1 00:00:00,630 --> 00:00:04,370 This video is sponsored by Morning Brew. 2 00:00:04,370 --> 00:00:09,590 Morning Brew is a free daily email newsletter that delivers business news in an informative 3 00:00:09,590 --> 00:00:10,990 and enjoyable way. 4 00:00:10,990 --> 00:00:16,440 We will talk more about Morning Brew a little later but for now let's get on with how to 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:22,060 become psychologically mature from the philosophy of Carl Jung. 6 00:00:22,060 --> 00:00:29,689 Carl Jung is one of the founders of psychoanalysis, together with Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. 7 00:00:29,689 --> 00:00:35,060 He is also credited as the founder of analytical psychology. 8 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:40,360 If classical psychoanalysis focuses on the patient’s past, as early experiences are 9 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:46,050 very important in personality development, analytical psychology includes focus on the 10 00:00:46,050 --> 00:00:53,610 present, mythology, folklore, and cultural experiences in understanding human consciousness. 11 00:00:53,610 --> 00:00:59,010 Although his work does not reflect a systematic philosophy, his contribution to the realm 12 00:00:59,010 --> 00:01:05,239 of philosophy is significant and often referred to as “Jungian philosophy”. 13 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:10,829 He wrote many books including “Psychology of the Unconscious”, “Man and His Symbols”, 14 00:01:10,829 --> 00:01:16,420 “The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious”, “Modern Man In Search of a Soul”, “The 15 00:01:16,420 --> 00:01:22,229 Psychology of the Transference”, “Memories, Dreams, Thoughts”, and “The Relations 16 00:01:22,229 --> 00:01:24,740 Between the Ego and the Unconscious.” 17 00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:30,229 Jung is also considered to be the founder of the psychology of adult development and 18 00:01:30,229 --> 00:01:31,729 aging. 19 00:01:31,729 --> 00:01:36,399 Contrary to the opinion of other psychologists who believed that the most important psychological 20 00:01:36,399 --> 00:01:41,119 events in an individual’s life take place only within the first two decades of life, 21 00:01:41,119 --> 00:01:46,659 Jung was of the opinion that major psychological changes can take place during the second half 22 00:01:46,659 --> 00:01:48,700 of life as well. 23 00:01:48,700 --> 00:01:53,869 He compared the human life span with the trajectory of the sun across the sky. 24 00:01:53,869 --> 00:01:59,700 The morning resembles our childhood, the noon with our most vigorous years and sunset with 25 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:01,990 the end of our life. 26 00:02:01,990 --> 00:02:09,119 Other times, Jung considered that life has 4 stages: The Athlete, The Warrior, The Statement 27 00:02:09,119 --> 00:02:11,590 and The Spirit. 28 00:02:11,590 --> 00:02:16,470 These stages of life have to do with our level of maturity that we have achieved. 29 00:02:16,470 --> 00:02:21,830 The first stage, The Athlete, is the most immature one, while The Spirit Stage is the 30 00:02:21,830 --> 00:02:26,660 most desirable, bringing us closer to the meaning of our life. 31 00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:32,970 However, we cannot get to the Spirit Stage until we have passed - or at least understood 32 00:02:32,970 --> 00:02:35,810 - the first three. 33 00:02:35,810 --> 00:02:41,440 Even if these four stages do not coincide with the chronological stages of our lives, 34 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,540 someone who develops naturally from a psychological point of view and is able to reach the highest 35 00:02:46,540 --> 00:02:52,920 levels of maturity, would naturally follow this 4-stage roadmap chronologically. 36 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:58,030 Becoming psychologically mature does not happen overnight, it is a long process which takes 37 00:02:58,030 --> 00:03:03,290 place over a lifetime, and you need to go through these 4 stages. 38 00:03:03,290 --> 00:03:08,090 To help you navigate them smoothly and avoid the pitfalls in the way of becoming psychologically 39 00:03:08,090 --> 00:03:13,870 mature, in this video we will talk about the 4 stages of life in detail and how you can 40 00:03:13,870 --> 00:03:18,730 make the most of them in order to reach the highest levels of maturity according to the 41 00:03:18,730 --> 00:03:24,910 philosophy of Carl Jung. 42 00:03:24,910 --> 00:03:26,000 The Athlete Stage 43 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:34,430 Jung said: “It is a remarkable fact that a life lived entirely from the ego is dull 44 00:03:34,430 --> 00:03:40,310 not only for the person himself, but for all concerned.” 