The Self is one of Jung’s most important and original ideas. It represents the divine within every individual, and also serves as the primary driver of the individuation process. It invites, nudges, and challenges us to become more. The Self is a somewhat elusive concept, and elusive as a psychological presence as well. As a concept, the Self is an idea, a theory. In a lived life, it is an encounter, an encounter with energies that may be large or small, penetrating or soft, beckoning us to the edge of the known and the unknown. It is on that edge of the known and the unknown that psychic development occurs. In short, the Self appears in the relationship between ego and ‘other’.
For Jung, that ‘other’ includes relationships in the world, with people we love and struggle with in everyday life, and with other kindred spirits, as well as relationships with one’s inner life, with the unconscious. This seminar will explore ways in which the developmental energies of the Self arise in both forms of relationship. We will consider the ego’s possible tasks and stance in these encounters, that is, how we might participate creatively with the ‘other’ in becoming more of who we are.