Individuation

Jungian analyst Anthony Stevens writes in Private Myths:

“Individuation is the process, simple or complex as the case may be, by which every living organism becomes what it was destined to become from the beginning. The purpose of this individuation process is to increase the individual’s consciousness.

In the first half of life, we make our way through the world, doing our best to develop healthy egos. The first portion of life is mainly external as we seek to meet our basic needs.

“From Jung’s outlook, the second part of life can represent a turning inward toward a deeper part of ourselves.This inward turn starts the individuation process.”

I find myself definitely beyond the second half of my life if I be so fortunate and of good health. In the “now” that we are living I feel as if I am moving inward in the most profound place ever. I still care about people and friends and they do have power over me to influence me and to cause me both pain and joy. However, I do look back to markers in my past — my son’s birth in my 36th year and his upcoming 30th birthday. This was a decision I was uncertain of, but one that will remain one of my best.

I look at the relationships I have had –both successes and failures and I don’t measure them as such, but know that they have had a way of defining me and who I am. My career is long put to rest, but I continue to have good memories of the field of publishing and the writing that I am able to do. I dream of someday writing that memoir on my life. In Jung’s eyes we are all fragmented and divided, and knowingly or not, we’re all searching for our souls.

In this apartment on 7th Avenue in Asbury Park, I continue to search for my soul. “The soul, what it is and what it means, is as much a question in our time for psychology as it has been for theology. ” I would say that I seek a soul that when complete embraces both the inner and the outside world. It may seem to be too much to ask right now, but it is what I am trying to figure out.