Let's stop looking for the meaning of life in the sky and look for it on earth
The meaning of life may not lie above us, but beneath our very feet.
Interestingly, as we delve into the deeper study of the works of Carl Jung and Nietzsche, we encounter ideas and teachings that suggest the transformation we long for lies within the simplest parts of ourselves—not in grand ideals of light.
This is the focus of this text, since Nietzsche, being intuitively introverted, in his attempt to create the Übermensch (superman), ends up finding clues that this being is found in the most simple and even lowest part of himself.
In his case, it is in the immediate experience of his body with reality (the opposite of introverted intuition).
This is what we will see in the following passage analyzed by Carl Jung in the Seminar on Nietzsche's Zarathustra, Session II of the Winter Term of 1935.
Nietzsche says:
"And this being, the most honest, the self — speaks of the body and still wants the body, even when it invents and flutters and flies with broken wings. The self learns to speak with greater and greater honesty: and the more it learns, the more words and honors it finds for the body and the earth. My self taught me a new pride which I teach to men: No longer to bury the head in the sand of celestial things, but to carry it freely, a terrestrial head, that creates a meaning for the earth!"
Carl Jung explains:
"Nietzsche still attributes essential reality to the 'self,' but the reality of the 'self' consists in the obvious reality of the body. The body is the truest thing, the thing that would be undeniable and indisputable, even if it were to fabricate poetry and philosophy or other illusions and delusions: the fluttering with broken wings."
What we can understand is that as the "self" becomes wiser and more honest, it learns to value the earthly, the body, the concrete, the real.
It no longer despises the physical in search of the "divine" or "spiritual," but begins to see the beauty and depth in the human and the natural.
It invites us to be proudly human, to stand firmly on the ground, and to give meaning to this life, to this world, to this reality.
In the practice of deep meditation, this experience can be felt as a profound presence of oneself. Suddenly, elements that once disturbed us—like negative emotions or pessimistic thoughts—become like forces pointing toward us.
Then, by reaching that point where we simply are, fully present in the now, conflicts dissolve and a great stillness arrives.
In such experiences, we come to understand that the most real aspect of the self is the body.
The most evident and true thing is that we are physical beings.
We may have thoughts, ideas, illusions, delusions, art, philosophy... but all of that is born from within a body—not outside of it.
Nietzsche and Jung are speaking of the same core idea:
Let’s stop seeking the meaning of life in the abstract or the idealized; true meaning can be born here—through the body, on earth, in this very moment.
Our consciousness cannot encompass so many things, but this is useful
Carl Jung continues by exploring why our consciousness is limited by the body—and not only that, but why such limitation is actually necessary for consciousness to exist:
"We cannot be aware of many things simply because we are not where they are; I am aware of what happens in the library, but I cannot hear what someone says in the library because my ears are here and not there. If I could do it without my body, my ears could be anywhere—in New York or Stockholm. I could hear and see all things, God knows what. But the body exists, and the body is in time and space; if it didn’t exist, there would be no such restriction of consciousness. Moreover, if there were no restriction, there would be no consciousness, because when we are aware of millions of things, as it may seem, we are actually aware of nothing: our consciousness is too blurred. Distinction—the very essence of consciousness—is exclusivity. We must be able to exclude many things in order to be fully conscious."
Here we must also point out a common flaw in introverts: the belief that the world is exactly as they imagine it, without realizing it's only a projection of their inner world.
Extroverts experience the reverse: they believe the world is only what they can sense—the limited, concrete reality of the body.
This is how our world turns gray—we only see a sliver of it, distorted by the veil of unconsciousness.
Only when we develop our inferior function (extroversion for introverts, introversion for extroverts) do we come to realize the existence of countless colors beyond the black and white of our conscious perception.
We cannot be aware of everything because our consciousness is localized, limited, because we only inhabit our superior function.
In the case of intuitive types, whose strength lies in imagination, if that imagination is directed elsewhere, they cannot know what’s happening in the here and now—because their body is not present.
This is important because Jung is not criticizing limitation. On the contrary, he emphasizes that limitation is what makes consciousness possible.
Jung: There can be no world if no one is conscious of it
Finally, we conclude with these key words from Jung:
"Thus, restriction would be the very being, the very character, of consciousness, while the reason for that distinction—the capacity for sharpness in consciousness—would be the body, which limits us to a place in space and a moment in time. It protects us against the elemental quality of cosmic indistinction. Without consciousness, how could anything be distinguished or happen? There can be no world if no one is conscious of it. If there were no one to speak of the existence of the world, there would be no world. But how could there be a sharp consciousness without the restriction of the body?"
Restriction is not an obstacle—it is the very essence of what it means to be conscious.
It’s like saying: a musical note exists only because of the silence surrounding it. Without limits, there is no form.
In this way, what gives shape to intuition is the concrete reality perceived by the body, and both dimensions form the self.
In the case of emotional personalities, what gives shape is thought—its opposite.
Thought without emotion has no form; it becomes an empty abstraction, disconnected from lived experience, incapable of embodying meaning.
Thus, our opposite and inferior side (symbolized by the earth) is the complement we need to become whole.
We could also say that consciousness does not exist despite limitation, but because of it. Restriction is not an obstacle—it is the very foundation of consciousness.
Of course, without consciousness, there is no difference, no change, no world.
Nothing can “be” unless there is someone to perceive it, to name it, to live it.
Here, it's natural to recall the philosophical question:
"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Jung would say: without consciousness, there isn't even a forest.
I also recommend that you read my following publications:
Hello Alchemist, great posts. I believe my latest series of articles would resonate with you and your audience. What if meaning isn't something we invent — but something we tune into?
https://open.substack.com/pub/ursbaur/p/the-collapse-of-the-mythless-society?r=55ye55&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Hello, may we walk the path of wisdom together. I focus on spiritual growth, and I hope we can connect. Meeting is the start of understanding.🙏💛