Jung and the Meaning of Spirit & Soul

Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. ~Carl Jung

I was reminded of the quote above while reading John Phillip Newell’s latest book, The Great Search: Turning to Earth & Soul in the Quest for Healing & Home. Newell, a former clergy member whose area of expertise is ancient Celtic wisdom, similarly calls on all of us to “reawaken” to the sacredness found within us and the Earth around us.

Each chapter in The Great Search features a look at several noteworthy people who made the inner-outer connection, including the Christian mystic Julian of Norwich, the Indian philosopher Tagore, and the Scottish poet Nan Shepherd. But the person I found most fascinating was the famed Swiss psychologist and author Carl Jung.

The chapter on Jung veers into talk of the soul and spirit. Newell does a masterful job of capturing the essence of Jung’s teachings. Newell writes, “For Jung, the inner world of the soul is as boundless as the outer world of the universe in its vast stretches of light and dark that reach endlessly through time and space.

Before we look at Jung’s thinking, a quick sidebar on soul and spirit. Jung (and Newell channeling Jung) often seem to use the terms interchangeably. My definition of the soul has been greatly influenced by Thomas Moore, so I went to see what Google Gemini had to say. It seems that different traditions look at the soul-spirit connection differently, including:

• Spirit as part of the soul. In some traditions, the spirit is considered to be an integral part of the soul. It might be seen as the animating force, the essence, or the spiritual component of the soul.
• Spirit as distinct from the soul. In other traditions, the spirit is seen as a separate entity from the soul. The soul might be viewed as the entire conscious being, while the spirit is a more ethereal or divine aspect.
• Spirit and soul as interconnected: Some perspectives suggest that the spirit and soul are interconnected but distinct entities. They might be seen as two sides of the same coin, or as complementary aspects of a larger whole.

You might find this helpful as you read the excerpts that follow. I’ve taken Newell’s writings about Jung and put them into a narrative. The words in quotes are from Jung, the balance of the words are Newell’s, though I have done some light editing.

The soul is the breath of human life.

It is the breath of all life, the animating life force of the universe. It is the vital spark of the universe.

It’s true essence is the divine within you. Every being is “a splinter of the infinite deity.” You come from the divine, and at the core of your being you shine.

Within the soul, there is a desire for light.

Not only physical light, but spiritual light, a desire to see, both inwardly and outwardly.

Is your desire for light being sufficiently nurtured? How do you more fully access the yearnings of the Spirit within you?

 Religion no longer offers experiential knowledge of the divine.

Religious traditions have “stiffened into mere objects of belief.” The bridge from dogma to the inner experience of the individual has broken down.

Religion has become focused on doctrines about the divine rather than experiences of the divine.

We need to encounter this living mystery at the depths of our being.

We yearn for a more direct experience.

Deep in our souls there is a longing for the Spirit, not by proxy but by direct experience. It is a yearning for life’s immediacy, both spiritually and physically.

We are being called to become ourselves and to live from the divine depths of our being. Within you is the divine, waiting to come forth in unique ways from the inner wellspring of your being.

There is no map to find it, only clues.

The soul is as “elusive as a butterfly.” You cannot define it, but you can know its stirrings and motions within you and in everything that has life.

A person who is seeking awareness of the human soul is like an astronomer exploring the heavens and discovering new realms.

Realize that the inner world and the outer world are not separate.

They are one. Our challenge is to become aware of the interrelationship of all things.

True wholeness brings the inner and the outer together, the personal and the collective, the soul of the individual and the soul of Earth.

Commit to living a life of full awareness.

Awareness invites you to be alert to what you have already known and experienced in your life, as well as to what you don’t yet know. You bring together the unconscious and conscious, intuition as well as reason. You need the heart as well as the head.

Most of who you are is hidden in the waters of the unconscious. True self-knowledge is not just about your conscious self. It includes paying attention to your unknown depths which come to you most readily through intuition and dreams and the imagination.

Awareness is not just about the light that is within you. The Spirit is inviting you to also know the pain and suffering you carry deep in the memory of your body and soul. Awareness of both is essential in your journey toward wholeness.

Realize the presence of the divine within you and within all things.

The journey of awareness is at the end of the day, a journey of love, love for Earth and one another, and love for yourself.

Your task is to be attentive to what the Spirit is bringing to your awareness; to receive this information and translate it into action in your own life.