at the crossroads - Joe

[Guest guest]

Joe- Just a few comments, probably most of it not ad rem to your situation. But

I do feel a certain comissuration , and at the ripe old age of 68, am perhaps

qualified to at least " look back " .

First of all, you seem to be in that archetypal situation where you need to

" cross the river " , you need to get to the other side. The " other side " , of

course, is the unconscious. In the first half of life we stay pretty much on the

conscious side of the river and give ourselves to the task of ego development;

but eventually the second half of life beckons and we must cross over.

This task should not be confused with the " pursuit of knowledge " as we knew it

in the first half of life. Perhaps it could be better described as a

" willingness to experience " . And the emphasis on experience really leaves little

room for " faith " , either in Jung or anything. But faith in the old meaning of

trust rather than belief is required at some point. Trust the process; but be

very careful because the forces you will experience are much stronger than the

ego. The Berbers have a saying:

" Trust Allah!…….but first tie your camel! "

Let me finish by reminding you of something you have probably heard before: In

regard to providing guidance for your grandchildren, etc., They will learn from

what you are - not from what you say.

Carry on bravely, Jack

" joe_infj wrote:Hi Toni,

I agree with you really that it is well worth while pursuing

knowledge irrespective of one's age. I suppose what I meant really

is that if I want to get some kind of understanding of what Jung

says and how it applies to me I am going to have to stop doing some

other things to make the time for that.

It seems that I would have to write down my dreams, spend time

analysing them, get the help of an analyst..... That sounds to me

like one or two hours a day at least in the beginning before making

any progress, and as I already have a very busy schedule with my

work which I really like it's a matter of making choices I suppose.

Would it be OK if I ask you a question since you are 71 ? (I am 48).

Do you think that if you were to live your life again with the

knowledge and experience you have now you would do better? I mean

better in the sense that you would cope better with the transition

difficulties, get through them with less agonizing, have more

confidence in yourself and so be more ambitious and achieve more?

I asked myself that question and came to the conclusion that really

there are learning experiences that we have to go through the hard

way and that while knowledge and experience might ease the path a

little bit they wouldn't really make a major difference.

Also there is an important point: if that knowledge and experience

could make such a difference, isn't it terribly important to get

that out there somehow so as to ease the path through life of the

younger people coming along.

I experience that a little bit with my children who are teenagers

now. I feel I would like to help them, and yet I feel at the same

time that it is terrible important also to have a hands off approach

and let them discover their own truths, even if it is a bit of a

thorny path. I suppose what I do is I throw out from time to time my

little words of " wisdom " and hope that now and again something of

what I say might be some good to them and let them take it or leave

it (usually it seems to me they leave it...which is not a problem

really).

I would be interested in your perspective from 71.

Also another question (if you don't mind). If you were 48 again what

would you do differently?

Don't worry if you haven't time to respond....but if you have the

time I would be interested.

Joe_infj

>

> The point of that knowledge and the wisdom one accumulates over a

lifetime

> is that it is never wasted. Even if you do not believe the soul

lives on,

> you can believe, as Jung said, that your consciousness( whatever

its size)

> will add to the consciousness of the human race and thereby help

others

> become more conscious.

> In my opinion, knowledge is not a commodity one buys for a

specific reason .

> The point is not only the knowledge but the experience of that

knowledge on

> yourself and others.

> There is always a point. At 71, I have still a lot I want to

learn, to

> understand, to experience. It is the process again, the process of

learning,

> thinking, experiencing that is important even at the last moment

on this

> earth, not the idea that one has a " product " an accumulation of

facts which

> have to be " good for something " .

>

> I must however admit, when I was young I also wondered why so many

old

> people continued to learn. I come from an environment where a book

was the

> constant possession of everyone around me. I thought...what will

they do

> with all that knowledge too.

>

> Welcome again, and feel free to delve into Jung and share your

thoughts with

> us.