OVERVIEW: This comprehensive guide uses a developmental model to outline the three stages of self-discovery. It highlights common pitfalls along the journey and offers self-discovery activities, exercises, tools, and examples for each stage.
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Know thyself—the famous aphorism from Ancient Greece.
No better phrase can capture the essence of self-discovery.
Let’s dive deeper into what this aphorism means …
What is Self-Discovery?
Self-discovery is the process of learning about and finding oneself.
This discovery process has many different facets. In the earlier stages, you learn about your personality type, what you value, your strengths, weaknesses, talents, dreams, shortcomings, aspirations, and interests.
In a later stage, self-discovery is about getting to know the parts of yourself that were “disowned” in childhood, commonly called the shadow.
The process of self-discovery is a continual movement from being less conscious to being more conscious, from being less aware to being more aware of oneself.
Similar to the hero’s journey motif, the self-discovery journey is the path toward mature adulthood.
Self-Discovery versus Self-Development
These two concepts are intrinsically linked together.
Self-discovery is simply about revealing what’s always there: who you are on a conscious level.
Self-development is about molding and growing in various areas, including physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually.
Can you engage in self-discovery without self-development? Only on a very cursory level. Why?
In the act of getting to know yourself, you’re placing your attention on various aspects of your being. In doing so, development will likely take place.
Although there’s a large self-improvement industry that promotes ways of “bettering oneself,” the reality is that development is a natural process.
Early childhood trauma and conditioning hinder that process, but once it’s initiated in adulthood, it tends to take on a life of its own.
As such, self-development is an integral part of one’s self-discovery process.
What are the 3 Stages of Self-Discovery?
The common stages of self-discovery outlined here largely mirror the stages of human development from transpersonal psychology in a very simplified format.
Stage 1: Discovering Your Conscious Self (Personality)
Stage 2: Exploring Your Personal Unconscious (Shadow)
Stage 3: Returning Home (The Self)
First, we will examine each of these stages in more detail and then explore the self-discovery activities and exercises commonly used at each stage.
Before we dive into these three stages, let’s examine where we start: the persona.
Stage 0: Wearing Our Social Masks
In early development, we are mostly focused on adjusting to our environments and “fitting in” at home, school, and anywhere else we find ourselves.
At this stage, our identities are largely defined by others in a social context. That is, our identities are mostly a series of personas (social masks) designed to help us “fit in.”
When we’re in the persona stage we’re not technically in the self-discovery process yet.
We create our personae unconsciously and subconsciously. It’s the starting point from which self-discovery can be initiated.
Self-Discovery Stage 1: Discovering Our Conscious Personality
Stage 1 can be a fun stage for many individuals. It’s the part of self-discovery that many people associate with the term “self-discovery journey.”
Stage 1 is marked by discovering one’s conscious personality including strengths, weaknesses, habitual patterns, drives, desires, and aspirations.
Self-discovery comes through engagement with life. Like any good hero’s journey, life is filled with trials, tribulations, setbacks, and victories. Each experience provides a window into ourselves.
If we pay attention, we learn through our reactions and interactions with others and the world.
In this initial stage, we develop a strong curiosity about ourselves. It’s common to take a wide range of assessments at this stage.
Learning about your “personality type” is highly instructive: it highlights many of your greatest strengths and mortal weaknesses. It illuminates common behavior patterns that you may not have noticed.
You’ll discover a myriad of patterns that you spontaneously engage in without knowing why. At this stage, you’re also likely to inquire about your core values to clarify what you stand for and what’s most important to you.
You might take up journalling, and begin capturing your big life goals, dreams, and even a vision for yourself.
This stage usually lasts many years. In fact, many individuals never move beyond this initial stage of self-discovery.
Self-Discovery Stage 2: Exploring Our Personal Unconscious
The second stage of self-discovery involves entering one’s inner world, where the meaning of “self-discovery” vastly changes.
Stage 2 often begins either at midlife or after a major life event that rattles you to the core. This event could be a divorce, the death of someone close to you, physical illness, or some other crisis.
Psychiatrist Carl Jung often said this inward turn should happen at midlife: after you’ve built a healthy ego in the world (career, home, family, etc.). That is, the first half of life is meant to be more externally oriented while the second half is internal.
