Individuation and the Care of the Soul

Science cannot provide an answer to the question of the care of the soul. This has traditionally been the domain of religion and mythology. This, however, does not apply to the concept of individuation in the analytical psychology of Carl Jung, which he formulated through his study of the fundamental symbols of religion and mythology. For this reason, knowledge of what individuation is becomes of crucial importance for the modern individual who seeks a way to restore their connection to the living symbol from which religions arise — not through faith, but through critical thinking and understanding.

“The scientific term individuation does not imply that we are dealing with a fully known or finally clarified phenomenon. Rather, it points to a field of inquiry that remains largely obscure and still demands further work: the processes of centering in the unconscious that shape the personality. This is a vital process which, by virtue of its numinous character, has from earliest times been the primary source of symbol formation. These processes remain mysterious insofar as they confront the human intellect with a riddle it may long—perhaps even unsuccessfully—attempt to resolve. Ultimately, it is lived experience, rather than books, that brings us closer to the meaning of things.”∗ (18)

The aim of this article is to present what I have come to understand about the processes of individuation through my own lived experience in the search for the meaning of life, viewed through the prism of that which does not perish — the soul and the care of the soul.

Individuation Is a Natural Process of Growth

Individuation is perhaps most fundamentally described as “the psychic parallel to the growth and ageing of the body” and, in this sense, as “a spontaneous, natural, and autonomous process, potentially present in the psyche of every human being, and most often unconscious” (1)∗. Since the aim of human growth is the realization of the potential with which one is born, the metaphor that best captures this process is that of a seed growing into a tree: within the seed lies all the information about what will grow from it, how it will grow, and when. In this sense, individuation is the process through which a person becomes what they are meant to be.

From this it follows that the cause of individuation lies in the future rather than in the past. Because this idea diverges from Freud’s psychoanalysis, Jung introduces two different concepts to describe the distinction between the two approaches: reductive analysis and prospective analysis. While reductive analysis (Freudian) is concerned with the treatment of traumas in the personal unconscious that originate in the past, prospective analysis (Jungian) is oriented toward the future of the individual and toward supporting the natural processes of psychological growth. This shift in perspective is of great significance.

There is a profound difference between viewing the problems and pain in our lives as the result of past trauma that needs to be healed, and seeing them as challenges for development—through which we may give expression to the soul’s inherent heroism.

Individuation Is a Broader Concept Than Psychological Health

From what has been said above, another distinctive feature of the processes of individuation follows: although they include psychotherapy, they do not coincide with it, because they refer to something more than the attainment of psychological health.

“Health and individuation do not always coincide. What may be “healthy” for a dominant ego-image at one stage of life can become unhealthy for an emerging ego-image at a later phase. Psychologically speaking—as in other areas of life—the good is often the enemy of the better. Individuation is a broader and more complex concept than health. It is a dynamic process involving continual change and ultimately leading to the acceptance of life’s finitude and the inevitability of death.” (2)∗

In other words, viewing individuation as a natural process of growth leads to an understanding of psychological problems as expressions of spontaneous self-healing processes taking place in the unconscious, whose purpose is to impel us to develop by becoming increasingly whole. Therefore, when we work with a psychological problem that is an expression of an activated individuational impulse, we take the side of the symptom — approaching it with the attitude that “the problem is the solution.”

This has been discussed most extensively by Carl Jung in relation to neuroses (suffering arising from inner conflicts). They enter our lives when the time has come for the next step in our development, and contents that are opposed to our conscious attitude begin to emerge from the depths of the psyche. We react to them with resistance; resistance generates tension, and tension provides the necessary energy for development. Since the aim of what arises is to overcome our psychic one-sidedness, it is of crucial importance that we are able to endure this tension — to hold both sides of the conflict simultaneously, until a third element emerges that unites them.

Here the most essential characteristic of individuation becomes evident — the unification of opposites and the attainment of inner wholeness. The most fundamental opposition we resolve in life is that between consciousness and the unconscious. In this sense, development takes place through the assimilation into consciousness of contents that arise from the unconscious. When we succeed in doing this, the tension subsides. The experience is one of expansion and growth.