45 00:03:40,310 --> 00:03:44,670 The Athlete Stage is the stage of the ego. 46 00:03:44,670 --> 00:03:50,150 In psychoanalysis, ego is the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and 47 00:03:50,150 --> 00:03:54,670 the unconscious and it gives the sense of personal identity. 48 00:03:54,670 --> 00:04:02,720 However, when the ego is too strong, we are too self-absorbed, more narcissistic, and, 49 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,730 overall, the least mature. 50 00:04:05,730 --> 00:04:10,730 At this stage, we are obsessed with our physical appearance, we are less empathetic towards 51 00:04:10,730 --> 00:04:12,150 other people. 52 00:04:12,150 --> 00:04:17,459 This stage often coincides with our teenage years or early 20s, although there are many 53 00:04:17,459 --> 00:04:21,900 people who live at this stage their entire life. 54 00:04:21,900 --> 00:04:28,610 According to Jung, our ego develops progressively in childhood, first as “islands of consciousness”, 55 00:04:28,610 --> 00:04:31,030 then more strongly at puberty. 56 00:04:31,030 --> 00:04:36,150 Jung considered that children live mostly in an unconscious state, existing in what 57 00:04:36,150 --> 00:04:41,820 he called a participation mystique, a state in which their unconscious is united with 58 00:04:41,820 --> 00:04:44,610 the unconscious of their parents. 59 00:04:44,610 --> 00:04:50,460 However, from time to time, a sort of awareness comes to life in children and Jung called 60 00:04:50,460 --> 00:04:54,820 these temporary moments islands of consciousness. 61 00:04:54,820 --> 00:04:59,410 In Jung’s view, puberty marks the moment when our consciousness separates from the 62 00:04:59,410 --> 00:05:05,010 ones of our parents, we become more independent both physically and psychologically. 63 00:05:05,010 --> 00:05:10,930 Thus, the Athlete Stage is predominant during the teenage years, when we go through fundamental 64 00:05:10,930 --> 00:05:11,930 changes. 65 00:05:11,930 --> 00:05:17,830 We form ourselves as individuals, we struggle to have an identity and it is normal to become 66 00:05:17,830 --> 00:05:24,650 more self-aware, and a bit more egocentric in our desire to create our identity. 67 00:05:24,650 --> 00:05:30,170 Adolescence is one of the most difficult periods of our lives, for many the most difficult. 68 00:05:30,170 --> 00:05:36,240 What can make it more difficult than usual is when our ego is not developed enough. 69 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:42,040 Although being less egocentric in adulthood is a desired quality in people, in adolescence, 70 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:46,740 we need to develop a sufficiently strong ego which will be able to cope with the challenges 71 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:49,430 of adulthood later in life. 72 00:05:49,430 --> 00:05:55,120 We need to have a strong sense of identity, but without being too self absorbed in it. 73 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:01,090 For example, as teenagers it’s common not to feel comfortable in one’s own skin; when 74 00:06:01,090 --> 00:06:06,120 we think we are too short compared to other people, too fat or too skinny, or that our 75 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,699 face is full of acne and we are too ashamed to leave the house. 76 00:06:09,699 --> 00:06:13,930 Or we feel too shy to approach someone of the opposite sex because we don’t have enough 77 00:06:13,930 --> 00:06:16,440 confidence in ourselves. 78 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:21,410 Even more so, in these teenage years, our peers tend to take every chance to make fun 79 00:06:21,410 --> 00:06:24,490 of us, multiplying our suffering. 80 00:06:24,490 --> 00:06:32,620 Thus, a weak ego, incapable of fighting back, can cause many problems for us at this stage. 81 00:06:32,620 --> 00:06:37,389 To prevent such problems, we need to learn to feel good with ourselves and one of the 82 00:06:37,389 --> 00:06:43,510 best ways is by learning to accept our body and the changes it goes through in this period. 83 00:06:43,510 --> 00:06:49,449 One way of doing that is by practicing sports, yoga, dance, jogging, anything that makes 84 00:06:49,449 --> 00:06:52,070 us accept our body more. 85 00:06:52,070 --> 00:06:58,710 When we perform physical activity, hormones are released, making us feel a sense of euphoria. 86 00:06:58,710 --> 00:07:04,340 The popular opinion is that endorphins are those hormones; however, the latest research 87 00:07:04,340 --> 00:07:11,330 indicates it is about endocannabinoids, biochemical substances similar to cannabis but naturally 88 00:07:11,330 --> 00:07:13,479 produced by the body. 89 00:07:13,479 --> 00:07:19,370 Once arrived in the brain, these hormones reduce anxiety and induce in us a sense of 90 00:07:19,370 --> 00:07:23,820 calmness, which is necessary to maintain a good level of self confidence. 