In tribal cultures, at midlife, members of the tribe would go on extensive walkabouts or vision quests. They returned as different people, now taking up a more shamanic-type role as ritual elders of their tribe.
For us, this inward turn is more about engaging in inner work, addressing our childhood trauma, exploring our dream world, and getting to know our shadows. Here, internal observation, self-awareness, reflection, self-analysis, understanding, sensitivity, and inner honesty are required.
In stage 2 of self-discovery, we address our deep-seated internal tensions and splits within our psyche.
The self-identity that we created for ourselves in stage 1 becomes less codified and more fluid. As we move toward psychological integration, that self-identity moves further into the background.
This stage can also last many years, depending on your life circumstances. For example, if you’re in midlife and still very active in the world, you may have less time for self-reflection and inner discovery.
Self-Discovery Stage 3: Returning Home of the Self
In the third stage of self-discovery, an individual returns home to their Self (capital “S”).
The meaning of “self” changes greatly at this stage. The self in “self-discovery” when we set out on our path was our conscious personality. It starts to become a distant memory at this later stage.
This stage is marked by transcending an exclusive identification with the self (small “s”) and realizing one’s true Self (self-realization).
The ego we developed in the previous stages must now be put aside so that the original Self can return.
In The Ego and the Dynamic Ground, professor of philosophy Michael Washburn describes it as “regression in the service of transcendence.”
This stage requires us to strip away everything we are not so that our Original Nature can take its rightful place in the Center.
In Taoist philosophy, they make a distinction between the conscious spirit and the Original Spirit.
The conscious spirit (ego or “acquired mind”) is what we develop in stage 1. This self-identity is a set of conditioning from the external world.
In contrast, the Original Spirit is our primordial Self that is unconditioned by the insanity of this world.
At this stage, the focus is on self-inquiry, self-observation, neutrality, stabilizing the mind, and moving toward inner stillness.
In transpersonal psychology, this stage is often called integration. Maslow called it self-transcendence, and Jung referred to it as wholeness—the final stage of individuation.
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Now, let’s review a series of self-discovery activities and exercises you might use at each stage of your personal discovery journey.
Self-Discovery Activities for Stage 1
Here are seven self-discovery activities and exercises you can use for Stage 1 of your journey:
Myers-Brigg Personal Assessment (Common Self-Discovery Activity)
Personality Assessments
Personality assessments are one of the most common self-discovery activities most people use.
Any quality personality assessment will reveal different aspects of your personality. They can be very insightful—especially when you’re in the beginning stages of self-discovery. Three popular ones include:
- The Enneagram
- Human Design Engineering
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(Just do a quick search. There are many paid and free versions online.)
Values Assessment
Getting to know your core values is an essential self-discovery activity. Self-aware individuals tend to know what’s most important to them. Knowing your core values helps you make better decisions.
If you don’t know your values yet, you can go through my popular 7-Step Values Assessment.
Strengths Assessment
Getting clarity on your strengths and weaknesses is another excellent self-discovery activity..
While we learn our natural strengths and weaknesses by observing our life experiences, the VIA Character Institute offers a free survey to help you determine your strengths right away.
See my guide on authentic happiness for a primer on this topic from positive psychology.
Personal Vision Casting
A personal vision can help guide you through your self-discovery journey and clarify what is most important to you.
A compelling vision can also help you remove distractions and stay focused on your long-term self-development goals.
Get step-by-step instructions on how to craft your vision statement.
Wheel of Life Assessment
As you begin to flush out who you are and what you stand for, you’ll likely determine specific goals you have for self-development. It’s important to understand that we all have multiple lines of intelligence and areas of focus.
The Wheel of Life assessment is a good coaching tool for clarifying self-development goals in various areas of life.
Active Journaling
Journaling can be a powerful aid in this stage and the next. It allows you to capture your dreams, ambitions, life lessons, and insights on the written page.
Self-Development Plan
Some individuals prefer to have more structure to help them proceed with their discovery process and self-development.
Using the data you gathered above to create a basic self-development plan can help you reduce distractions and stay focused on your long-term objectives.
Self-Discovery Activities for Stage 2
What’s strange about Stage 2 is that it can seem like we’re going backward.
While we’re building our personalities and moving toward a vision in stage 1, in this stage, we need to take a step back and explore our past.
Getting to know our past is absolutely essential for deeper levels of self-discovery.