Change Occurs Through Inner Maturation

Another important consequence of understanding individuation as a natural process of maturation is that it is, as a rule, a long process. Intellectual insights and moments of awareness are necessary, but they are not sufficient to bring about the desired changes. Unlike ego-oriented psychotherapies, in which the client has greater access to personal will in order to effect change, here the psychological work passes through long and often painful periods of powerlessness. Knowing that, in this process, things change through the force of inner maturation helps us to endure more easily the frustration of the desire for quick results. We become more patient while waiting for the seed to germinate and grow (see: “From Nigredo to Albedo,” “How Long Does One Step Take”).

“We readily assume that psychic contents can be completely overcome through the attainment of insight. This is true only of contents that, in one way or another, do not mean very much. Numinous complexes of ideas may be expected to change their form, but since their content can assume an infinite number of forms, it does not disappear in the sense of becoming entirely ineffective. This content possesses a certain autonomy, and when it is repressed or systematically ignored, it reappears elsewhere in a negative and destructive guise. In the end it falls into the power of the devil whom the magician imagined he had brought under his control. It is a waste of effort to try to use the demon for one’s own purposes; conversely, the autonomy of this ambivalent figure must be approached with a religious attitude, for it is the source of that formidable power which drives us toward individuation.” (3)

Two Phases of the Individuation Process

Just as the sun reaches its zenith at noon and then begins to descend, eventually setting, so too in our lives the direction of inner growth differs depending on whether we are in the first or the second half of life (according to Carl Jung, the “midlife” period lies roughly between the ages of 35 and 40). Accordingly, there are two phases of the process of individuation, distinguished by the different aims that development places before us in the first and in the second half of life (when individuation is spoken of, however, it usually refers only to its second phase).

While in the first half of life the primary task of the young person is to develop a healthy sense of identity and to achieve successful realization in the outer world, in the second half of life the aim becomes different and even opposite — something within us begins to prepare for the coming descent and for death. We do this by re-evaluating our priorities in life. At this stage, being faithful to oneself — expressing one’s inner truth and individuality — becomes more important than adaptation to the external world. Following this impulse, however, gives rise to much fear and pain, because it leads to conflict with the status quo as well as to the disappointment of others’ expectations of us. We are compelled to pass through long periods of loneliness, misunderstanding by others, and even rejection.

“The words “many are called, but few are chosen” are singularly appropriate here, for the development of personality from the germ-state to full consciousness is at once a charisma and a curse, because its first fruit is the conscious and unavoidable segregation of the single individual from the undifferentiated and unconscious herd. This means isolation, and there is no more comforting word for it. Neither family nor society nor position can save him from this fate, nor yet the most successful adaptation to his environment, however smoothly he fits in. The development of personality is a favour that must be paid for dearly. But the people who talk most loudly about developing their personalities are the very ones who are least mindful of the results, which are such as to frighten away all weaker spirits.” (4)

Another important consequence of individuation being a natural maturation process is that it is generally a long process. Intellectual insights and awareness are necessary but not sufficient to bring about the changes we seek. Unlike ego-oriented psychotherapies, where the client has greater personal will to make the changes, here the psychological work goes through long and painful periods of frustration. Knowing that in this process things change by inner maturation helps us to endure the frustration of seeking quick results. We become more patient as we wait for the seed to germinate and develop (see: “From Nygredo to Albedo“, “How Long It Takes to Take One Step“).

A parallel to the existence of different aims in the psychological development of the individual can also be found in the scale of mental health (systemic psychotherapy). The aim of people who are situated at the lower levels of this scale is to learn how to adapt to the rules and norms of society. This is not the case, however, for certain more advanced individuals who are well adapted and located in the middle range of the scale. When adaptation occurs at the expense of the expression of their individuality, it begins to turn into an obstacle to their further development.

