“That which you most need will be found where you least want to look.”
— Carl Gustav Jung
Introduction
Life is in constant motion, a current that can never come to a halt. This holds for us as humans just as it holds for everything the universe contains. Like a cycle it turns like a wheel. Each round rhymes with the last, yet none is the same.
From the convection of the alchemical pot rises a brew we call the human being. And this human follows his nature — with a twist. His nature leads him to think, and that thinking drives him to draw the utmost from life. Whether this lands well in an objective sense depends on himself, on society, and on his innate dispositions. That makes him a free thinker, but not by definition a speaker of truth. For he reasons in abstractions such as future images and memories that do not belong to the here and now. Yet all of it is chemically produced in the here and now, where truth truly is.
Therefore we constantly negotiate with reality and with our conviction about it. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Sometimes consciously, sometimes unknowingly. Sometimes sharp, sometimes blind. It is precisely in this tension that what we call cognitive dissonance arises, the inner collision between what is true and what we want to be true. Here, in the friction between conviction and reality, we sometimes reshape truth into an illusion that suits us better. Yet even that illusion — however confusing — still points back to the underlying reality.
For apart from truth we can never move. Everything participates in truth, even illusions. They too contain an intrinsic qualia and point back to what is real. A reality whose structure is logic, which we call the logos. It has been said that the logos is alive, and that what you see is yourself. You are the living logos. Logic, life, being — one.
In this insight lies a key. It lets us take our rightful seat and discern the true nature of our illusions, as well as the mystery of ourselves. Let us see how to approach this.
How dissonance separates us and brings us back to the True Self
There is no way to detach from truth. We are truth in motion. I call this current the Tao, because within it we recognize a truthful, law-giving phenomenon that shapes our reality. That means this movement follows the laws we call physics. And so it is as it is.
So we are the Tao, we are truth — and at the same time we try to understand that very truth. It is as if we try to fathom ourselves through experience.
The human body is particularly good at this. It has brain regions that specifically compare sensory impressions and reasoning with what is stored in memory. In this process a certain measure of dissonance can occur, a clash or interference of frequencies.
One brain region with a key role here is the anterior cingulate cortex, the ACC. It acts as a comparator, matching expectations to experiences and convictions to new impressions. When a mismatch arises, the ACC generates a signal that we experience both cognitively and emotionally — often as tension or friction. It helps us recognize conflict, integrate information, and update our picture of belief. In other cases we experience this signal mainly as psychological pain and suppress the thoughts that feel dissonant. This process runs through the ego, which serves as the protector of identity.
Briefly on the Tao and Truth
The Tao cannot be fully captured in words. To all that is aware, the Tao shows up as a flow, a way of being. This is also characteristic of consciousness. In the direct experience of the here and now lies a whole that is infinite — often called a continuum — even though we perceive only a fraction of it. The Tao is the current of this infinite potential. You may see it as the continuum of continua.
Where the Tao and truth give us a foundation, dissonance shows how that foundation can come under pressure.
Truth often seems mystical, yet in essence it is simple, that which is there for all. It forms the foundation of wisdom. In many theological traditions this is pictured as building on rock. The building is your identity. The foundation is as stable as truth itself. Building on it makes us wiser and spares us from endlessly readjusting assumptions. Progress follows.
Dissonance and the ego
Dissonance often arises when new insights collide with existing convictions. This can challenge or even threaten the ego. The ego acts as mediator, often in the form of our identity, which is what we think we are. It protects us against illusions but sometimes also against hard reality. Letting it go is not simple. We need it to clarify reality, because not everything we encounter is immediately correct. The ego then works as a critic that helps place new information within our belief system. We usually experience this simply as ourselves processing information.
That picture changes when information integrates into the whole. Our identity shifts, and with it the way the ego steers us. It is a developing process that unfolds over time and evolves under the influence of events, slowly coming into line with our Self.
Some compare this to a phoenix rising from its own ashes. From the confrontation with dissonance something new and stronger emerges. Knowing what is true and what is not remains both a scientific and a philosophical quest — one in which we test our assumptions honestly so their tone rings like the rock itself, and we grow wiser by the day.
Processing and examples of cognitive dissonance
Festinger already saw that dissonance creates tension when beliefs and experiences clash. Aronson added that this becomes especially powerful when it touches our self-image, our idea of ourselves as honest, good, or consistent. When events contradict that image we often try to reason the tension away. We over-rationalize, we offer explanations that absolve us, or we shift blame outward — all to avoid the negative feeling.
But reality is as it is, regardless of our explanations. As long as we follow truth, it speaks back to us. If dissonance still occurs, it can be a sign that there is something we have not wanted to acknowledge — something we preferred to hide. By facing it, we can grow past the ego’s defenses and bring our self-image closer to truth.
