"Be true to yourself". I mean, really. What does this mean? Let me break it down for you in on word: Authenticity. I don't mean to get existential on you but Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character.(1). So, "being true to yourself" is being authentic. Authenticity is key to maturity.
Enter Carl Jung. Carl Jung was a famous psychologist and friend of Sigmund Freud. Sigmund and Carl spent a lot of time together on the speaking circuit. They were like BFF's. One day, Carl told Sigmund he had a dream. They both loved to analyze each others dreams.
Carl said he dreamed of being in a two story house on the top floor. The top floor was decked out with paintings and modern furniture circa 1900-a lot of bronze ornaments, hanging tapestry,cobalt blue vases and the smell of moth balls. Carl liked the house and wanted to live in it but he hadn't seen the bottom floor. He climbed down the curved staircase holding carefully to the cast iron banister. The first floor had a medieval feel to it-a much older looking decor. He noted the stone slab floor. One slab had a large ring on it. Carl pulled on the ring and it opened a secret door. As Carl walked down the dark narrow steps, it led into a cavern where he saw bones, skeletons and two skulls. Sigmund was amazed at Carl's description and said "I could analyze it". He said it quickly because Carl was scaring him with the story and he wanted Carl to shut up already. Carl said "OK, take your best shot". So Sigmund told him the "two skulls and bones mean you have a death wish against the owners of the house". Sigmund had it wrong.
The house represented the human psyche. The house had three levels. My mind has three levels the conscious, unconscious and collective unconscious. The collective unconscious was the cavern part of the house. It is the deepest and most primitive part of the human mind. The Collective Unconscious contains my instincts, dispositions and potentiality. Carl called these qualities Archetypes. What's an archetype and how does it relate to the Pirate? I'll explain that in my next post...
1. Wikipedia
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