As such, the energetic striving we experienced in Stage 1 now gets replaced by a more self-reflective mind. We now have enough life experience behind us to observe major patterns that we couldn’t see before.
The self-discovery activities in Stage 2 differ greatly from those in Stage 1. Overall, Stage 2 is less about tools and assessments and more about methods and exercises that support one’s inward discovery journey.
Observational Meditation
Many individuals will likely discover meditation in the first stage of their journey. However, the quality and function of meditation take on a different meaning in Stage 2.
Your journey through Stage 2 benefits from a reflective mind and a strong Inner Observer. To gain insight into one’s psyche, it helps to carefully monitor one’s deepest thoughts, feelings, reactions, attitudes, moods, and impulses.
For some, developing this Inner Observer happens naturally. For others, it takes meditative training.
Shadow Work
One of the most remarkable aspects of Stage 2 is that you eventually realize that everything you built up in Stage 1 isn’t entirely accurate.
All prior personality growth and self-development were based on a sense of self (ego construct) that was never closely examined.
To function in the world in early life, we necessarily cut off and dissociate many parts of ourselves that get relegated to our personal unconscious. This creates a split in our psyche that leads to internal tension. This internal tension is the source of our moodiness, emotional instability, neurotic behaviors, and dis-ease.
Think of it like renovating an old house with lead paint. Sure you can paint over the lead with a new “eco-friendly” paint and add new furnishings, but you still have a house with lead paint.
When you reach the Inward Turn, you begin examining what has been cut off and hidden inside you.
Every aspect of yourself that was deemed “unacceptable” during childhood was relegated to your personal unconscious. Now, it’s time to bring the unconscious to consciousness. Shadow work becomes an indispensable self-discovery activity at this stage.
See my guide on shadow work here.
Inner Work (Active Imagination & Dream Analysis)
Getting to know your shadow is an integral part of inner work. Inner work is more of a general term for turning inward and examining aspects of one’s unconscious.
Jung used two primary methods to help his patients harmonize the split within their psyches: dream analysis and active imagination.
Jung saw dreams as a primary means for the unconscious to speak to us—to our conscious minds. By paying attention to our dreams, we bring to consciousness aspects of ourselves that are currently hidden from us.
Active imagination is another excellent self-discovery activity. It involves inner dialogue with “parts” of our psyche.
The psyche is filled with a collection of semi-autonomous archetypes that constantly influence our behavior.
In the second stage of our self-discovery process, we must dialogue with or at least become conscious of the various subpersonalities operating within our psyche.
Trauma Release Exercises
In the course of exploring our past, we encounter numerous psychic wounds that need our attention.
Trauma plays a large role in our early development. Addressing this trauma is a necessary aspect of becoming whole.
While mental processes are useful, we also need to address the body directly where this past trauma is stored. (See Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score.)
I cover the topic of trauma more deeply in this guide on repressed emotions.
There are a range of methods available to use from David Berceli’s Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) to Alexander Lowen’s Bioenergetic Analysis. All of these self-discovery activities can be highly therapeutic at this stage.
Regardless of the modalities you use for your journey, the key is to release this stored trauma and strengthen your connection to your physical body. This is called body-mind integration, which integral theorist Ken Wilber labeled the Centaur Level in No Boundary (2001).
Cultivating deeper levels of body awareness is an important, often overlooked, part of one’s journey to self-discovery and healing.
Self-Discovery Activities for Stage 3
In Stage 2, we put our house in order. The more we harmonize the opposites within us, the more internal tension we resolve. We move, slowly and patiently, from fragmentation to greater wholeness.
As this unfolds, we can hold to the Center with greater ease.
From the Center, there’s no need to strive to become anything. Even the growth need of self-actualization begins to take a back seat.
The ego we’ve developed through the first two stages doesn’t go anywhere. But a different quality emerges from the Center. One’s true Self comes forth and gently guides us.
This stage takes us beyond Western psychology and into the realm of mysticism and sagehood.
This third stage is less about self-discovery activities and more about stabilizing one’s mind. Self-inquiry and the closer examination of one’s consciousness become more than just a daily sitting practice; they become a continuous way of being.
Becoming versus Being
In the first stage of self-discovery, we’re in the process of becoming. The self-discovery activities above aid us in this developmental process.
Self-development and personal growth are integral to this stage, as we strive to cultivate healthy egos that can thrive in this crazy, chaotic world.
