A selection of quotes from Carl Gustav Jung

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”

“It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.”

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.”

“Only what is really oneself has the power to heal."

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”

“Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also.”

“The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.”

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.”

"My aim is to bring about a psychic state in which my patient begins to experiment with his own nature – a state of fluidity, change and growth where nothing is eternally fixed and hopelessly petrified" 

“Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune.”

“Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.”

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

“Nobody, as long as he moves about among the chaotic currents of life, is without trouble.”

“The man who promises everything is sure to fulfil nothing, and everyone who promises too much is in danger of using evil means in order to carry out his promises, and is already on the road to perdition.”

“The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness extends."

“Every psychic advance of man arises from the suffering of the soul."

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”

“Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.”

“The word ‘happiness’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.”

“Our heart glows, and secret unrest gnaws at the root of our being. Dealing with the unconscious has become a question of life for us.”

“We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”