The individuation process is a term created by the famous psychologist Carl Gustav Jung to describe the process of becoming aware of oneself, of one’s make-up, and the way to discover one’s true, inner self. Although the structure is basic and simple, the contents require a much deeper understanding.

For as long as mankind has existed, there were always people who asked themselves that most intriguing question: "Who am I". There is no simple answer, but Jung’s individuation process provides us with some clear guidelines. First you need to understand a couple of terms, frequently used in psychology.

The ego. We are all familiar with the ego, or are we? What is the ego? When we say "I" or "me", what are we pointing to? The ego is the center of consciousness, but it is not what you are, as most people think. It is rather a function that allows you to distinguish yourself from others. It is a structure that orders your psychological qualities, so you can make sense of yourself and your actions. It gives you a sense of uniqueness, but know that we all have that in common.

What we also have in common is a conscious and an unconscious. With the conscious we are able to experience everyday life. The unconscious is a part of ourselves that kind of remains in the background, but is in no way inactive or inert. The unconscious is composed of hidden aspects of ourselves that continue to work on the conscious and thus on our everyday life, although we are not mostly not aware of it. The unconscious tries to bring man back into balance. In life we are not always able to do or be what we would like. Thus, the unconscious will influence our behavior and actions in a way that will compensate. These unconscious tendencies can be stronger than our conscious, and can even go against our will. Thus we tell things in a flare of anger, of which we will be very sorry afterwards.

Jung divided the unconscious in two parts: the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal conscious only belongs to yourself. It is the collection of subliminal perceptions, repressed or forgotten memories, wishes, and emotions in an individual. The memories of the personal unconscious can be evoked, although they cannot be totally controlled by will. Sometimes an accidental association will bring them to light. Sometimes they appear in dreams and fantasies. Hypnosis can also reveal them.

Another important term is the Self. The Self is often confused with the ego. As the ego is only a temporal structure that gives us an identity in this life, the Self is from a higher order than the ego. The Self is that what we are in essence. In psychological terms, it encompasses the conscious, the unconscious, and the ego. The Self is the central archetype in the collective unconscious, like the Sun is the center of the solar system. The Self is the archetype of order, organization and unity. It unifies the personality. The Self is our goal of life, because it is the most complete expression of the highest unity that we call individuality.

• The Collective Unconscious
  
  The collective unconscious is an important concept in the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung. The collective unconscious is shared by us all.
• Individuation
  
  Individuation means that one becomes a person, an individual, a totally integrated personality.
• Transcendence
  
  The first step of integration is individuation of all aspects of the personality, which is called the individuation process.
• The Individuation Process
  
  The individuation process begins with becoming conscious of the Persona, the mask we take on in our every day life.
• The Persona
  
  The Persona is the mask we all wear, a mask that pretends individuality. It makes us believe that one is a certain individual, but it nothing else than a well played role.
• The Shadow
  
  The Shadow represents unknown or little known characteristics of the ego
• The Anima
  
  There is in the unconscious of each man an inherent image of woman who helps him to understand her being.
• The Animus
  
  The animus in women is the counterpart of the anima in men.
• The Old Wise Man
  
  After the anima and animus, the archetypes of the old wise man and the great mother arise, respectively in man and woman.
• Great Mother
  
  In a woman the archetype of the great mother acts in a similar way to the old wise man in a man.
• The Experience of the Self
  
  The process of individuation is not easy for Western man because he has difficulty with the concept of paradoxes.
• Importance of the Environment
  
  Jung thought that that heritage can play a role in the balance of a personality.