In developing our personalities, we are, as psychologist Abraham Maslow put it, actualizing our potential.
Some people do this through their careers and vocations, while others do it by cultivating skills and various intelligences out of personal interest.
Eventually, however, there’s a shift in quality in one’s process of self-discovery.
The drive to “become” moves into the background while a quality of beingness wants to emerge. This represents the shift inward that marks stage 2 and reaches fruition in stage 3.
Self-Discovery Through the Three Gunas
In Yogic philosophy, they have what’s called the three gunas or qualities of consciousness:
- Tamas: inertia, inactivity, darkness, and ignorance
- Rajas: activity, passion, desire, energy
- Sattva: purity, knowledge, beingness, truth
Those stuck in tamas (inertia) are unlikely to engage in their self-discovery journey. They remain stuck in their personas, and self-discovery activities are likely uninteresting to them.
Stage 1 occurs when the active quality of rajas is present. Rajic energy is necessary for developing our personalities and fully engaging in life (the process of becoming).
The shift toward sattvic consciousness starts when we embrace our inner world in Stage 2. However, a sattvic state isn’t realized until we arrive home within the Self in Stage 3.
Self-Discovery Activities Roadmap
7 Factors that Hijack Self-Discovery
Remember that self-discovery is a natural process. Sages often refer to it as the “play of consciousness.”
However, many common factors can potentially stall our development. Maslow called this aborted self-actualization. When this occurs, the self-discovery activities we highlighted above either don’t occur or become meaningless.
Let’s take a look at some internal and external factors:
Internal Factors That Can Hinder Self-Discovery
Numerous potential internal hurdles can stall self-discovery. When this occurs, one does not fully engage in self-discovery activities
Here are four potential hurdles:
Early Childhood Trauma
This is probably the most common culprit. A series of psychic scars in early childhood causes various shadow archetypes to take over our conscious minds.
Childhood trauma leads to neurosis like anxiety and depression. Under these conditions, the discovery and awakening process may be thwarted. Instead, life becomes an endless struggle to meet their basic human needs and/or the pursuit of fleeting pleasures.
Trauma often triggers the puer aeternus archetype (eternal child), leading to the Peter Pan syndrome.
However, once brought to consciousness, trauma can be a catalyst for engaging in self-discovery activities.
A Fixed Mindset
Psychologist Carol Dweck’s decades of research, presented in her bestseller Mindset (2007), reveal that a fixed mindset, conditioned in childhood, can have lasting consequences if not addressed in adulthood.
With a fixed mindset, individuals fear growth and have fundamental blocks to learning in adolescence and adulthood. In contrast, with a growth mindset, one naturally engages in self-discovery activities.
Misaligned Values of Society
Society’s unspoken values include image, attractiveness, wealth, material possessions, competition, and “success.” When these are one’s ideal standards and exclusive motivations, they can lead to neurotic behaviors and excessiveness (a feeling of never having enough).
In fact, many people engage in self-discovery activities when they realize how empty these societal values truly are.
As J. Krishnamurti said in Commentaries on Living:
Is society healthy, that an individual should return to it? Has not society itself helped to make the individual unhealthy? Of course, the unhealthy must be made healthy, that goes without saying; but why should the individual adjust himself to an unhealthy society? If he is healthy, he will not be a part of it. Without first questioning the health of society, what is the good of helping misfits to conform to society?
This is why it’s vital to discover your personal values. Your values will naturally help guide you toward self-discovery instead of “following the pack.”
A Strong Drive for Comfort
We all like being comfortable, but for various reasons (two of which are listed above), many individuals avoid risk while clinging to comfort. They have an unhealthy drive for safety and aversion toward growth—the exact opposite of self-actualizing individuals.
An excessive drive for comfort often degrades into addictive tendencies that result in a downward spiral. Endless distractions replace the natural drive for self-discovery activities.
External Factors That Can Hinder Self-Discovery
Here are three common external factors that cause us to withdraw from self-discovery activities:
Financial Restraints
We all have basic human needs and when we have difficulty meeting these needs, it creates a great deal of tension.
For example, how are you supposed to invest energy and attention into learning about your personality, when you’re worried about paying rent next month?
You don’t need to be affluent to pursue self-discovery, but it does help to have your “house” in order first. You just need an internal space for psychological safety where you are calm enough to pursue self-discovery activities.