The Aim of Individuation Is the Birth of Individuality

Jung likely chose the term individuation to name this natural process of psychological development because its most essential characteristic is creativity — which manifests when we walk untrodden paths and dare to express our individual differences. Individuation, however, has nothing in common with individualism; it is, in fact, its very opposite. A fully developed individuality signifies “a better and more complete realization of collective qualities.” (5)∗

The opposites that are united in this case are uniqueness and ordinariness, difference and what is universally human, adaptation and innovation. In other words, in the process of our psychological maturation we unite the awareness that we are unique, unrepeatable individuals and, at the same time, that “we are nothing more than ordinary men and women.” (5)

Individuation Is a Process of Transformation

Here we come to another very important characteristic of the process of individuation — in its essence, it is a process of transformation. Of radical renewal. Of dying and rebirth. We experience this in the form of a series of smaller or greater “deaths” of our bonds with elements of the external, concrete, and transient world to which we are attached and from which we derive inner value and identity. We turn our gaze inward and ask the question of that which does not die. We seek how to care for the soul, because it is the Sun that passes to the other side of the visible world in order to rise again beyond the horizon.

Such a radical shift in priorities and in the meaning of our lives is the true essence of transformation — while one part of us dies, another part of us is born into a new life. The more radical the changes we undergo, the more painfully we pass through the processes of renewal. And although different people are given different measures of experiences of death and dying, they are always charged with great pain and suffering.

Christ as a Symbol of Individuation

Jung’s psychological exploration of Christianity as a myth arising from the objective psyche (the collective unconscious) of humanity led him to the understanding that Christ is a symbol of the soul of humanity, crucified on the cross of matter. In this sense, it is precisely his life, crucifixion, and resurrection that describe the essence of the processes of individuation and help us understand what it truly means to care for the soul.

In my experience, the answer to this question is accompanied by a great deal of confusion. People who believe in the existence of the soul usually respond that this means learning the lessons for which they were born on Earth. Yet when I ask them what these lessons actually are, they either candidly admit that they do not know, or say that it means being a good person. And here another question arises — what does it actually mean to be good? For life is something whole, and the answer to this question determines whether psychic one-sidedness will arise or not.

Understanding virtue as the doing of good deeds, together with the accompanying feeling that we are good people, not only obstructs but also profoundly distorts the processes of our inner wholeness. Because of the one-sidedness of our conscious attitude, we reject the painful half of life, and it thus becomes transformed into the “psychic Shadow.” When enough rejected psychic material accumulates, the Shadow begins to manifest itself in the form of various symptoms (somatic and psychological) or life misfortunes. It is no coincidence that in psychotherapy a fundamental criterion of psychological health is wholeness. When we are whole, we cease to project our Shadow outward — to “see the speck in another’s eye while failing to see the beam in our own.” In this sense, wholeness is true virtue, and we practice it by not fleeing from the suffering that arises from encountering the painful truth of life.

In this sense, Christ is the most vivid symbol of what it means to be virtuous in a world of dualities. Suffering from inner conflicts, experiences of loneliness, betrayal, and misunderstanding by others, of loss and powerlessness, are typical “experiences of crucifixion.” If we have the readiness to suffer the unification of opposites within ourselves, resurrection will eventually follow. In the language of analytical psychology, this is the emergence of the so-called transcendent function, which is a sign that the conflict has been surpassed.

The same may be expressed in another way: if God is the Whole, then being “created in His image and likeness” means that we ourselves contain this Whole within us. And since the Whole encompasses everything, attaining inner wholeness means experiencing the clash of opposites within ourselves and coming to know, personally, the evil that is inherent within the Creator.

It becomes clear that virtue is not the feeling of being good, but precisely its opposite. It is the readiness to endure the confrontation with the dark part of ourselves and to transform it (see: Jiddu Krishnamurti on “The Beginning of Virtue”). Understandably, this gives rise to immense suffering, yet it is from this suffering that the highest form of love is born — compassion, which lies beyond the opposites of human emotion and is free from judgment.

