Anyone who has been in one of my workshops has heard me mention or allude to what Carl Jung called “individuation”. It was his belief that all humans have an instinct that pushes them to grow and develop into completion and this lifelong process was what he called individuation: a state where we are no longer “divided”.

Now, what does Jung mean by individuation or un-divided? It can be understood like this: we have explored both our inner landscapes and outer environments, we have heightened awareness with regards to our persona (social “mask”), we have acknowledged our personal “shadow” and take care not to project it onto those around us, we have an understanding of the anima (feminine energy in men) or the animus (masculine energy in women), we have recognized the infinite force of the unconscious on our daily acts and communication and we are humbled by it.

Maybe it would be helpful to illustrate with some examples of “dividuals”. We can see people who seem to only thrive in the world of extraversion (excessive traveling, excessive planning of activities, excessive communicating on “exterior” subjects) and feel uncomfortable in moments of solitude or with sharing part of their “inner” person. The opposite of course would be true for dividuals only comfortable in the world of introversion. Other dividuals move through life with a persona so thick that we never have the impression of knowing who the real person is beneath. Dividuals with a massive shadow are people we gladly walk away from because they continually project that “darkness” or weight onto us, making us feel lousy after even a simple exchange. A man who has not integrated his anima will be the first one to make a cruel joke about male homosexuality, it can also be someone who is goal and performance oriented but unable to put words on an emotion or feeling (Emotional Intelligence). A woman who has not integrated her animus always needs to be in command and has a rampart of preconceived and rationalized opinions that she communicates to the world as if she were the owner or author.