Jung suggested that in the journey of individuation the ego needs to let go of control and defer to the Self, submitting to a principle greater than personal identity. Relinquishing old stories of a heroic ego is essential to the individuation process. Yet holding closely the values that bring us joy, strength and meaning are also essential as we enter new stages of life. This talk will explore the essential role that these deeply embedded tools play in individuation, from the viewpoint of human development, Jung’s own life, scientific research, and mythology and religion.

Related Workshop: Letting Go and Holding On: The Role of Story in Holding On and Letting Go in Individuation

Gary Trosclair, DMA, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City and Westchester County, New York. He is President of the New York Association for Analytical Psychology and serves on the faculty of the Jung Institute of New York. He is the author of I’m Working On It In Therapy: How To Get The Most Out Of Psychotherapy, and of the blog The Healthy Compulsive Project. His new book The Healthy Compulsive: Healing Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Taking the Wheel of the Driven Personality describes the hijacking of the urge to individuate and a return to an authentic and meaningful life.