The One Who Transforms Is Not the Person, but the God

Here we come to another essential aspect of the processes of individuation as processes of inner transformation — these processes always involve layers of the human psyche that are trans-individual. Jung calls these layers the collective unconscious. This is the world of archetypes, and the most important among them is the archetype from which the human ego arises and which governs the processes of our inner self-regulation — the archetype of the Total Personality (the “image of God”). From this it follows that “it is not the human being who is transformed into God, but God who undergoes transformation in and through the human being.” (6)

Knowing that the processes of individuation involve contents that do not originate in our personal psyche helps us make sense of experiences that are difficult to understand and therefore often frightening.

One such question is why this process is so painful, and why the suffering involved is far deeper than the suffering arising from our personal illusions, mistakes, and past traumas. Even when we enjoy high levels of psychological health and are free from neurotic suffering, we nonetheless suffer deeply during the processes of individuation. At first glance this suffering appears entirely without cause, yet it does have a cause: it is the suffering of the incarnated spirit in the world of matter, passing through the processes of its renewal and transformation.

“To be genuinely engaged in the process of individuation entails profound suffering. It inflicts a deep wound, because—put simply—we are deprived of the capacity to shape our lives according to our own wishes. When we take the unconscious and the process of individuation seriously, we can no longer direct our lives at will. We feel broken and crucified, trapped or imprisoned, nailed to the cross. In such moments, intense suffering naturally arises from the encounter with the Self—but the Self suffers equally, having suddenly become bound to the reality of an ordinary human life.” (6)∗

From this quotation another aspect of the processes of transformation also becomes visible — the sense of powerlessness that marks the culminating point of the reversal. This is the moment when we subordinate ego-will to a higher will (7). In spiritual literature this period is called the “capitulation of the ego,” which leads to “rebirth.” In the terms of Jungian analysis, this is the shifting of the center of the ego from the periphery (the empirical personality) to the archetype from which it arises (the Total Personality). Once this transition has been made, the most difficult part of the process of individuation is over. The reversal has occurred, “the turn has been taken,” and the nature of our ego-desires has been purified.

“Jung says that finding oneself in a situation with no way out, or in a conflict with no solution, is the classical beginning of the process of individuation. It must be a situation without an exit: the unconscious wants the hopeless conflict in order to press ego-consciousness against the wall, so that the person realizes that whatever they do is wrong, and whichever way they decide will be wrong. The aim of this is to knock out the superiority of the ego, which always acts from the illusion that it bears responsibility for the solution. Naturally, if one says to oneself, ‘Oh well, then I will simply let everything take its course and make no decision at all, merely procrastinating and evading,’ this too is just as wrong, because then nothing happens. But if one is ethical enough to suffer through the conflict to the very core of one’s personality, then, as a rule, owing to the insolubility of the conscious situation, the Total Personality manifests itself.” (8)∗

In this final sentence lies the essence of how the processes of our inner wholeness unfold and why they are an expression of higher virtue. If we possess the moral strength to endure the conflict, the very force from which our suffering arises reverses itself and manifests in our lives as a blessing.

Individuation and Alchemy

The irony is that the image of Christ also suffers from one-sidedness, for the Son of God is wholly good. Evil lies outside him — it is his Father who subjects him to unjust suffering, creates the scenario of betrayal, and sends him to a torturous death. For this reason, Carl Jung discovers the classical symbols of transformation in alchemy, which he regards as the true precursor of the analytical psychology he later developed. According to Jung, the images the alchemists perceived in chemical substances were projections of their inner processes. When the time came for the next stage in the development of humanity — marked by the rise of science and critical thinking — the form in which alchemy existed changed and was taken up by its heirs: chemistry and analytical psychology.

