The title of this brief article exemplifies the tendency toward self-development implicit in Jungian psychology. According to Swiss analytic psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, the self is an archetype of the collective unconscious that seeks expression through the unification of conscious and unconscious content (Jung, 1948/1969). The better integrated the two sides of the mind, the more healthy the individual. I propose that travel is a means by which integration of these polar opposites can be achieved, particularly when followed by supervised reflection.
Jung's idea sounds simple, perhaps even obvious. This is not the case, though. The mind has a natural propensity to protect itself from harsh emotions (Brammer, Abrego, & Shostrom, 1993). Whether anxiety or depression, negative emotions such as those encountered in self-disconfirming experiences are as threatening to the integrity of the self as penetration by an enemy's sword. Therefore, the ego (the defender of this integrity) filters experience to maintain a pleasure pain balance skewed toward the former (Epstein, 1973). As a result, much valuable information, useful in promoting self-development and enhanced adaptation, is directed toward and stored in the personal unconscious away from the light of consciousness.
One way to circumvent this natural defense is to purposefully place the self in situations bound to challenge the one-sided nature of consciousness and the current self-theory. Travel affords many such experiences. However, it must be clarified at this point what is meant by "such experiences." By this phrase I mean experiences that induce a feeling of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is that feeling of uneasiness accompanying a necessity to adjust one's self-conception. When we are well adjusted to the prevailing constraints of a situation, we feel a sense of ease. However, when our conception of reality, including the self, is incongruent with our surroundings, we feel unease, consciously or unconsciously (Brammer et al., 1993; Rogers, 1961). Those of us who have invested a considerable amount of time in travel know that the journey provides many opportunities to experience uneasiness. It is these experiences, when integrated thoughtfully, that expand the self and allow for a more robust self-understanding. These experiences need not be profound in nature; the simplest event will do just fine. For instance, expecting fine weather but encountering rain instead is enough to challenge one's sense of self as "fun loving." Sure, one can be "fun loving" when it is sunny and warm at the beach. But what about when confined with others indoors for a week? A lot can be learned from such frustration.
I recently asked students to tell me what they learned about themselves from their unique journeys to the Swiss village of Interlaken. Sitting for a simple continental breakfast at the Backpackers Villa on a fine Monday morning, I heard some interesting responses to my question, as well as some like "I didn't learn anything about myself." However, with further probing on my part, I found that these individuals had plenty of opportunity to learn something about themselves, and indeed did learn quite a bit. They merely failed to see it on their own at first.
One of my favorite moments occurred when a young female student of mine stopped herself from repeating a question directed toward but unheard by our waiter. She asked him if he had any "normal" cheese (meaning sliced cheese, perhaps American cheese) for her hamburger. He didn't hear her question. However, that was not as significant as her decision not to repeat the question upon request. Instead, she answered his inquiry with a simple "never mind." I was pleased in that I saw in her response a change in this young woman's perception of herself in relation to the world. It was as if she learned that maybe she assumes too much about the universality of some of her perceptions. Apparently, normal (at least with respect to cheese) is perceived differently by people in Interlaken, Switzerland and Philadelphia. In this brief and seemingly insignificant moment, her self was given an opportunity to expand for the better, and it did. No, there was not a bright light shining from heaven directly into her eyes. Nor was there a halo around her head or an ascension to heaven, as is often imagined in such profound moments. There was only a simple laugh on her part as she realized the inapplicability of her assumption.
The next step, of course, was to discuss this and other such experiences with her and all the remaining travelers so that they may integrate every bit of newly acquired knowledge into stronger, more balanced selves. Such non-threatening therapeutic-like processes make change a comfortable process. The self naturally strives toward unification. However, it needs help to get the stone rolling. This step should be followed by other such experiences, both locally and globally. No problem! Once a person tastes the sweet nectar of self-discovery, addiction follows; an addiction to self-discovery is quite a healthy addiction.
The road to a healthy self is not as difficult as most imagine. There certainly are painful moments as one begrudgingly tears up his safety net and plunges into the depths of the unknown. However, life pursued with vigor brings with it many treasures unbeknownst to those who fear to walk into the pitch of the night. For it is only the brave who find out that it is ambrosia at the end of the world, not deadly fire. Travel makes bravery so easy!
Brammer, L.M., Abrego, P.J., & Shostrom, E.L. (1993). Therapeutic counseling and psychotherapy (6t ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Epstein, S. (1973). The self-concept revisited, or a theory of a theory. American Psychologist, 28, 404-416.
Jung, C.G. (1969). Instinct and the unconscious (R.F.C. Hull, Trans). In H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, & W. McGuire (Eds.), The collected works of C.G. Jung (Vol. 8, pp. 129-138). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1948)
Rogers, C.R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company.