An Unsafe Environment
In On Becoming a Person (1995), humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers argues that psychological safety in our environment is an important condition for creativity and the development of positive mental health.
This lack of psychological safety can be due to an abusive relationship, socio-economic conditions, or some other factor. These days, just turn on the news: external psychological safety seems to be in short supply.
A Disempowering Peer Group
Being surrounded by destructive individuals or people with mental illness (including narcissism) can make it challenging to pursue self-development. Your peer group can act like “crabs in a bucket,” pulling you down if you try to get out.
This external factor is more concerning in the early stages of discovery, when momentum is first building.
When individuals first engage in self-discovery activities, for example, they often search for other like-minded individuals. Others, at least for some time, go it alone.
Self-Discovery: A Pathless Path
Ultimately, the path you take to self-discovery will be unique to you.
The above stages and self-discovery activities are mere guidelines, designed to capture the essence of the journey home.
Remember, too, that it’s normal to slide off your path at times and to experience major setbacks along the way. Tests, trials, and tribulations are a part of the journey.
As Jung often pointed out, the way is not without its dangers. As soon as you leave the conventional, ordinary world and enter the “special world,” you’re on your own. While this can be terrifying, it can also be liberating.
It’s only when you step back and view this self-discovery process from a 10,000-foot view that you can fully appreciate the play of consciousness expressing itself through a myriad of forms representing all of us. What a peculiar thing.
Travel safely. Or don’t.
Either way, stay alert.
Read Next
Peak Experiences: A Comprehensive Guide
The Four Stages of Learning Any Skill
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Duality and Nonduality Explained: Insights from the Nondualists
Great Information! Thank YOU! BARB!
You’re most welcome, Barb.
Return to hOMe. Be Blessed.
Guía extensa, pero iluminadora. En mi caso, es un excelente enrutador, ya que me aclara situaciones que me agobian y me hacen detenerme sin rumbo definido. Esta guía me hace reflexionar y decidir qué camino debo seguir. Gracias Scott por tu valioso apoyo.
Sure thing, William.
Returning to Home and Self!
The path is not without danger and suffering but it will be liberating. And I know I can do it.
Travel safety or not. Either way stay alert.
Thanks Scott a lot! Your writings and wisdom is making a lots of difference in the world, at least in my world.
Thank you for the feedback, Niimka.
Great to hear that the material is making a difference for you.
Hi Scott,
I have a a clarification regarding the content of this article , however, I might reference other articles on which my thought process is based. Please bear with me, as I try to make clearer sense of the “Sage Stage”.
In my view and based on experience/inner work it seems relevant to me to see three types of consciousness. Namely, Superconscious, Conscious, Subconscious, Unconscious.
In this article does the Sage stage refer to the “Consciousness arising from a leaning towards a Superconscious influence on an individual or is it coming from an archetypal “Sage” arising from the Subconscious/Unconscious?
I perceive inner work more aligning with Superconscious/Inner Guidance rather than Archetypal/SubConscious/Unconscious.
To seems to me, Spirit can interact with Soul-Ego(Human) only from a place of SuperConscious.
Please let me know how you perceive our internal construction that navigates self-discovery in relation to evolving consciousness? Thank you!
Hi Roopa,
Personally, I don’t use terminology like “superconscious.” But I also don’t perceive that third stage in terms of a “Sage Stage.” I referenced “sagehood” as it links to the Sage archetype guide that’s relevant here. From a purely Jungian perspective, that’s accurate.
However, I’m not Jungian. To me, the Spirit isn’t an archetypal image as it is to Jungians.
“Returning home” doesn’t involve images. Navigating through images is the defining characteristic of Stage 2.
“Please let me know how you perceive our internal construction that navigates self-discovery in relation to evolving consciousness?”
So this is probably what may be different in our understanding. The transpersonal literature speaks about “evolving consciousness,” but wholeheartedly don’t agree with this. Sure, there’s the development of the ego. That’s why there are stages. But the “Return Home” is not evolutionary or developmental; it’s a function of stripping away what the Taoists call “mundane conditioning” to return what was there all along (hence, the “Original Spirit” or “Original Nature”).
Bringing order to the psyche (Stage 2) helps reduce mental illness. With less mental illness, there’s less neurosis. With less neurosis, the mind is more still. When the mind is still, one can be. If one can “just be” long enough, one’s energy stabilizes. As one’s energy stabilizes, the Spirit returns.