91 00:07:23,820 --> 00:07:28,820 Thus, sports are important and we need to embrace the athlete in ourselves and learn 92 00:07:28,820 --> 00:07:34,979 to feel good with our body not only in adolescence, but throughout our entire life. 93 00:07:34,979 --> 00:07:39,070 However, we should also not jump to the other extreme. 94 00:07:39,070 --> 00:07:45,670 We need to take the good part from this stage, but not to get stuck in egocentrism too much. 95 00:07:45,670 --> 00:07:51,020 If we remain at this stage for more than we should, we would become too self absorbed, 96 00:07:51,020 --> 00:07:55,370 concerned only with our looks, with how other people perceive us, we will tend to bully 97 00:07:55,370 --> 00:08:00,900 others who have less confidence and we will show that we lack any empathy towards others. 98 00:08:00,900 --> 00:08:04,669 We need to feel good in our own skin, but not to the point we think we are the center 99 00:08:04,669 --> 00:08:06,450 of the universe. 100 00:08:06,450 --> 00:08:10,740 Self confidence must be in just the right amount in order to be able to move on to the 101 00:08:10,740 --> 00:08:12,930 next stage of maturity. 102 00:08:12,930 --> 00:08:14,199 2. 103 00:08:14,199 --> 00:08:18,210 The Warrior Stage 104 00:08:18,210 --> 00:08:25,000 To quote Jung: “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” 105 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:30,290 The Warrior Stage is the stage of our life when we are developing ourselves, when we 106 00:08:30,290 --> 00:08:36,080 are trying to build a career, to improve our financial situation, to make a name for ourselves. 107 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:42,830 We are able to take more responsibility, we are more goal oriented, we have an idea of 108 00:08:42,830 --> 00:08:48,160 where we want to end up with our career and we strive to develop our skills to reach our 109 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:49,160 goals. 110 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:54,270 If we follow the normal course of life, this stage usually coincides with early adulthood. 111 00:08:54,270 --> 00:08:59,570 At this stage, we understand what it means to struggle to achieve our goals, we are open 112 00:08:59,570 --> 00:09:03,320 to shaping ourselves to become better people. 113 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:09,210 This stage pits the developed ego against the demands of life, which Jung stated can 114 00:09:09,210 --> 00:09:12,680 harshly put an end to the dream of childhood. 115 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:18,150 There are times when the transition from a student to a professional takes place smoothly, 116 00:09:18,150 --> 00:09:23,149 but there are also times when people have difficulty facing life’s challenges. 117 00:09:23,149 --> 00:09:28,450 Often it is because we have exaggerated expectations, we underestimate the difficulties ahead of 118 00:09:28,450 --> 00:09:34,839 us, we are too optimistic and act without thinking or we have a negative attitude and 119 00:09:34,839 --> 00:09:37,670 don’t take enough action. 120 00:09:37,670 --> 00:09:42,370 According to Jung, a major aspect which can make us pull back and prevent us from passing 121 00:09:42,370 --> 00:09:47,410 through this stage easily is clinging to the earlier stage of childhood. 122 00:09:47,410 --> 00:09:54,180 Jung considered that sometimes something in us wishes to remain a child, to be unconscious, 123 00:09:54,180 --> 00:10:01,020 to have no responsibility, to focus only on our own ego and to ignore or reject everything 124 00:10:01,020 --> 00:10:05,430 strange, challenging or that we cannot control. 125 00:10:05,430 --> 00:10:10,180 Research by psychologists shows that many people still behave like children in their 126 00:10:10,180 --> 00:10:11,730 adult lives. 127 00:10:11,730 --> 00:10:17,110 In other words, they are children trapped inside adult bodies. 128 00:10:17,110 --> 00:10:23,070 We all have seen adults who avoid taking responsibility in life or living off of money inherited from 129 00:10:23,070 --> 00:10:27,600 their family, instead of making the effort to earn their own money through their own 130 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:28,600 work. 131 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:34,380 To pass this stage, we need to develop the courage to break away from childish behavior 132 00:10:34,380 --> 00:10:39,750 and to develop a high dose of realism, to know what we want to achieve in life, to know 133 00:10:39,750 --> 00:10:45,209 what skills we need to develop, to pick battles which we can fight and not to cut corners 134 00:10:45,209 --> 00:10:50,430 just to advance faster in life, while all the while losing our moral integrity. 135 00:10:50,430 --> 00:10:56,170 For example, consider that you have just graduated from university with a degree in music and 136 00:10:56,170 --> 00:10:59,440 a dream of becoming a great opera singer or rockstar. 