“I am of the opinion that the alchemist’s hope of extracting from matter the philosopher’s gold, the panacea, or the miraculous stone, was only partly an illusion, an effect of projection; for the rest it corresponded to certain psychic facts of great importance to the psychology of the unconscious. As is evident from the texts and their symbolism, the alchemist projected what I have called the process of individuation into the phenomena of chemical change.”(8)∗

Through alchemy, the problem of the “dark face of God” and its transformation through the individual efforts of the human being becomes clearer. We usually regard the Creator as unimaginably more powerful than His creation — the human being — and this is indeed how it appears in the sufferings of God’s servant Job (9). Yet, says Jung, the human being has one small but decisive advantage over the Creator: consciousness. Precisely through consciousness, the human being can transform and perfect the divine creation, and even prevail in a struggle with forces that vastly exceed him (see: the struggle of Jacob with the angel).

The same can be expressed in another way: through the human being, the Creator acquires the senses through which He can perceive what He has created and thus transform Himself (since there is nothing that lies outside Him). It becomes clear why Jung regards Job as the historical precursor to the birth of Christ. The birth of the Son of God is a symbol of the transformation of the vengeful and self-glorifying Yahweh into the God of love, forgiveness, and redemption. It is a sign that our shared soul has entered the next stage of its development — redemption, which is an expression of the processes of wholeness unfolding within it.

We associate darkness with evil, yet Jung’s psychological interpretation of darkness is the absence of consciousness (10). Therefore, to transform the dark aspect of God means to come to know what we condemn and then to manifest it in its positive form. Herein lies the irony: we need opposites in the world of matter in order for consciousness to arise, yet it is precisely the presence of consciousness that enables us to unite them once again.

I trust it is now clear why it is so important to understand what individuation is: it answers the question of how to care for the soul — namely, by making the effort toward self-knowledge and by having the readiness to suffer what we see in the “mirror,” however displeasing it may be. In this, too, lies the answer to the question of what true self-sacrifice is: it is the innocence we must relinquish in order to attain the “water of immortality” / the “philosopher’s stone” — the goal of the alchemical work.

The Awakening of the Individuation Impulse

There is one more crucial aspect of individuation that must be understood. Although it is a natural process, potentially present in the psyche of every human being, for the majority of people this process remains latent and therefore unconscious. The seed is there, but it still lies deeply buried in the soil of the earth, waiting for the moment when “something within it” begins to stir and it sets out on its risky path upward toward the light. In other words, the processes of inner maturation do not concern only the development of the seed into a tree; they also encompass the ripening of the inner conditions necessary for the awakening of the immortal part of the soul — the true cause of the individuation process (in its narrower sense). The phrase “many are called, but few are chosen” best describes our individual differences in relation to questions of the soul, as well as why not everyone has the readiness to walk the “narrow and steep path.”

The awakening of the immortal part within us begins with great suffering. This is the moment when our inner Sun sinks below the horizon and darkens (the so-called Black Sun / Sol niger). In alchemy, this is the stage of nigredo or calcination; in Christianity, it is the “dark night of the soul”; in Buddhism, it is the “third type of suffering”; and in psychology, it is endogenous depression. These different terms describe the same phenomenon and the experiences associated with it — loss of meaning in life, a sense of disconnection and a desire for isolation, the absence of joy and pleasure in things that previously brought satisfaction, confusion, and feelings of inferiority. Something within us awakens in order to force a change in the direction of our gaze. Yet because this “something” comes from the unconscious, before it is understood and integrated by consciousness it manifests in a negative form.

“When we think of the anima as a spiritual guide, we tend to think of Beatrice leading Dante to Heaven, but we must remember that he only experiences this after he has passed through Hell. Usually, the anima does not take the man by the hand and lead him straight to Heaven; she first puts him in a hot cauldron where he roasts very nicely for a while.” (11)∗

Destruction is the reverse side of creativity. Before the new and more progressive can be born, the old must first be cleared away. When we are inside the experience of destruction, our suffering appears meaningless and undeserved. If, however, we know that this is the way transformation, renewal, and development take place, it becomes easier to accept its inevitability and necessity.

