We tend to use the word "libido," in the Freudian sense, to capture the idea of sexual appetite. But the Jungian concept of libido is more expansive, inclusive, and helpful for understanding the way that energy and desire animate us throughout our lives.
Jung used the word libido to describe the psychic energy, life force, or passion that drives us forward. This concept is called chi, qi, prana, and manna in other traditions. It includes sexual appetites, of course, but also our instinctive creative, intellectual, and spiritual growth trajectories. Kelly McGannon, writing for the Jung Society of Washington, summarizes Jung’s concept of libido in this way:
"This energy, which moves through all of life, is like water… It has a “natural penchant” and crackles with its own intelligence—it wants what it wants. You can’t will it to move or force it to take a particular direction… This energy acts fastidiously, insistent upon the fulfillment of its own conditions.”
According to Jung, moving toward the gradient of our libido — that is, moving in the direction it pulls us — is the path toward wholeness. The libido guides us toward our true north, and our capacity to recognize and follow the cardinal direction offered by our libido is our ticket to growth and fulfillment.
But what happens when the........