Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and together with Sigmund Freud and Alfred
Adler, Jung was one of the founders of psychoanalysis or the so-called ‘modern depth psychology’.
In spite of being highly praised by Freud, Jung departed from his teachings, eventually
founding his own school of psychology called ‘analytical psychology’.
Apart from psychology, Jung has had a great influence in many fields, including psychiatry,
anthropology, archaeology, literature, religious studies and philosophy and his philosophy
is often referred to as “Jungian Philosophy”.
He has also published multiple books like thePsychology of the Unconscious, Man and
His Symbols, The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious, Modern Man In Search of a Soul,
The Psychology of the Transference, ‘Memories, Dreams, and Thoughts’, and The Relations
Between the Ego and the Unconscious.
According to Jung, the entirety of an individual’s being can be described by our psyche: encompassing
all our conscious and unconscious aspects.
One very important aspect of the former is the ego.
The ego is the center of our consciousness.
It regulates everything that we are conscious of and decides how to and on what to act.
However, since it is limited to what you are conscious of, it cannot help you become any
more authentic than you already are.
For that, you would have to tackle the unconscious.
And as the term suggests, this concerns a great deal of our being that we are mostly
unaware of.
Jung divided the unconscious into two layers: personal unconsciousness, and collective unconsciousness.
The former is simply all that you are but are not aware of.
This will include hidden emotions, ‘forgotten’ memories, ambiguous or unconscious feelings,
repressed thoughts, etc.
The latter, however, is more complicated: it encompasses those unconscious feelings,
thoughts, instincts, and more, that all people have or have had in the past.
They are the things universally inherited by humans.
According to Jung, these shared mental concepts appear as archetypes.
These can be found in mythology, fairytales and other stories as the hero, the villain,
the helper, etc. and they are also to be found within people.
In everybody there is a cultural and generational urge to take on all kinds of universally known
and recurring personalities.
Generally, people tend to suppress the unconscious parts of their psyche.
They pretend - often to the extent of fooling themselves.
But the suppressing of your unconsciousness is exactly what sustains your inauthenticity.
How could you ever become who you truly are if you don't even know yourself?
Jung says that the truly authentic life is tied to your inner life: you need to know
who you are within in order to be yourself.
This process of facing your inner life to achieve authenticity, is called the process
of individuation.
Individuation, in short, is a process by which individuals can set out to become ‘more
fully themselves’.
It allows those who undergo it to truly face who they are and to strengthen their sense
of authenticity.
This process is not meant to eliminate the unconscious, for that would be disastrous,
but rather to bring harmony and balance between the unconscious and conscious, without having
one rule over the other.
According to Jung, it is crucial to face four of your archetypes in order to go through
the individuation process.
These are the persona, the shadow, the anima or animus, and the self.
In this video, we will guide you through these four archetypes and how they can help you
become truly authentic.
1.
The Persona Jung says ‘The persona is a complicated
system of relations between individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask,
designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other,
to conceal the true nature of the individual’.
As Jung said, persona can roughly be described as ‘a mask’ - which is a reference to
part of the costume an actor would wear on a theater stage.
This is because the persona basically functions as your ‘social mask’: it is the way you
present yourself and the impression you try to make on the rest of the world.
According to Jung, the persona is inherent to human nature.
We develop our persona when growing up as we learn how to fit into our shared lives
with others.
The persona we develop often does not consist of one single ‘mask’, but rather multiple
ones - and all the masks one can put on in different social situations together form
the entirety of the persona.
Jung further states that our persona is a necessary and beneficial part of our social
existence.
For example, imagine a therapist.
No matter what, it would not be acceptable for that therapist to express hostility at
a client in their care, primarily because it would decrease the clients trust and comfort,
which is the opposite of what the therapist is trying to achieve.
A therapist that frightens their clients has failed as a therapist.
Thus, a good therapist would have to suppress the urge to exhibit anger or hostile behavior
even when they feel that way internally - and instead put on the mask of a kind and caring
performance instead.
The kind persona that hides the hostile inside is, in this case, a helpful tool to exist
in the social world.
