Introduction to Individuation: Persona

Lecture Description

Jung defined the persona as “a complicated system of relations between the individual consciousness and society. It is kind of a mask, designed on the one hand to make definite impressions upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual”. He described how the psyche adapts to its environment to reveal personality traits that attract positive responses and conceal those that do not.

The persona forms shortly after birth, when infants begin to imitate in their crying the language spoken around them. Consequently, by the time the ego develops its own version of a persona, it is already mostly in place, truly comprising “a complicated system of relations.”

There is an infinite number of poses that we employ to create definite impressions. As is the case with most behaviors, they are usually perceived more easily by others than by ourselves. Furthermore, personality characteristics that do not fit the persona are suppressed into the shadow. That is how persona and shadow become reflections of each other.

This lecture is ideal if

• How the persona is formed
• Where the persona functions well and where it doesn’t
• How to reconcile our personas with our “true nature”
• How the environment seduces us into developing personas consistent with its designs
• What happens when reject the press of individuation in favor of our persona