Digesting Jung: Food for the Journey - Inner City Books

The Inflated Ego 121
apart. Thus anyone who has found his or her individual path is
bound to feel estranged from those who have not. This is simply a
particular case of what I have generally observed, that those who
have worked on themselves don’t care to spend much time with
those who haven’t. One might think this to be elitist, but it is only
natural. With a sense of vocation comes the realization that your
time on this earth is precious. You become reluctant to squander it
on those who don’t know who they are or why they are here, and
are not inclined to ask.
Those who hear the call and respond become redeemer personalities—leaders,
heroes, beacons of hope for others. Individuals
with personality have mana. 120
But beware of those who seek vaingloriously to capitalize on this
aura, including yourself. Those with mana may seem to be in possession
of an absolute truth, but in fact the main thing they have
that distinguishes them from others is a bedrock sense of themselves
and the resolve to obey the law that commands from within.
120 Mana is a Melanesian word referring to a bewitching or numinous quality in
gods and sacred objects. In individual psychology, Jung used the term “mana personality”
to describe the inflationary result of assimilating previously unconscious
contents.