137 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,660 However, you suddenly find yourself in the position where you can neither convince a 138 00:11:03,660 --> 00:11:06,830 record label to sign you, nor get work as a performer. 139 00:11:06,830 --> 00:11:12,620 Eventually, you realize that you have overestimated your skills and pushed yourself into this 140 00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:15,529 career just because of a childhood dream. 141 00:11:15,529 --> 00:11:19,690 Because you focused on this dream for so long, it is now difficult for you now to change 142 00:11:19,690 --> 00:11:24,830 your career, but there are still ways to get out of this situation. 143 00:11:24,830 --> 00:11:29,130 You might get a part time job to give you an income while you further develop your musical 144 00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:34,420 skill, try to land a job in the music industry or start creating and putting out your own 145 00:11:34,420 --> 00:11:36,020 music for yourself. 146 00:11:36,020 --> 00:11:41,990 At the warrior stage, it is important to not give up as the journey to success and happiness 147 00:11:41,990 --> 00:11:46,209 is much harder and longer when you keep having to restart from the beginning. 148 00:11:46,209 --> 00:11:51,460 There is nothing wrong in following a childhood dream even if you didn’t have the necessary 149 00:11:51,460 --> 00:11:53,630 resources from the start. 150 00:11:53,630 --> 00:11:58,149 The most important thing is to not feel entitled to the things we want to achieve. 151 00:11:58,149 --> 00:12:02,290 It’s not enough to feel that we really want something. 152 00:12:02,290 --> 00:12:07,600 To accomplish our dreams takes hard work and dedication and the Warrior stage is the time 153 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:13,410 of our life when we need to do the most amount of action to develop our skills and to secure 154 00:12:13,410 --> 00:12:17,290 our professional and financial future. 155 00:12:17,290 --> 00:12:23,209 The Warrior Stage does not only address our professional life, but our personal life as 156 00:12:23,209 --> 00:12:24,209 well. 157 00:12:24,209 --> 00:12:28,660 This is the period of life when we try to find the right partner, we sometimes go from 158 00:12:28,660 --> 00:12:33,040 one relationship to another, struggling to understand what kind of person would match 159 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:38,060 best with us and how we should improve ourselves in order to be a good fit for the type of 160 00:12:38,060 --> 00:12:40,670 partner we want to be with. 161 00:12:40,670 --> 00:12:44,580 The more we work on ourselves to be a good partner and the more we know what kind of 162 00:12:44,580 --> 00:12:48,920 partner to look for, the more smoothly we can navigate this stage. 163 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,060 But, if we don’t work on ourselves to be a good partner for the other and we come into 164 00:12:53,060 --> 00:12:59,350 relationships with very high expectations, this stage can be very difficult to pass. 165 00:12:59,350 --> 00:13:06,000 The secret is to continuously work on ourselves, have realistic expectations, and to not expect 166 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:10,760 to receive the love and respect that we personally don’t put in. 167 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:15,860 The warrior stage is an important step in reaching maturity and involves perhaps the 168 00:13:15,860 --> 00:13:18,269 highest amount of work. 169 00:13:18,269 --> 00:13:23,760 When navigated successfully, it can give us significant rewards on many levels. 170 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:28,620 If we take Jung’s comparison of human life with the passing of the sun across the sky, 171 00:13:28,620 --> 00:13:34,060 the conclusion of this stage is roughly noon, when our mental and physical capabilities 172 00:13:34,060 --> 00:13:36,850 reach their maximum point. 173 00:13:36,850 --> 00:13:38,640 3. 174 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:40,800 The Statement Stage 175 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:48,209 In the words of Jung: “Where love rules, there is no will to power.” 176 00:13:48,209 --> 00:13:53,330 The Statement Stage is the stage where we become more empathic, we orient ourselves 177 00:13:53,330 --> 00:13:55,440 more towards others. 178 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,500 The beginning of the third stage coincides with the beginning of the second half of our 179 00:13:59,500 --> 00:14:00,820 life. 180 00:14:00,820 --> 00:14:05,970 Jung described this moment also as the time when the sun is up in the sky, at noon, when 181 00:14:05,970 --> 00:14:08,820 it shines at its brightest. 