Edward Edinger, in his seminal work, The Creation of Consciousness: Jung’s Myth for Modern Man, notes that Dr. Jung felt that “the experience of consciousness is made up of two factors, “knowing” and “withness,” i.e., knowing in the presence of an “other,” in a setting of twoness.” Essentially, Jung is saying that consciousness emerges from the experiencing of opposites.

Using the language of psychology and psychoanalysis, he further defines the concept of individuation as the “process whereby a series of psychic contents – complexes and archetypal images – make connection with an ego and thereby generate the psychic substance of consciousness.”

Consciousness is our awareness of our existence within this realm of duality. The degree of our awareness is of key importance as it allows us to transcend our more base needs and behaviors and eventually allows us to operate from the heart and soul.