Individuation

            Jung (1977) rightly points out that our society prepares its youth for the first half of life in terms of a proper education, but provides little for the middle-aged to prepare them for the second half of life (he notes that a key exception is religion for those who accept it). He calls the first half of life the natural phase, and the second half the cultural phase.

            The transition between these two phases is difficult for most people, and problems often occur during this “dangerous age.” “What youth found and must find outside, the man of life’s afternoon must find within himself” (Jung, 1977, p. 74). The tasks of the first half of life are external having largely to do with establishing a family and career. The tasks of the second half of life are internal having largely to do with finding meaning in our life and in our death.

            Jung calls the main task that we face during the second half of our life the individuation process, an open-ended process of psychological maturity. Jung’s individuation is in fact similar, if not identical, to Maslow’s (1968, 1971) self-actualization.

            Modern psychology addresses successful aging as measured by:

            a. Preservation of good mental and physical health.

            b. Vitality (maintenance of active engagement in life).

            c. Resilience (ability to bounce back from stressors and setbacks).

            d. Happiness.

            Two other modes of aging are normal aging and pathological aging. (Hock, 1997; Maddox, 1987). Normal aging allows for some mental and physical problems, and some loss in vitality and resilience.

            Pathological aging occurs with the lack of health, vitality, resilience, or happiness and often includes such problem areas as depression and insomnia, which are prevalent in today’s elderly. Pathological aging may also result from a lack of meaning. Pathological aging may be a result of a lack of meaning. “The absence of meaning in life plays a crucial role in the aetiology of neurosis” (Jaffè, 1984, p. 12).

            Successful aging may be the result of finding meaning in life (Frankl, 1984, 1988; Jaffé, 1984; Maslow, 1968). Meaning is subjective and difficult to measure, yet closely allied with happiness.

There is no objectively valid answer to the question of meaning; for, besides objective thinking, subjective valuation also plays its part. (Jaffè, 1984, p. 12)

            Hillman (1979) quotes the Jungian Aniela Jaffé as once saying “The psychological path of individuation is ultimately a preparation for death” (p. 89). But what is individuation? It is a process of maturation in which the psyche ages or matures in much the same manner as the physical body. The general guidelines are summarized by Jacobi (1973) as consisting of four parts:

1.  Becoming conscious of the shadow. The shadow is our dark side, containing those things that we have repressed or ignored for one reason or another. It usually manifests to us in dreams as an archetypal figure who is dark and ominous. Just as the persona is that part of us that we want to present to the world, so the shadow contains those things that we want to hide from the world, and from ourselves. This dark side of ourselves must be confronted and accepted, at least in part, as the first step in the individuation process. Johnson (1991) emphasizes the need to acknowledge and accept our shadow in order to become a whole and complete person. 

2.  Becoming conscious of the anima or animus. Basically, the anima is the feminine soul or inner femininity of every man, and the animus is the inner masculinity of every women. The individuation process is, above everything else, a process of wholeness. This includes sexual completeness. Jung (1978) wrote that the anima and animus represent “functions which filter the contents of the collective unconscious through to the conscious mind” (p.20). Thus when the ego seeks to find the inner Self, it must look through the anima or animus, which colors its perception in many different ways. Edinger (1995) distinguishes four separate progressive states of maturation in the ego’s relation to the anima:  (1) the infantile state, in which the ego is totally unaware of the anima or animus, (2) the projected state, in which the anima or animus is projected outward into people of the opposite sex, (3) the possessed state, in which the ego is possessed or governed by the anima or animus, and (4) the conscious state, in which the ego becomes conscious of the anima or animus.

3.  Becoming conscious of the archetypal spirit. This archetype, as I noted above, is often represented in fairy tales as the wise old man, especially for men. For women, it often takes the form of Magna Mater, the great earth mother. The individuation process is primarily one of uniting opposites. In the first step, we unite good and evil and try to see ourselves as capable of both. Eastern religions often symbolize this with the lotus, which has its roots below in the dirty mud and its flower in the clean air above. In the second, we see ourselves as containing both masculine and feminine characteristics. Now we must unite matter and spirit, form and formlessness, body and psyche. Jung (1990) called the archetypes of spirit and matter “mana-personalities” where mana means extraordinary power. In part, this step includes liberation of a man from his father, and of a women from her mother leading, in both cases, to true individuality. 

4.  Becoming conscious of the Self. Jung called this final step self-realization-- “We could therefore translate individuation as “coming to selfhood” or “self-realization”“ (Jung, 1977, p. 173). Jacobi (1973) says “For the conscious personality the birth of the self means a shift in its psychic centre, and consequently an entirely different attitude toward, and view of, life--in other words a ‘transformation’ in the fullest sense of the word” (p. 127). The Self is often symbolized by a circle or mandala, glyphs which represent completeness. Each step of the individuation process has its dangers that must be avoided, and each has its rewards. He (1978) warns that individuation is an ongoing endless process, and that as it progresses, the chief danger is an inflation of the ego. 

            Jung’s (1978) individuation is similar, if not identical, to the self-actualization of Maslow (1968; 1971). But why does the ego need to approach the Self, if it is to all end in death? Jung (1991) says “The psyche itself, in relation to consciousness, is pre-existent and transcendent “ (p. 91). So, while the ego is born, grows, and dies, in the same way as the body, the psyche itself, and especially the Self, is not under the same limitations. Jung’s eternal archetypal Self is probably the chief subject of disagreement with other psychologists, and one reason why mainstream materialistic psychologists fail to take him seriously. He is, however, taken seriously by today’s transpersonal psychologists.