A personal way to work with dissonance through meditation
When I work, I direct my attention fully to the task before me. Yet something curious happens. My brain starts tossing up thoughts and memories unbidden. Not to pester me, but because they often turn out to be unprocessed energies for a reason. In that moment I push them away to keep working. Suppression does not resolve them.
When I work, I direct my attention fully to the task before me. Yet my brain begins unbidden to throw up thoughts and memories. Not to pester me, but because they often prove to be unprocessed energies for a reason. The pattern I see is that recurring thoughts return until they begin to bore me. That is my signal to make space. I simply sit on the couch and use meditation not to follow the thought itself, but the resonance behind it — the emotion tied to it. Because these dissonant impressions usually surface right in the middle of work, they are clearest then. If I try to reach back to them later on purpose, the intention feels artificial, the emotion less authentic, and it is harder to process.
It is therefore most powerful to feel dissonance in the very moment it arises. In that raw, unfiltered state it carries the most truth. If I then acknowledge, live through, and integrate it, the thought dissolves on its own. What remains is a bit of wisdom in the form of understanding.
Examples of cognitive dissonance in daily life
- Work and honesty You promise a colleague to finish a task but keep postponing. You see yourself as reliable, yet your behaviour shows otherwise. That grates. You can reassure yourself — “I was busy, everyone defers sometimes” — or use the tension to grow in reliability. It may inspire and prove that you are reliable after all. In all of this, avoid being too hard on yourself.
- Health and habits Someone knows smoking is unhealthy yet lights a cigarette. The self-image “I take good care of myself” clashes with the action. This is often softened with rationalizations — “it helps me relax.” Through meditation you can face the real emotion, tension, guilt, longing, instead of pushing it away. You do not condemn the habit, you learn to understand it.
- Relationships and identity You see yourself as a loving person but respond with anger or distance to a friend or partner. The image of who you are does not match the experience. Dissonance can lead to excuses, or to honest insight. Why did I do this and what can I learn, all without self-rejection.
- Spirituality and daily life Someone believes honesty matters but tells a small lie to avoid hassle. It feels harmless, yet inside there is a gnawing feeling. Dissonance shows the act is not aligned with the value.
- Politics and conviction Imagine someone who sees himself as just and reasonable, supporting a certain party for years. During a debate the opposition presents hard facts showing that party’s policy harms a group of people. Sharp dissonance arises. The self-image “I stand for justice” clashes with the conviction “my party is right.” The tension can trigger defensive reactions, denying facts, attacking the source, downplaying the situation. This is common in political discussions where emotion runs high. If one has the courage to feel that dissonance through, growth becomes possible. Truth is acknowledged, the self-image adjusts, and space opens for a new position closer to justice and to the facts. Sometimes we must step back from old convictions to keep facing truth.
- Dissonance and money behaviour Our relationship with money can evoke strong dissonance because money often ties to identity and safety. Psychologists describe four common money egos, the spender, the avoider, the hoarder, and the monk. Each can clash with our deeper self-image. The spender seeks pleasure or status in outlays but may feel regret or incur debt — a conflict between enjoyment and responsibility. The avoider prefers to leave finances untouched. Often born of negative experiences or mild trauma, postponing seems to avoid pain and fear, yet inner tension grows. The idea of losing control lingers, making dissonance especially palpable. The hoarder builds security by saving but can be trapped in fear of spending, and joy is missing. The monk wants to rise above money but cannot escape that it is needed for daily life.In each case dissonance shows up as an inner conflict. Who we think we are clashes with how we act. The ego tries to hide the tension with rationalizations, but truth keeps tapping on the door. Only by facing the tension can we develop a freer, more authentic relationship with money — and with ourselves.
In all these experiences, be gentle with yourself. You too are on the way, and Rome was not built in a day.
Conclusion
Dissonance often feels uncomfortable. Rather than seeing it as an enemy, we can recognize it as a quiet guide. It shows the gap between who we think we are and who we really are. Whether in work, health, relationships, politics, or money, every time tension arises, truth whispers — softly, yet unmistakably.
By not pushing dissonance away but feeling it through, we gain the chance to adjust our self-image and draw closer to authenticity. Many self-help books describe the ego as a separate part to be fought. In reality it is tightly interwoven with identity. It consists of subroutines, automatic patterns we have built through memory, repetition, and conditioning. The ego will resist through these patterns, yet in that very process we rise again and again, wiser and clearer than before.
So dissonance proves not only a source of pain or friction, but also a gate to truth. In that truth we find the possibility to live more authentically — not as an endpoint, but as a catalytic process.