Grief as a Transcendent Function and Teacher of Spiritual Growth

Death is an inevitable phase of life, so is grief. This paper attempts to pinpoint the enormous potential of grief in advancing our spiritual growth. Jung states that when encountering a crisis such as loss, the unconscious often breaks through to help us with new adjustments, whereby a transcendent function takes place (Jung, 1971). Instead of becoming an emotional trauma, grief can transcend our everyday experiences and awaken us to our spiritual essence.