The Eastern term for an awakened individuation impulse is “the awakening of Kundalini” — the transpersonal energy that lies latent in the human body and awakens in certain individuals (see: James Hillman on the awakening of Kundalini as an awakened individuation impulse).

The Risks in the Process of Individuation

Regardless of whether we speak of an awakened individuation impulse or of an awakened Kundalini, what they have in common is that they involve dangers. The reason for this is already clear: they engage experiences that do not arise solely from our personal psyche.

“What we can learn from our еxamples is, above all, the fact that the soul hides contents and is subject to influences, the assimilation of which is fraught with great dangers… we are left with no choice but to reject the arrogant claims of consciousness that it is the entire soul, and to acknowledge that the soul is a reality that we cannot grasp with the means of reason we have at our disposal so far.” (12)∗

One danger is to identify with these experiences, assuming that they are personal — this is what Jung calls ego inflation (psychosis). This danger is considerable, because these experiences feel intensely personal, both as thoughts arising in the mind and as emotions felt in the body. When we realize that we have no control over them, fear of madness arises. In this case, however, fear is a good thing, because it helps us maintain a critical attitude and to ask questions. What is more dangerous is actual madness — the state of uncritical identification with these contents, which occurs in psychoses (manic states and bipolar disorder).

Another danger is what Jung calls unconscious individuation. This occurs when the individuation impulse has been awakened, but the person resists and refuses to pay the price — refuses to make the sacrifice required to walk the narrow path.

“Jung says that the unconscious process of individuation leads to an incredible hardening of the individual against others, whereas conscious work on the problem of individuation and the problem of transference leads to humanization, to greater awareness, wisdom, and connectedness.” (13)∗

It is still not entirely clear to me why, when confronted with suffering, some people become softer and more compassionate, while others become even more hard-hearted. My own assumption is that this reflects processes of differentiation within our collective psyche, described in the Gospel of Matthew: “For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away.” (13:12) What is “given” or “taken away” here are the virtues of the heart.

There is, however, something else as well. Once the individuation impulse has been awakened, there is no turning back.

“In myths the hero is the one who conquers the dragon, not the one who is devoured by it. And yet both have to deal with the same dragon. Also, he is no hero who never met the dragon, or who, if he once saw it, declared afterwards that he saw nothing. Equally, only one who has risked the fight with the dragon and is not overcome by it wins the hoard, the “treasure hard to attain.” He alone has a genuine claim to self-confidence, for he has faced the dark ground of his self and thereby has gained himself. This experience gives him faith and trust, the pistis in the ability of the self to sustain him, for everything that menaced him from inside he has made his own. He has acquired the right to believe that he will be able to overcome all future threats by the same means.” (14)

Even if we decide to pretend that we have not seen the dragon, because this is a natural impulse, it continues to operate — but it turns in another direction. For example, we fall ill and die. The tree continues to grow, but in a different direction. Instead of passing through the processes of death in a symbolic way (the death of the negative ego), we pass through death literally, through the death of the physical body. Or, as it is written in the Gospel of Thomas:

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” (15)

I trust it is now clear how crucial it is to know what individuation is — for through this knowledge we can avoid the dangers that accompany the awakening of the soul.

Individuation, Analysis, and Marriage

Thus, the process of individuation requires immense moral strength, though not in the way we usually imagine it. Perhaps the most important virtue in this process is to commit oneself one hundred percent to truth and to the care of the soul / inner growth. The adversary is too strong, and if there is even a single percent of hesitation, it is precisely there that it will attack. This is why Carl Jung regarded every relationship in which we become deeply bound to another person as a means of inner transformation. Regardless of whether this bond takes the form of marriage or another kind of partnership (in analysis, this is the relationship between therapist and client), if the bond is deep, it has the capacity to transform those involved in it.

“Analysis and marriage are specific examples of situations of an interpersonal nature that support the action of individuation. Both require dedication and are difficult processes” (16).

Our deepest relationships have the capacity to transform us because they activate our deepest desires, fears, and projections. Transformation can occur only if we are deeply committed to the processes of our inner wholeness. In this sense, commitment to significant external relationships is a reflection of inner commitment to the care of the soul.

