbols_1988.pdf