“The ego must be able to listen attentively and to give itself, without any further design or purpose, to that inner urge toward growth.”
This quote is by Marie-Louise von Franz, who was a Jungian analyst and the author of several books about analytical psychology, and who also collaborated with Carl Jung for many years.
The ego is the conscious awareness of one’s personal identity. It takes in information from the environment and chooses the direction to take based on that information. Dr. von Franz’s quote further describes the true purpose of the ego: to choose the direction to take based on listening attentively to the guidance of the Self (to use the Jungian term) or of the inner voice (to use the spiritual term). For the Self and the inner voice have the same source.
This true purpose of the ego is the opposite of egocentricity. People who are egocentric think only of themselves without regard for the feelings and desires of others. Approaching life in that way is never directed by inner guidance, but instead shows a total lack of awareness that such guidance exists. The true purpose of the ego is also the opposite of “societal shoulds,” where we make decisions based on what is considered to be popular, such as what is portrayed by much of the media and many websites. Similarly, when we make choices based on the expectations of people we know who we fear will no longer accept us if we make changes that they don’t agree with, our egos are not giving of themselves to the inner urge toward guidance.
I believe von Franz’s words “without any further design or purpose” emphasize the importance of not letting our egocentric tendencies be in control. Her words also remind us that it requires commitment, effort, and self-giving to do the right thing by setting aside our self-interest.
Ways that the ego can listen attentively and give itself, to use von Franz’s words, include trying to discern possible meanings of synchronicities, paying attention to intuitive promptings, writing down the dreams we remember and contemplating their images and actions and what the dreams might be attempting to bring to consciousness, noticing when projection might be happening and what we can learn about ourselves from it, and trying to discern possible meanings of unexpected happenings. For all of these phenomena are manifestations of the inner urge toward growth.
We all have the gift of an inner urge toward growth. By making the effort to listen attentively and to recognize when our egocentricity is blocking our ability to hear its guidance, we will receive the direction which enables us to continue on the spiritual path we were created to follow.