Like Jung, whose psychology of meaning plays a central role in Hidden Wisdom, the authors believe that spiritual seekers need not turn to the East for satisfaction. The journey, should you care to embark on it, is yours and yours alone. Experience has no qualities in a pure state. It is associated with the color black, which connotes ultimate darkness, passivity, receptiveness. Similarly, when we experience the world in an ordinary state of consciousness, it is radically external to us.
Objects are dead, lifeless, without any inner vitality or consciousness of their own.
Nearly everyone undertakes the spiritual search for some personal gain. To judge by the books published on these topics, many people come to the path hoping it will win them money or love or personal fulfillment. Others view the benefits in more elevated terms, as gnosis, enlightenment, or salvation. In a sense there is nothing wrong with these goals, for we must all begin at street level. And for a long time, no matter what path one chooses, personal development will be the focus of effort.