4 Steps to Activate the Transcendent Function from A Jungian Analyst
The transcendent function is Jung's term for the process that enables a transition from one psychological state to another.
It involves deliberately integrating the psyche's conscious and unconscious elements into a third position, which marks a new stage in the evolution of the personality.
It explains how we develop psychologically, and can be applied whenever we feel stuck or conflicted.
How the transcendent function works
Our conscious and unconscious elements exist in opposition with one another. We often repress this opposition, as it's painful to acknowledge where we're conflicted. However, when we do this, we exist in a fantasy world that diminishes us as people.
The conflicting forces of our conscious and unconscious contents create a tension. The transcendent function is a way of using this tension as a source of creative energy in our psychological development.
To activate the transcendent function, Jung taught that we should first develop the characteristics of, and arguments for, each side of the contradiction. This involves bringing both poles into full conscious awareness.
If we then hold these poles in full consciousness – what Jung called 'holding the tension' – then the tension between the opposite perspectives will provide the creative energy that helps us realise a solution beyond the capabilities of our rational minds.
4 steps to activate the transcendent function
In Becoming Whole: A Jungian Guide to Individuation, Jungian analyst Bud Harris outlines the 4-step formula for activating the transcendent function:
1. Fully engage in life
Accept that suffering and all its manifestations are vital parts of life and necessary to transformation, rather than trying to avoid them.
2. Reflect upon your life
Develop your awareness of the contradictions that arise in life rather than repressing them. Amplify them, explore them, and hold them fully in your awareness. Journal, reflect on dreams, and use active imagination.
3. Bear the burden of the conflict
Avoiding or repressing suffering causes neuroses. Jung taught that suffering is a natural part of life, and is something we have to bear. Holding the conflict between opposing forces can help us reach the solutions we need.
4. Live the transformation
Live the realisations you gain so that your life is an expression of your expanded consciousness.
Summary
The ego separates conscious and unconscious contents to avoid conflict and protect us, but this dams our psychic energy and can leave us feeling blocked or divided.
When you activate the transcendent function, it facilitates creative solutions to the tensions between conscious and unconscious elements and initiates psychological evolution.