182 00:14:08,820 --> 00:14:13,440 If the first half of life involves a lot of struggling to advance our career, to accomplish 183 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:19,820 our personal goals, the second half of life should focus more on familial relations, on 184 00:14:19,820 --> 00:14:24,770 what legacy we leave behind and on spiritual aspirations. 185 00:14:24,770 --> 00:14:29,550 This stage coincides with the period of our life when we typically start to build a family, 186 00:14:29,550 --> 00:14:33,660 when we begin to work to make a better life for our children, rather than thinking about 187 00:14:33,660 --> 00:14:36,120 ourselves as individuals. 188 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:41,269 Overall, we take other people’s needs more into consideration. 189 00:14:41,269 --> 00:14:47,500 It is a stage oriented more towards love than towards personal power. 190 00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:53,250 During this stage, a slow change can be seen in our character, some characteristics disappear 191 00:14:53,250 --> 00:14:58,370 and other, old characteristics from childhood can reappear. 192 00:14:58,370 --> 00:15:02,400 Even changes with respect to gender identity can take place. 193 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:08,660 Men now develop more feminine traits and women develop more masculine traits, both in our 194 00:15:08,660 --> 00:15:11,740 psychology, and our physiognomy. 195 00:15:11,740 --> 00:15:15,940 Such a change can be dramatic, taking the shape of the so-called “mid-life crisis” 196 00:15:15,940 --> 00:15:17,709 for many of us. 197 00:15:17,709 --> 00:15:22,709 The more we are self absorbed in our personal goals, to strive to advance our career and 198 00:15:22,709 --> 00:15:27,320 ignore our relationships with other people, the more intense our mid life crisis will 199 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:28,720 likely be. 200 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:34,089 Or, there are many cases in which people remain stuck in the warrior stage for the rest of 201 00:15:34,089 --> 00:15:39,670 their life because they do not understand the importance of cultivating meaningful relationships 202 00:15:39,670 --> 00:15:45,230 with other people or the importance of building a family or building a legacy that can last 203 00:15:45,230 --> 00:15:46,670 after your death. 204 00:15:46,670 --> 00:15:52,690 It is important to understand at this stage that, if you have a successful career that 205 00:15:52,690 --> 00:15:57,370 you take a lot of pride in, but as a result you don’t have close friends or family and 206 00:15:57,370 --> 00:16:02,500 you haven’t built a family, if you die tomorrow, sure, some colleagues may be saddened at the 207 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:07,750 news of your death, but soon after you will be replaced at your workplace and your memory 208 00:16:07,750 --> 00:16:10,550 will fade away to nothing. 209 00:16:10,550 --> 00:16:16,270 If you really wish to leave your mark on this world, to leave a legacy behind you, your 210 00:16:16,270 --> 00:16:20,050 opportunities will be severely limited if you are solely focused on yourself and your 211 00:16:20,050 --> 00:16:21,890 career trajectory. 212 00:16:21,890 --> 00:16:27,540 It would be wonderful if we could all revolutionize our industries or make world-changing discoveries, 213 00:16:27,540 --> 00:16:33,550 and some people will, however for the rest of us there are other options. 214 00:16:33,550 --> 00:16:38,730 You could choose to build a family, raising well-behaved and educated children which will 215 00:16:38,730 --> 00:16:41,940 take the torch from you and spread your light. 216 00:16:41,940 --> 00:16:45,860 Or if children aren’t for you, you could be a mentor for the new generations in your 217 00:16:45,860 --> 00:16:47,060 field. 218 00:16:47,060 --> 00:16:51,940 Even just taking the proceeds of your success and donating to worthy causes and charities 219 00:16:51,940 --> 00:16:57,510 can have a huge and lasting positive impact on other people’s lives. 220 00:16:57,510 --> 00:17:02,880 Our life is limited and it is not rewarding to focus only on your limited existence here 221 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:03,880 on Earth. 222 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:12,010 We need to expand our vision and to strive to leave a legacy behind us - our unique statement. 223 00:17:12,010 --> 00:17:13,850 4. 224 00:17:13,850 --> 00:17:15,669 The Spirit Stage 225 00:17:15,669 --> 00:17:23,710 In our final quote from Jung for this video, he says: “Who looks outside, dreams; who 226 00:17:23,710 --> 00:17:27,390 looks inside, awakes.” 227 00:17:27,390 --> 00:17:31,731 At the Spirit Stage, after we have built our careers and we know what kind of legacy we 228 00:17:31,731 --> 00:17:36,049 will leave behind, we start to focus on ourselves again. 