the value as ultimate spiritual realization, as Jung would, there is no disagreement that there is value in the facilitation or enhancement of introspection.
One way to examine the value of introspection is to think about one’s source of authority. In particular, the external versus internal locus of the source of authority is important to consider. If an external authority, such as parents, culture, or church, leads me to believe that I should feel guilty or fearful, then the alleviation of such guilt or fear may come about as a result of discovering a more powerful internal source of authority which contradicts this belief. Of course there can be no guarantee that one can contact a more powerful internal source of authority. Similarly, there is not guarantee that, once contacted, it will indeed counteract a belief previously instilled from an external source of authority. However, many examples of such a counteraction are part of the experience most psychotherapists.
Here is a personal example of the shift from an external to an internal source of authority. I was born in Utah and raised a Mormon. I left Utah in the first year of my life, and left the Mormon church in the second decade. The final chapter took place in my fourth decade, after having cultivated my sense of inner authority in therapy for 8 or 10 years, when I managed to get myself officially excommunicated. During the course of the trial which resulted in my excommunication, I was sternly admonished by some of the members of the jury that the price I was going to pay in the hereafter for having been cast out of the Mormon brotherhood would be high indeed. This invocation of the external authority of the belief system of the church