On the website of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP), analyst Murray Stein describes individuation as follows:
A basic distinction between ego and Self must be kept in mind. The ego is a part of the whole; the Self is the whole. Becoming WHAT one is and not only WHO one is a useful distinction. The word “WHAT” implies the psyche as a whole, while the word “WHO” refers to a conscious sense of identity as an individual. In the course of the individuation process, the “WHO” can approximate the “WHAT.” This process is called “integration.” Typically, integration is preceded by separation of elements in the Self, which results in the formation of the personality with the “WHO” located in the conscious sector and identified as “I” (ego). The left-out pieces of the Self, either simply neglected or pushed out in the process of separation, remain in the unconscious.
When someone needs to blur his definition with terms that are not clear, it usually means that he does not understand what he is talking about. We need to underline here that the IAAP has asked the most prominent commentator on individuation to produce this definition. If this is the product of the most important researcher on the subject, imagine how the others analysts understand individuation.
In his description, Murray Stein repeats the same platitudes about individuation that he has read from Jung's followers:
- Individuation is self-realization
- It is like the acorn which becomes an oak tree
- It takes a lifetime to realize
- It is never fully achieved
- One can only approach the state of full individuation
- One cannot integrate all the contents of the unconscious
- It is an archetypal process
- It is a natural tendency to develop on the psychological level
- It is a process of circumambulation around a center
When one reads each one of these elements, one has no idea what individuation is. It is a mysterious process that does something but what? No one really knows.
Individuation is the core problem at the center of Analytical psychology. No one seems to know what it really is and no none has written about their personal experience of individuation. In Mysterium Conjunctionis, Jung talked about the three conjunctions of opposites which occur in the later stages of the individuation process and yet, there is not one Jungian who has achieved even the first conjunction. It seems that individuation worked for Carl Jung but does not produce results in the life of regular Jungian analysts.
I will not lament any longer on that sad state. Here are the definition and the steps of the individuation process:
- Individuation means becoming conscious. The unconscious is always projected on the environment. Individuation is therefore the process to becoming aware of those projections and stop them from happening again.
- Natural individuation is just becoming experienced in life matters. It has no value in Jungian psychology. The oak tree is a myth.
- Individuation is a process that has to be performed consciously. When consciously done, it results in the most beneficial outcomes.
- The process is composed of three tasks:
- Integrate the projections of the personal unconscious
- Integrate the projections of the collective unconscious
- Develop the cognitive functions that are repressed.
- The result of those three steps is the most optimal consciousness that is possible to achieve. That is the state of individuation.
Now, read again Murray Stein's definition and tell me if you understand what he says.
Have a good day!
