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Wholeness is a highly personal construct and is not a term or condition that can be easily agreed upon collectively. In terms of Jung's analytical psychology, wholeness is the balance of opposites within the individual psyche, which is itself composed of many opposing pairs of forces (JUNG 8).
The compensatory relationship between the conscious and unconscious elements in the psyche was at the heart of Jung's method of treatment of mental disorders. In his view, Jung held that psychotherapy offered the greatest possibility for providing contemporary members of the Western cultures contact with the unconscious, natural part of themselves (JUNG 9). One task of the therapist is that of mediator between the individual and the unconscious and to help the person to re-establish contact with the inner forces present in his, or her, life (JUNG 10).
The key to wholeness within any individual is the transforming symbol of the self, which is life's goal and the complete expression of one's individuality (JACOBI 6). The self is the midpoint of tension between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche. It participates with the transcendent function, which is the symbol maker of the psyche (SANFORD 16). The self and the transcendent function together guide the process of individuation toward the end of exposing to the individual the full realisation of life in all of its aspects for the attainment of total wholeness (JUNG 7). This is accomplished by the weaving of life's experiences in relation to unconscious meaning around the natural thread of meaning that is unique to each person and the developmental process peculiar to his or her life (JUNG 8).
To begin to seek understanding of the meaning of the totality of one's own life experiences, a basic theme seems to emerge around which are collected many symbols and much meaning (VON FRANZ 20). As the unconscious makes its contents known to the consciousness of an individual it does so in the format of a story or myth compris