In this way, Stage 3 is more “alchemical” — not evolutionary or developmental.
Yes, I can now see the difference in views.
I had a very unique and personal experience in getting to come to know about the work of Sri Aurobindo. Although I am Indian, I did not know anything about him at all and his work on human evolution. It was through a personal sequence of synchronistic events in the last few years that were totally unexplainable that I came to know of him. In exploring his work I found a deep connection with my own personal “evolution of consciousness” making sense. The way he describes the process of moving from ego-centric mind to a higher mind has been very resonant with me at a personal level.
It fits accurately even within what you refer to as “sagehood”.
Because my personal experience is very valuable to me, I might like to perceive it as my consciousness is continuously evolving. Offers me the necessary motivation to stay on track even though inner work is hard.
Thank you for the clarifications.
It seems that the process on inner work being so non-linear in nature adequately covers the areas of de-conditioning and addressing neurosis as long as I stay dedicated to the discipline needed for inner work. It seems like the end is similar but being addressed in different ways.
To clarify, I did not suggest that “inner work” is non-linear. Sure, the psyche can be messy, and establishing order doesn’t necessarily follow a step-by-step process. Stage 2 of the self-discovery process is where inner work takes place. Stage 3 is more about contemplative practices that enable stabilization.
“The way he describes the process of moving from ego-centric mind to a higher mind has been very resonant with me at a personal level.”
Sure. But what I’m saying is that it’s incorrect to call this “evolution.” It’s the wrong word.
In the way I view inner work, I am considering messy and non-linear to be similar. In my mind it is similar to “not a step-by-step process”. I used the word non-linear to imply not in a straight line, sometimes straight, other times with repeats and new situations to navigate and explore…I see this as the “messy psyche” I am trying to “order” at some level.
The Indian word “Sadhana” that seems to align with Spiritual Contemplative practice to me is really what is most useful to me (as I have mentioned before I have a strong inclination towards spiritual contemplation). It could be different from other contemplative practices so sure. What is achievable through Sadhana is difficult for me to put into a few words. It is a state of being to which stabilization is definitely arriving. Also I’m over-simplifying everything here just to be concise.
The use of the word evolution is present in his literature aligning with a progressive movement. I think “awakening” applies here too. Is there a better word to describe the process?
“The Indian word “Sadhana” that seems to align with Spiritual Contemplative practice to me is really what is most useful to me”
Yes, Sadhana is the pathway of Stage 3.
“What is achievable through Sadhana is difficult for me to put into a few words. It is a state of being to which stabilization is definitely arriving.”
In the Indian tradition, especially the nondual schools, the focus is primarily on a transformation of consciousness — transcending the identification with the body-mind organism and moving beyond the “I am” (primary Maya). In the Taoist tradition, especially the Southern Reality School, the emphasis is on the stabilization of the energy within the body first. Then, they move to a transformation of consciousness.
“The use of the word evolution is present in his literature aligning with a progressive movement. I think “awakening” applies here too. Is there a better word to describe the process?”
Transformation and development both work.
Thank you for your time to clarify my questions and comments. It is very much appreciated.
Is the practice that is proposed by Jung for working with the unconscious mind “Active Imagination” suitable for all individuals?
The reason I ask is that some people have a predisposition towards “fantasy thinking” that utilizes imagination actively (not is terms of Jungian Active Imagination).
What I mean by fantasy thinking could be divided into two kinds, what I refer to as “Magical thinking, that goes like : I wish things would magically happen” or “Wishful thinking which is a active conscious thought process involving romanticizing reality, looking at life through rose-colored glasses or in some cases even dark fantasy that involves getting back at someone for wrong doing (even if it be in the realm of thought). The first two is something I seem to indulge in more easily. But I know people around me who indulge in (dark fantasy/more violent type) the later frequently. What I have described in this paragraph is a conscious active mental process.
I would say that based on knowing and studying myself as well as studying and observing others, some types (Enneagram in particular) have a greater predisposition towards fantasy thinking.
In fact I could even say that some “guided visualizations” that take people on mental journeys fall into a form of fantasy thinking process, that are more unproductive than useful. I find such guided visualizations very ungrounding and airy experiences. Please correct me if I wrong.