The persona can be described as a translation of the ego to the outer world; a way for the
ego to interact with its social environment.
However, in addition to being a way of presenting yourself, the persona is a way of concealing
yourself as well.
Behaving in accordance with your persona is often compared to pretending or acting.
In other words, you fake it.
This can lead to undesirable results, such as overidentification.
In the case of overidentification, our persona becomes an unconscious part of ourselves that
we cannot distinguish from our true, inner self - therefore losing sight of who we truly
are as an individual.
We become blind to our individuality and instead over identify with the mask.
We lose sight of our actual desires and needs, and get stuck in a role instead.
Imagine a schoolteacher who, unable to let go of the persona they put on when teaching,
becomes too dictating at home.
We can say of many people that they over identify with their persona.
Although it is natural and necessary to put on a bit of a front when interacting with
other human beings - like when avoiding telling someone what you think of their appearance
in order to be polite - it should not become who you think you are.
And, according to Jung, overidentification is not possible in the long run.
The pretense is not durable!
Instead, eventually, our personas will enter the phase of disintegration.
In this stage, we either intentionally or unintentionally shatter our persona; we ‘lose’
our performance.
In the people around us, this may present in burnouts, identity crises or ‘losing
your way.’
It may result in a teacher finally snapping, for example.
This may leave us in a state of chaos: with no idea who we truly are and no way to return
to our familiar performance.
In this stage, one generally feels disoriented and lost.
However, there is a way to have our persona compliment our true self instead of clashing
with it.
This process is known as restoration.
By restoring, Jung means developing a flexible persona that does not collide with their true
self, but rather helps their true self navigate society.
The restored persona should be a persona one is aware of.
One knows that they are putting on a certain act when they do so, and they know who they
are without their persona.
By being conscious of your persona, you can choose to integrate your true self into it.
Instead of acting against how you want to, you can find out how to combine your individuality
into your persona.
Going back to our example of the therapist, if they want to integrate their negative feelings,
it would mean acknowledging their feelings and setting the right limits.
They still can be kind and helpful, but as soon as the anger or bitterness become too
prevalent, they should acknowledge it and take more time for themselves instead of pushing
it down.
This would mean saying ‘no’ to clients, telling people ‘Sorry, I’m taking a day
off’ and taking rest to recover and reduce the negativity.
They do not need to outright deny their true tendencies.
Restoration of the persona is the only way to combine your true, authentic self with
the rules of the social world.
This is the way to live your most authentic life within society.
2.
The shadow According to Jung ‘Everyone carries a shadow,
and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it
is.
At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.’
The shadow-self consists of all the parts of ourselves that we consider bad, reject
and repress like our anger, vanity, impulses, dark thoughts, shameful tendencies, and so
on.
In many cases they are traits or desires that are rejected by society as a whole.
The idea that one should not have these characteristics has been taught from childhood onwards and
thus, we deny its existence.
However, denying them does not make them go away; instead, they are simply in our blind
spot and impact our ability to be a free individual.
Hence, they have negative consequences for our lives.
Jung states that in order to become who you truly are, we must consciously get to know
our shadow selves and find ways to integrate it into our personality instead of ignoring
it.
Our repressed traits are here to stay - and only if we accept and embrace that can we
become who we truly are.
The repression of our shadow-self feels natural and it is incredibly hard and uncomfortable
to try and look straight into the aspects of ourselves that we despise or fear the most.
How could someone who takes great pride in their kindness and generosity ever acknowledge
their raging envy?
How could someone who sees themselves as fully confident ever address their insecurities?
Well, in most cases, they don’t.
And ironically, those who know their shadow selves the least are also those who are most
bothered by them.
The more something is repressed, the more it wants out!
That is why we can suddenly say something we wish we hadn’t, why we sometimes can’t
hide our negative emotions from our faces, or why we might take extreme action on impulses
that we then later regret.
The repression of our shadow-self leads to a quick temper, feelings of loss of control
and delusions about yourself as a person: when one generally considers oneself a gentle
person and suddenly finds themselves lashing out, you might find that your entire image
of yourself is being called into question.
