From The Grail Legend by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, p. 134 (2nd ed, Princeton University Press, 1998):
‘Important as consciousness undoubtedly is – and rightly utilized consciousness is an invaluable means of help for the realization of the Self – it is not by itself the determining factor. For it does not depend so very greatly on knowledge and ability or upon some degree of intelligence, but rather upon the use which is made of these attributes and above all, on the psychic attitude a person adopts in the face of the various circumstances of his life and fate. As the threads of fabric are woven into a pattern, so the Self as the living garment of divinity is woven out of the many decisions and crises, in themselves possibly insignificant, by which we are affected in the course of our lives. Such occasions present themselves at every level of life and intelligence and in every milieu. Whether or not they lead to a manifestation of the Self depends solely on our own response. Many of us have observed that children, even small children, when faced with some difficulty, possess an attitude which many adults could only envy. That “something,” the lack of which we experience as soullessness, is a “someone” who takes a position, who is accountable and who feels committed. Where this higher, responsible ego is lacking there can be no Self. Ethos and the Self are therefore mutually interdependent. For this reason, too, an attitude of “beyond good and evil,” such as has been commended in many quarters in modern times and especially since Nietzsche, is the best way to prevent the emergence of the Self.’
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