De Novo

Do we ever understand what we think? We understand only such thinking as is a mere equation and from which nothing comes out but what we have put in.  That is the manner of working of the intellect.  But beyond that there is a thinking in primordial images — in symbols that are older than historical man; which have been ingrained in him from earliest times, and, eternally living, outlasting all generations, still make up the groundwork of the human psyche.  It is possible to live the fullest life only when we are in harmony with these symbols; wisdom is a return to them.  It is a question neither of belief nor knowledge, but of the agreement of our thinking with the primordial images of the unconscious.  They are the source of all our conscious thoughts, and one of these primordial images is the idea of life after death.

– C. G . Jung, from Modern Man in Search of a Soul