The shadow makes us act in certain ways that will make us think, ‘Why did I do that?’
The repression of the shadow may also manifest in overreaction to negative qualities of others.
This is called projection: we project those things we do not like about ourselves onto
others.
And so, when someone acts selfishly, we are much more bothered than we should be because
we hold onto an ever-present hatred of our own selfishness.
The harshness of our judgments of others might put a strain on our social relationships,
and also induce our self-hatred due to our own bad traits.
In all of these cases we do not act as a free and authentic individual.
In order to achieve that, one should get to know their shadow-self first.
By ‘getting to know’ your shadow-self, Jung means that it is important to become
aware of the shadow-self, without identifying with it.
You do not have to see yourself as all those traits you try not to show, but you do have
to acknowledge that they are there.
In order to become conscious of the unconscious, you should be able to take a step back and
analyze your own behavior, thoughts and feelings during daily life.
. For example, imagine yourself as a confident
person who represses their own insecurities.
You might instinctively respond coldly or angrily when somebody brings up a topic that
is close to your insecurity.
You might avoid certain situations, activities or clothes you actually like wearing in order
to avoid feeling insecure.
You might lie to yourself and others when you are feeling self-conscious and overcompensate
by putting on a self-assured front that is exhausting to keep up.
When you realize that this unwanted behavior stems from your insecurities, you can learn
how to face it.
This includes finding out where your insecurity comes from - for example, a past rejection
- and approaching this experience with kindness and clarity.
You must realize that one rejection does not define you, and you can do so by sharing it
with others, talking about what happened, how you feel, trying something new etc.
In the end, only by confronting the source could you deal with its consequences.
Only by confronting your insecurities could you finally find true self-acceptance to accompany
your self-assured act.
Just like acknowledging this insecurity, fear of being judged can become an opportunity
for courage.
Acknowledging anger can become an opportunity for justice or stress-relief.
Similarly, ‘bad thoughts’ or ‘unacceptable desires’ can be dealt with and you can learn
to forgive yourself for them instead of pretending they do not exist.
When you manage to work with your shadow-self then you take a big step closer to living
the life that is most true to you.
Only those who know and accept themselves fully are able to live authentically.
3.
The anima or animus In the words of Jung “Wholeness is not achieved
by cutting off a portion of one’s being, but by integration of the contraries.”
Let’s take a deeper dive into the shadow.
Within our shadow-self we house psychological qualities of the opposite gender - also known
as contrasexual aspects.
Jung believed that if you are a woman, you have an inner personal masculine psyche - or
animus - within you and, if you are a man, you have an inner personal feminine psyche
- or anima - within you.
However, due to our societal and even personal pressure to behave more ‘manly’ or more
‘womanly’, we tend to neglect these subconscious qualities.
Our anima or animus goes ignored by our persona and repressed by our ego - and that can come
back to bite us.
The anima and animus as he described them are based on the Greek terms of eros and logos.
‘Eros’ is associated with creativity, passion, connection and wholeness.
‘Logos’ is associated with rationality, objectivity, power and action.
Jung does not rule out that women might have a repressed anima as well and that men could
be in possession of a repressed animus, too - anyone could have any mix of the two.
But women having an animus and men having an anima is most common, and these remain
in the unconscious.
We're taught to adhere to gender roles and to believe that embracing contraries within
yourself is neither possible, nor desirable.
So our ego expresses our external gender identity and so the anima or animus, our internal contrasexual
parts, often go ignored and repressed.
Think of the famous expression of ‘boys don’t cry.’
Showing emotion, especially sadness, is often seen as feminine and ‘weak’ coming from
male members of western society.
One cannot be a man and sensitive.
Thus, men often end up suppressing their sensitivity and emotions.
But their sensitivity is still hidden in their anima, and the more one tries to push something
down, the more it will end up controlling them.
The denial of your anima or animus will not remove your feminine or masculine tendencies,
but only twist them into something ugly.
