I wrote the following story to illustrate the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung.

One night, Peter dreamed himself into the Crystal City of Self Knowledge. He came upon a beautiful glass temple where an old man sat upon a silver chair."What am I doing here?" Peter asked the old man."You are about to have the privilege of a lifetime to become who you truly are," he replied."I know who I am, thank you very much," said Peter. "I'm old enough and have many years of life experiences.""You have come to the temple because you are lost and you want to be found," whispered the white-haired sage.The old man had somehow known Peter since he was born. He described Peter's childhood, what he called the First Birth, a time of his exciting curiosity of the universe where everything was encountered for a first time. Then he explained how Peter observed his parents struggle to earn a living. He learned why education was important and how he had a plan to use his knowledge to make money and create a prosperous life for himself."In your teenage years, you searched for an identity," said the old man. "You wanted to be someone your peers would like. You talked and dressed like them. You even stole candy from a store to prove your loyalty so you could fit in with the group.""Everybody does stupid things when they are teens," said Peter. "But I grew out of that and worked hard to start my own company and make a lot of money.""Along with your taste for money, you kept feeding your ego," said the old man. "You were occupied by social temptations to attain power in order to gain respect from others." The old man opened his eyes wide and glared at Peter. "And yet your ego was hungry for more so you continued to search for a greater meaning of life."Peter smiled. "Listen, old man. I know why I'm here and what you are going to tell me next. I was smart enough to realize that money could not buy me happiness, or love, or peace of mind. I read the self-help books and listened to what the great thinkers of the world had to say about finding my inner being so I could experience true joy.""Yes, my son," said the old man. "You did all that and …?"Peter lowered his eyes. "None of it helped me. I don't know why. I lost everyone who loved me, too. My family didn't like being around me. They said I was self-centered, that my three best friends were me, myself and I. I'm … I'm all alone now, and every night I wonder what went wrong. I thought I followed the steps to acquire peace and joy, but. …" Tears flowed freely from Peter's eyes."There are three births in our lifetime," said the old man. The first is our physical birth, then comes the birth of our ego, and finally, we have the spiritual birth of our consciousness.""But I have had all three of them," Peter pleaded. "There must be another, a fourth birth. Please tell me what it is."A smile formed on the old man's face as he looked across the temple at prisms of light reflecting off the glass walls."No, my son," he said. "There are no more births. When you thought you had discovered your spiritual consciousness, all you were doing was feeding the appetite of your ego, absorbing yourself in self-gratifying knowledge, and at the same time you were alienating your loved ones. Up to this moment, everything in your life has dissatisfied you. This is why you have come to the temple.""Well then tell me, old wise one," said Peter as he wiped his eyes. "What am I to do now?"The old man reached out his hand and placed it upon Peter's head. Suddenly, Peter looked up with his eyes in a daze."What just happened?" Peter asked. "Who am I? What's my name. My mind is full of - full of nothing. I can't remember who I am!""Your eyes have become transparent without ego or prejudice," said the old man. "You have to become nothing before you can see the truth of everything," He paused and raised his chin."You have been born into the light of spiritual consciousness where you can experience everlasting peace and joy."Peter awakened from his dream. He looked to the window and saw prisms of light reflecting off the glass and onto the walls. He walked into the middle of the room so that the light could channel throughout his body.Peter lived to be an old man in joy and peace, His loved ones returned to admire his humility and to listen to his words of wisdom."Surround yourself with silence for a part of each day and listen to the spirit speak to your soul," he told them. "Then you will become."Rich Strack can be reached at

katehep11@gmail.com.