The Quest For Individuation And Wholeness
If we look at a photo in a newspaper, we see the whole
. We see the subject of the picture in its entirety. As we begin to zoom in, though, we see that the whole is made up of many individual pixels. If you zoom close enough, the whole is gone and you have scores of dots. This is very much like the process of individuation: in our early lives, we try to see how we fit into the whole. We are pixels, but it is important to us to see how we fit into the big picture. In the latter half of life, though, we want to explore our own pixelality. Individuation is the process of finding our individuality and discovering how we are distinct from the pixel next to us.
Carl Jung wrote, The goal of the individuation process is the synthesis of the self. It seems so simple, and yet, it is a process requiring intensive thought. Because every person is unique, there is no one set way to go about the process. Lets explore two different frameworks that can map out a route.
Attitudes and Functions
You have likely, at one point or another in your schooling or career, sat down and taken a Myers-Briggs personality test. This test is designed to point you towards your dominant attitudes and functions.
Are you:
Introverted? (Attitude)
Extroverted? (Attitude)
Thinking? (Function)
Feeling? (Function)
Intuitive? (Function)
Sensing? (Function)
Functions are opposites: feeling vs. thinking, intuition vs. sensing. Likewise, introversion and extroversion are opposites, and these are very difficult to change. While we sometimes have to play a role (i.e. an introvert must act as an extrovert for work, or vice versa), these attitudes are very much a part of our personalities.
Now, in Jungian thought, one could proceed with individuation by working on these attitudes and functions. For instance, say you are: extroverted, feeling, and sensing. These are dominant. Your inferior attributes, then, are: introverted, thinking, and intuition. You would begin work on your dominant characteristics, because they are the easiest. In other words, you can give yourself some early wins to boost your confidence and motivation for working on the inferior traits!
You would then turn your attention to developing those skills which you less adept. Our extroverted, feeling, sensing individual, then would work on becoming more thoughtful, working independently, and concentrating internally. They would work on logical analysis, evaluating, and seeing things as systems, structures, and patterns. They would develop skills in thinking about theory, thinking about the future, and learning about everything new and unusual. As we integrated new skills into our consciousness, we become more balanced. The need to evaluate things in terms of emotions and ethics, for instance, can be countered or balanced by the need to evaluate them logically and systematically and vice versa.
Jungs Path to the Self
There is another framework that Jung advanced in his work, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. Rather than looking at our personality attributes, as in the previous schema, we are looking at the elements of our personalities:
Persona. This is the mask we wear for the world. Our work persona may be very different from our home persona, for instance. We may over- or under-identify with this mask, which can lead to difficulties. While personas are necessary for social functioning, it is important that we recognize that there is more.
Ego. The ego is not what you are. It is the center of consciousness, a complex that allows us to differentiate ourselves from others. Through our egos, we can make sense of ourselves. We must strengthen the ego before we can continue with individuation.
Shadow. This is what we dont want to be. This is the dark side in all of us that we are not consciously aware of, but which we are ashamed of and wish to hide. It is our Mr. Hyde.
Anima/animus. This is the feminine side in men, and the masculine side in women. That is, the traditionally feminine attributes in men and vice versa. Like yin/yang in Asian philosophy, these need to be in balance.
Mana. The archetypal energy of the Old Man or Old Woman can flow into the ego, which can cause inflation. The power of the archetype can overwhelm the ego, leading us to become aggressive and lustful of power. This energy needs to be addressed before individuation can continue.
Self. You have transcended opposites; you have balanced inequalities; you are good and bad, shadow and ego, conscious and unconscious. At the same time, you are not good or bad, shadow or ego, conscious or unconscious. Its no wonder this process lasts a lifetime! Its a difficult concept to grasp, to be sure.
Each of these schemas works to address the skills and weaknesses, or strengths and deficiencies, in our selves so that we might become more balanced. But it is not the destination as much as the journey. Carl Jung writes, The goal is important only as an idea; the essential thing is the opus which leads to the goal: that is the goal of a lifetime.
by: Dr. Seth Isaiah Rubin
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