Makes me wonder if this is why hypnosis that takes a creative-imagination driven format with its practical applications works well only for some people.
Since active imagination is a way to tap into the unconscious would a person prone to fantasy thinking feel more ungrounded by engaging in it, without a clear sense of whether they have shifted into pointless imaginations or real useful work with their unconscious “parts”?
Is there a grounding practice that accompanies active imagination would support an individual to stay on track with “active imagination” vs. getting lost in imaginary conversations with parts (that they might be accustomed to given their fantasy-driven tendencies) that might produce useful, meaningful and desired results that tap into their psyche?
I hope my questions and background I have provided is clear enough.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Hi Roopa,
“In fact I could even say that some “guided visualizations” that take people on mental journeys fall into a form of fantasy thinking process, that are more unproductive than useful. I find such guided visualizations very ungrounding and airy experiences. Please correct me if I’m wrong.”
Yes, I generally discourage guided visualizations, despite how popular they are. Guided instructions can be useful as a learning aid, but guided visualizations serve little value in my experience.
“Since active imagination is a way to tap into the unconscious would a person prone to fantasy thinking feel more ungrounded by engaging in it, without a clear sense of whether they have shifted into pointless imaginations or real useful work with their unconscious “parts”?”
Not necessarily. Someone prone to fantasy may find active imagination very instructive as it can add a useful structure to their fantasies.
“Is there a grounding practice that accompanies active imagination would support an individual to stay on track with “active imagination” vs. getting lost in imaginary conversations with parts (that they might be accustomed to given their fantasy-driven tendencies) that might produce useful, meaningful and desired results that tap into their psyche?”
Yes. See these two guides:
https://scottjeffrey.com/how-to-ground-yourself/
https://scottjeffrey.com/center-yourself/
Hi Scott,
I’ve been considering the statement you mention “Not necessarily. Someone prone to fantasy may find active imagination very instructive as it can add a useful structure to their fantasies.”
As someone who has not benefited in anyway in indulging in fantasy, I have not been able to use many of the practices that have been outlined by Jung. I don’t mean to dismiss or disqualify the validity and use of the practices…it might be extremely useful for certain individuals.
I think I am very driven to focus on reality as it occurs and then try to connect it to fields of study.
There is a neat distinction made by John Vervaeke (he may not be the originator), between “imagination” and “imaginal”.
A website definition of this distinction goes as follows
…
Here it is important to differentiate between the imaginary (fantasy) and the imaginal, with the latter being seen as a crucial bridge between subjective and objective experience, as well as between perceptual and conceptual domains.”
…
It seems to me that Inner Work aligns well with “Imaginal” rather than “Imagination”. Personally, inner work continues to breakdown the hold of fantasy in my life…which continues to make inner work very useful.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to think through this via this discussion.
Hi Roopa,
To clarify, inner work and active imagination are not about engaging in fantasy as such. What you’re doing is actively engaging in dialogue with semi-autonomous subpersonalities within the psyche. There’s no need to get hung up on definitions of “imagination.” You don’t have to “imagine” these inner voices. They are already there. It’s just a matter of whether or not you tune into them.
Also to clarify, inner work is not the same thing as sadhana. With inner work, you engage with the images in the psyche. With sadhana, you don’t. That is, Eastern practices are focused on going beyond the images (because, as you observed, focusing on the images can lead to fantasy — i.e. delusion).
The integral movement (including transpersonal psychology) places inner work practices at a lower stage as it relates more specifically to the personality and contemplative practices (sadhana) at a higher stage of development. Overall, I would agree with this structure.
Thank you for the clarifications Scott.
It definitely sounds more honest to tune into inner voices. I can relate to that. I don’t think I make a clear distinction for myself about the stages of development. I tend to use a broad term as “Inner Work” that is simply ongoing, placing awareness onto various aspects of my life.
I don’t even have any specific affiliation with people who call themselves “integral” or “transpersonal psychologists”. When something resonates and seems to match something in my reality it offers a little more clarity. Thank you for sharing your time and guidance with me.
Sure thing, Roopa. I also don’t have any affiliations with these various groups. I mentioned integral here in this context because before this “fifth wave of psychology” there wasn’t really a language or understanding to differentiate these different schools of thought — both East and West — and the levels of development they represent. And without this differentiation, there tends to be a lot of internal confusion. This type of differentiation itself is a function of developing cognitive consciousness.