Individuation Continues Throughout Life

Individuation, as a natural process of development, continues throughout the whole of life. We go on changing until the end of our lives, participating in an endless process of inner renewal and growth.

“Because archetypal potentials are so vast, it is not possible for everything that is inwardly possible to be realized in every individual process of individuation. The decisive factor here is not the extent of what is achieved, but whether the personality remains faithful to its deeper potentials, or merely follows egocentric and narcissistic tendencies, or identifies with collective cultural roles.” (17)∗

In other words, even when the most difficult part has passed and the inner reversal has taken place, development continues. The direction of this development is inward, toward the center (where the archetype of the Total Personality resides). For this reason, movement toward this center resembles movement along a spiral. Again and again we return to themes we believe we have already resolved, yet new aspects continue to emerge that need to be known and integrated. With each subsequent movement inward, the density of the conscious center within us increases (see: From Nigredo to Albedo).

Conclusion

Thus, individuation is a difficult process that requires immense moral strength — the strength to confront the destructive face of the Whole while participating in its transformation. We do this over long periods of time and endure great suffering as we unite the opposites within ourselves. And although the awakened individuation impulse may at first appear to us as a curse, if we commit ourselves to the process of inner growth, we eventually come to understand that it was also our greatest blessing. Then everything we have gone through begins to acquire a perfect meaning. Or, as Carl Jung writes:

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own soul.”

The change we undergo is so profound that it feels as though we have become an entirely different person from the one we were at the beginning. In place of a fragmented individual, dependent on things in the outer world, a sense of wholeness and an inner center is born — the true reward of the unification of opposites. And although tension does not disappear completely, it diminishes significantly, giving way to a feeling of inner peace and harmony. Powerlessness is transformed into a different kind of strength, arising from the connection to our spiritual roots and to the eternal. And since the transformation achieved does not concern only our own soul, the peace attained within ourselves contributes to fewer wars and greater harmony in the Whole — the true essence of service.

Kameliya Hadzhiyska

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The core of what I have come to understand through my own processes of individuation is shared in the 29 Days Program, devoted to the relationship between emotional and spiritual intelligence.

And since individuation is a creative process, I believe that through what is shared there I have made my own personal contribution to the understanding of the theme of duality and the unification of opposites.

One such opposition is that between the functions of feeling and thinking, which on the level of the ego-personality are united through the capacities of emotional intelligence, and on the level of the soul through the transformation of the desiring nature and the development of moral virtues.

The latter is connected with the birth of wisdom — Sophia, the feminine aspect of the incarnation of God, which is becoming increasingly relevant in the time in which we live.

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Referenced literature:

(All quotes marked with an asterisk ∗are direct translations from Bulgarian.)

1. Yolande Jacobi, Jung’s Psychology, pp. 140–141

2. James Hall, Jungian Dream Analysis, p. 39

3. C. G. Jung, The Philosophical Tree

4. C. G. Jung, On the Development of Personality, pp. 293–294

5. A Critical Dictionary of C. G. Jung’s Analytical Psychology, p. 73

6. Marie-Louise von Franz

7. “Thy will be done, O God, and not mine” — Matthew 6:10; Matthew 26:42; Luke 11:2; Luke 22:42

8. C. G. Jung, Collected Works, Vol. 5, p. 337

9. The Book of Job, Old Testament

10. “The longing for light is the longing for consciousness.” — Marie-Louise von Franz

11. Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales, Chapter VI, p. 4

12. C. G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, par. 564

13. Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales, Chapter VI, p. 4

14. C. G. Jung, Collected Works, Vol. 14 (Princeton University Press, 1970), par. 756

15. The Gospel of Thomas

16. A Critical Dictionary of C. G. Jung’s Analytical Psychology, p. 75

17. James Hall, Jungian Dream Analysis, p. 26

18. C. G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, par. 564 (paraphrased)