The man who suppresses his sensitivity and never cries may become severely depressed
due to the loneliness of hiding his emotions, or have uncontrollable outbursts due to the
pressure of having to keep it all in.
To avoid these hardships, it is important to learn how to recognize and accept your
contrasexual aspects.
This way, we can balance our contrary traits and find harmony within ourselves.
In order to become aware of the anima or animus within oneself, it is important to analyze
your own behavior and insecurities.
It requires self-analysis and self-questioning.
To analyze your masculine and feminine tendencies, you can observe people around you, so when
you find yourself judging someone and ask, ‘Why?’
Learn how to appreciate them.
If a man starts to appreciate others around them for their sensitivity and for how they
are in touch with their emotions, he will find that embracing sensitivity and showing
his emotions as a man does not dismiss his masculinity, but rather will only complement
it.
Other examples of men integrating their anima into their daily life include men embracing
their passions, creativity, treating others gently, starting to feel more comfortable
asking for help, etc.
Similarly, women integrating their animus can try to be more assertive, focused, career-oriented,
and so on.
All this will not result in sacrificing your masculinity or femininity, but rather it will
allow it to shine more thanks to the calmness and balance you have achieved.
Through this integration, you start respecting and appreciating your own contrasexual aspects,
which will eventually also improve your relationships with others, especially the opposite sex.
Once your anima or animus is integrated, you become more yourself.
You will be balanced, harmonious and authentic.
4.
The self In our final quote from Jung for this video,
he says ‘The self is not only the centre, but also the whole circumference which embraces
both conscious and unconscious; it is the centre of this totality, just as the ego is
the centre of consciousness.’
According to Jung, the ego comes from and is included within the self.
He compares the self to a circle or mandala.
If you imagine a mandala or a circle with a smaller center within, the outer layer will
represent the self, and the inner middle the ego.
The ego concerns itself with the conscious, while the self is concerned with your entire
psyche.
This includes both all that is conscious and all that is unconscious.
The self is the archetype of ‘wholeness’.
The self is generally presented as the unity of opposites, or as the unconscious and conscious
perfectly combined.
It regulates your conflictions and it offers a way to strive for a perfect balance within
yourself.
It encompasses everything we are, everything we once were, and everything we can be.
Jung even described the self as ‘the God within us’, as it has the potential to become
anything at all.
Moreover, it is heavily embedded into the collective consciousness.
The collective consciousness is all those urges, thoughts, behaviors and more that are
unconsciously handed down through generations and passed between people in a community.
Due to these traits of the self, you can never get to know the entirety of it.
But you can explore it throughout your life, and keep searching for your unique potential.
Continuously exploring the self is the key to individuality.
When we pay no special attention to ourselves and our archetypes, and let ourselves be driven
by our impulses, unconscious urges, etc., the self is ‘locked away’ from us.
It is there, but not in a way we can access.
Thus we cannot explore ourselves, and we cannot show our authenticity to the world.
Since we cannot access the self, we also have little say over the ego that arises from it.
If one represses their fear of judgment and rejection, for example, they will never be
able to truly commit or fully be themselves without shame or worry.
Their ego can’t work on this because it’s not even aware of the problem - let alone
how to solve it!
So in order to become more ourselves, we have to increase our consciousness; because that
way, we broaden what the ego has access to and thus what it can work on.
We cannot improve ourselves without exploring the self or else it can result in someone
acting out of character, experiencing feelings and thoughts that confuse them and experiencing
little control over who they really are.
In order to resolve this, it is important to face your persona, shadow, and anima or
animus. and learn how to integrate them into our conscious being, to finally get access
to the self.
Being able to explore the self is thus the final and overarching stage of a successful
individuation process.
Whatever you find within the self, be it insecurities, bad habits, hidden passions, etc. - you must
acknowledge and embrace them instead of pushing them away.
You work with them and integrate them into your behavior instead of fighting against
them.
By doing so we can truly get to know and improve ourselves throughout our entire lives.
This ends with us being finally free to explore who we truly are as individuals, to find balance
and to become anything we want to be.
When you freely explore the self, only then can you become who you truly are.
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