229 00:17:36,049 --> 00:17:41,050 At this stage, we realize that we are more than the material things we gained in life, 230 00:17:41,050 --> 00:17:48,400 we are more than a spouse, a parent, a friend, that our spirit transcends this life. 231 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:53,470 This stage coincides with the late stages of life, when we should focus on what is waiting 232 00:17:53,470 --> 00:17:56,160 for us beyond life. 233 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:01,750 If we go back to the analogy of the sun passing across the sky, this Spirit Stage represents 234 00:18:01,750 --> 00:18:03,950 the sunset of our life. 235 00:18:03,950 --> 00:18:08,770 Jung had lived a long life, dying at 85 years old. 236 00:18:08,770 --> 00:18:13,470 He could see that even if we are old with several health problems and even if our mental 237 00:18:13,470 --> 00:18:18,549 capacity is not so great anymore, there are still many opportunities which can come with 238 00:18:18,549 --> 00:18:19,670 old age. 239 00:18:19,670 --> 00:18:25,190 Jung was one of the first thinkers who could see the beneficial aspects of old age, considering 240 00:18:25,190 --> 00:18:29,570 that nature would not have permitted people to live so long if there was no benefit to 241 00:18:29,570 --> 00:18:30,820 old age. 242 00:18:30,820 --> 00:18:36,780 Thus, old age is not only an extension of our life, but it has a significance all its 243 00:18:36,780 --> 00:18:38,480 own. 244 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:43,110 Jung often advised his patients to look forward to death while connecting to their religion 245 00:18:43,110 --> 00:18:45,270 or spiritual beliefs. 246 00:18:45,270 --> 00:18:49,160 This is very important especially for people who didn’t accomplish much over the course 247 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,140 of their lives. 248 00:18:51,140 --> 00:18:55,480 When looking back, they may well feel deep, painful remorse. 249 00:18:55,480 --> 00:19:00,419 In fact, Jung said that it is fatal for these people to look back and that it is better 250 00:19:00,419 --> 00:19:06,440 for people in general to see it as the transformational phase before becoming a Spirit. 251 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:11,660 From a psychological point of view, the significance of the Spirit Stage is the returning to the 252 00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:15,900 collective unconscious, to our real Self. 253 00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:23,320 Old age is a return to ourselves, not a return to our ego, but to our real Self, or, in other 254 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,730 words, to our Spirit. 255 00:19:25,730 --> 00:19:31,740 The secret to navigating this stage smoothly is to acknowledge that all the roles you played 256 00:19:31,740 --> 00:19:37,010 in life were temporary; that you can not keep your children forever close to you, that your 257 00:19:37,010 --> 00:19:42,261 spouse and friends are all mortals and you will lose them one day, that you are more 258 00:19:42,261 --> 00:19:46,860 than this body you have and that there is a mysterious connection between us which is 259 00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:52,190 the collective unconscious to which we will return after death. 260 00:19:52,190 --> 00:19:57,630 Being conscious of these realities is the highest sign of maturity. 261 00:19:57,630 --> 00:20:02,540 By contrast, if you reach old age and you cling on to your worldly roles in life, being 262 00:20:02,540 --> 00:20:09,460 stubborn to work hard until you die or demanding your children, family and friends to be always 263 00:20:09,460 --> 00:20:14,460 beside you, you will lose the opportunity to take advantage of this stage, to connect 264 00:20:14,460 --> 00:20:17,870 with your real Self or your Spirit. 265 00:20:17,870 --> 00:20:22,730 Through this connection with your real Self, you get access to life’s mysteries, you 266 00:20:22,730 --> 00:20:27,740 can understand what the meaning of life is for you, and this connection reflects the 267 00:20:27,740 --> 00:20:33,730 completion of the process of individuation, the integration of all of the different parts 268 00:20:33,730 --> 00:20:35,720 of your psyche. 269 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:40,190 That is why reaching this stage of maturity is so important. 270 00:20:40,190 --> 00:20:45,690 At this stage, you become able to detach from the physical world in order to access a greater 271 00:20:45,690 --> 00:20:51,070 reality from which we are all part of. 272 00:20:51,070 --> 00:20:56,350 As we mentioned at the beginning this video is brought to you by Morning Brew. 273 00:20:56,350 --> 00:21:01,990 Morning Brew is a free daily Monday to Sunday email newsletter that compiles the most important 274 00:21:01,990 --> 00:21:07,590 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