spirit broke my earphones yesterday because they did not like the music that I was choosing and I do not want to get new ones because I was attached to my old ones and they do not sell them anymore, soo I am having to go through this whole merging with my demons and fears process without any cushioning and it feels soo unpleasant like the feeling of if you kept hearing nails scraping against a chalkboard over and over and listening to music is just not the same without earphones
and the other reason I am not getting new earphones is because of this:
The Tension of Opposites
Prior to beginning the individuation process, we have certainty. Through the course of our development, we form a solid self-identity. We think we know who we are.
But this self-identity is always one-sided. It’s an illusion, or maya, as the Buddhists call it.
Because we are unconscious, we don’t feel the inherent tensions and oppositions between the conscious self we know and the unconscious parts of ourselves.
You’re probably familiar with the Taoist symbol of yin and yang. This ancient symbol represents the balance or harmony of opposites.
Yang is the sunny light side while yin represents the shadowy side.
individuation process jungian psychology
Instead of seeing yin and yang as opposing forces, the Chinese view them as complementary forces that interact within a greater whole (represented by the circle encompassing them). (I Emily personally see opposites as not even truly existing because they are an illusion in my opinion- see "separation consciousness")
Consider how the values and worldviews of masculine and feminine principles can vary.
The masculine seeks autonomy. The feminine seeks communion or relationship.
Can you imagine what it would be like to integrate both masculine and feminine principles within your mind, not favoring either perspective over the other?
It’s not easy, but this is part of the goal of the individuation process.
Jung found that opposites create tension in the psyche. If we don’t learn to address these tensions, denying the opposites instead, we repress or push the pressure out of our consciousness.
But repressing doesn’t eliminate the opposites or the tension itself. It only makes them more destructive in our psyche by strengthening our shadows.
Repressing tension makes us one-sided, and it leads us to project our unconscious fantasies on to reality.
When we deny these internal tensions, we enforce our delusions and self-deception.
