- “self-knowledge” is just another coping mechanism when it happens exclusively in our heads and not articulated in the real world. - learning how or why the way we are the way that we are gives us an illusory sense of control, but we’re still avoiding parts of ourselves that need confronting, and avoiding taking an actual stance in our lives. - this can become a way to unconsciously worship our trauma, recreating our suffering and exempting ourselves from responsibility. (see substitute gods in [[{1.4a2} god as the greatest amount of libido]].) - of course this doesn’t mean ignoring the demands of our inner world, but that we have to balance the tension between our inner and outer worlds, our soul versus our persona. - where the *self* inspires us in a certain direction, we must consciously move ourselves that way. - [[{1.4a4} symbols are containers of meaning that unite the conscious and unconscious]]