Scott, your portrait shows you becoming more distinguished, retaining the handsomeness.
Forgive me if I seem to be repeating what you have said. I think writing it down helps me understand.
“Stage 1: Discovering Your Conscious Self (Personality)”.
Is this how people see you? Is this the unconscious that acts in your conscious? Is this the personality enneagram types and are they archetypes?
So far, I’ve asked about the persona as an unconscious part. Is it possible for our persona to be consciously developed? As a boy I emulated my father, then later years became an image (perhaps the persona mask). Can I say that I made my image and is this my archetype making me believe it’s me? What archetype I don’t know, you might have an idea which it is? Thank-you.
Brett,
How people see you is a function of numerous factors that don’t necessarily align with Stage 1.
Yes, the Enneagram types are ultimately expressions of archetypes as I explain here:
https://scottjeffrey.com/archetypes-list/
“Can I say that I made my image and is this my archetype making me believe it’s me?”
Not really. No. The psyche is a collection of archetypes — not just one. And there are a host of factors involved here.
Also, you don’t really consciously develop your persona. It’s more of a reaction to your environment.
That said, we all do learn by observing the behavior of those around us — especially those we project onto like parents and other authority figures.
My understanding of the persona; is an Image we relate to others. Do you think we would rather be our true personality to others?
I think the persona is not far off compared with our personality. As you can see from this quote”The list shows how likely it is that you are each enneagram type.
Most people will be the type at the top of the list, however, your actual personality type might be somewhat lower in it (usually it’s in the top 3).
This is from an enneagram test, which tells my we are not willing to show our true personality. Don’t you think we would be more contented with ourselves if we were able to incorporate the persona with personality? Thank-you.
The social mask is something that’s subconsciously created as a response to one’s environment. It’s a reaction.
One’s true personality is not known until the individual builds consciousness via processes like shadow work. Until then, they are divorced from many qualities about themselves (positive and negative) and engaged in self-deception. The goal of individuation is to bring the individual to a sense of wholeness.
The persona falls away during this process.
Thank-you Scott for your patient reply. However, from the quote on the enneagram test “Most people will be the type at the top of the list, however, your actual personality type might be somewhat lower in it (usually it’s in the top 3)” and your comment quote “One’s true personality is not known until the individual builds consciousness via processes like shadow work”.
There seems to be a conflict, are you suggesting the enneagram test people are wrong?
Perhaps there is not a conflict, I may be seeing the comments in a black and white perspective. I would like you to detail both quotes for me. Thank-you.
There’s no conflict here. The Enneagram is a typing system. Like any personality typing system, it can only highlight general predispositions of particular “types.” If you read any good book on the Enneagram, for example, you’ll resonate with many of the type descriptions. That’s why many individuals have difficulty zeroing in on their type. Their singular type represents a “center of gravity” — it’s not codifying who they are. Plus, there are nine levels of development for each type — from least healthy (9) to healthiest (1). Most people are in the mid to lower range (unhealthy to average mental health). Finally, as you develop your personality through inner work, you actually move toward a different type in the Enneagram (“path of integration”). Ultimately, the more one moves toward individuation the less any of these types become relevant. That’s part of the reason Jung didn’t approve of Myers-Briggs (MBTI). In his view, it missed the point of what psychological types represent.
Ilike the expression you used “center of gravity”. You have answered where the enneagram fits in to the individuation process. It does seem useful to consciously stay in your enneagram type. Thank-you. Perhaps you might elaborate on the phrase “center of gravity” …
“Center of gravity” is a term used in the developmental literature. There are all kinds of developmental stage models, including the Enneagram’s 9 levels, Loevinger’s ego development, Erikson’s psychosocial development, spiral dynamics integral, Maslow’s needs, etc. It’s a mistake to pigeonhole someone at a certain stage of any model. It’s more accurate to say that a person’s “center of gravity” is at a particular stage as it reflects the reality that we are complex beings with many parts. For example, with spiral dynamics, a person’s center of gravity value structure may be “green” (sensitive self) but that doesn’t mean they don’t they don’t also express orange (achievement) and blue (right-wrong morality) under different conditions.
I am a retired academic/ social scientist. So it means something when I say your summaries of concepts are excellent. So accessible. Bravo!
I truly appreciate the feedback, Judith!