One of the primary concepts of Jungian psychology is individuation, the inner process where we grow in consciousness and become more whole. We grow in consciousness by integrating aspects of the unconscious that we learn from the symbols and stories of our dreams, from synchronicities, from unexpected occurrences, and from what we sense intuitively. As we become more individuated, we become more the persons we were created to be.
In his book Inner Work, Jungian psychotherapist and author Robert Johnson writes: “If we work at individuation, we begin to see the difference between the ideas and values that come out of our own selves and the social opinions that we absorb from the world around us. We can cease to be mere appendages of a society or a clique of people: We learn that we have our own values, our own ways of life, that proceed naturally out of our inborn natures.”
Although the notion of being our “own person” and being “an individual” is talked about as an ideal in our culture, there is much pressure to adapt and fit in rather than to be truly individual. The news media, advertising, and political groups have as their goal to influence how we think and act. With some exceptions, family, social, and religious groups too often focus on conforming to their definition of how we should be rather than promoting genuine individuality.
Because this is the case, it takes courage and persistence to try to listen to our inner voice–to listen to the Self, to use Jung’s terminology. It takes faith in the process and realization that when that faith waivers, we are always welcome to start again. Notice that Johnson writes “If we work at individuation . . . .” It is work. It is not the easy way. But it is definitely the meaningful way.