Out of Many, One!

Our western world, our western society speaks of the importance of the individual. America for one is the prime representative of individual liberties and equality for all in the sense of individual rights. But the question here is, what does it mean to be an individual? Do we go with what society today thinks is an individual or do we choose to make our own definition? From that we need to come to the realization of what true individualism is and what collectivism is. There are our personal experiences, I will be sharing mine and there are ways of thinking or belief systems and mindsets that also seek to provide instances of true individuality. Once we become aware of what a true individual is we need to ask ourselves how do we get to being an individual from the collective to the state that I call "E Pluribus Unum" which I choose to use this phrase as an emphasis on the power of a true or realized individual. The individual is important and deserves so much more than what our current society is allowing.

2. What Society Thinks

So our journey begins with us asking what is an individual by seeking the input of others, since we were young we based who we are and what we believe largely upon our environment, whether it be your friends and family or what the television and other various media have to say. I must say that the first observation I can make about individuality is that it starts out highly subjective. Usually in the beginning our various social interactions help define and give boarders to who we think we are. As we progress in age we seek to expand our awareness and understanding as we grow both in knowledge and experience. Generally speaking however, the local interactions and our local experiences therein should be enough to help us understand ourselves in relation to the world. These interactions are natural as they are a part of the interdependence of society.

Nonetheless, we begin to look at the TV and various forms of media out there to help us seek out and understand who we are as well. We look at TV as an outlet to the rest of the world outside of our local environment. This in and of itself wouldn't be a problem however, it is the content on TV that makes the difference and how it is sold off to you as well. Most people are unaware that the TV Shows they watch hypnotize them and use subliminal messaging / propaganda techniques to develop the pop culture. Now this in and of itself can be dangerous only if the viewer is unaware of the fact that when they are interacting with any form of media they are being sub-consciously embedded with mental suggestions and being conditioned. The danger now lies in what the content of the TV and the various media have in it. This will only than serve to build uniformity within localities across the nation. Now does this mean Television and any form of media is to blame? No, its how it is used that makes the difference and whether or not you choose to be influenced by its suggestions. Many would run to extreme ends in the name of trying to stop the conditioning. But there are a few rational answers that can be given to remedy the situation. Instead of having the nanny state that only seeks to ban everything for your "safety" and "protection" trying to censor things that may stop reality from setting in we could always be individuals and decided to auto-govern ourselves and our families by turning off said media, we could begin realizing that most of what we interact with in the various media was paid for and only expects payment back for the advertising or message that was put on, or we could find a counter-argument that may refute the claims advertised or propagated. There is no need to shield everyone from graphic things just because a few are weak of stomach or faint of heart. We Should Not Have to Appease Everyone!

However, a large portion of society does not contain the understanding and are unaware generally speaking and choose to obsess over whatever the media has to say about what makes an individual an "individual." I find this ironic and puzzling; the free world that values individuality has managed to create a strong wave of conformity concerning what makes an individual a so-called "individual" in the eyes of society. It is the goof of all time, individuality is about uniqueness and most people know this yet the people either sub-consciously or not still remain in conformity to what society has to say. To add to this irony, it is corporations who have the power over the airwaves for the most part. So what does the media reinforce in our society as something that is popular and in effect make the people believe is the definition of individuality? Beauty, not the true kind, but the outer appearance is emphasized, in effect emphasizing superficiality. Sexual Prowess, everywhere you go in our society it needs to relate to the pleasures of sex, in effect emphasizing our more animalistic nature which is impulsive and emotional. Personal Gain, not the gain of intellectual or spiritual experiences and treasures but rather physical and material gain, in effect emphasizing our desires for extravagance and trivial things.
Now these things exist, so I cannot deny their existence nor deny that they have no value, everything at has value, if they did not exist than it did not have value. So I will not be an extremist and say "we need to get rid of appearance, sex, the trivial or materialistic mindset." However, as a unique individual it is my decision as to how much value I give these "glorified values" and base my decision on the introspection of who I am and who I want to be or how I want to be seen. From there take the personal responsibility of my decision.

3. What is the difference between a group of individuals and a group of individuals?

So now that we arrive to a greater understanding as to what it means to be a truer individual. That from the outset the truer individual is capable of saying "NO" by devaluing the desire to appease everyone and not being an extremist but in return capable of introspection and personal responsibility as well as awareness of a societal definition as opposed to an individual definition on a truly subjective topic.

Earlier I pointed out an irony to the definition of "individual" through media as opposed to the individual itself. The greater awareness is that, it is corporations that decide these things, so what we are conditioned to accept is the corporate definition of individualism which is a farce on individualism because corporate culture is about collectivism, a hierarchy of rulers where we trust the owner to do the right thing but if we dissent or undermine the owners and higher-ups we find ourselves on the chopping block for next month's lay-offs and terminations.

Now, the question must be asked than, what is the difference between a group of unaware or unconscious individuals and true individuals? It is rather simple. The individual in a group has relegated or sacrificed his/her own uniqueness for the sake of the group. If the group does not need the talents of A, B, and C than those talents, that uniqueness of the individual, is ignored and not allowed to grow or be worked and shrivels and is possibly lost all for the sake of the group. The individual in the group is a collectivist without possibly even knowing it. It is a tragedy that the gifts bestowed upon the individual for whatever supreme cause you believe in go by unused and quite possibly lost. I ask "where is the life in that?"
Now if we are to look at the true individual who has been awakened and is conscious of him or herself than the story is much different. The true individual within a group of true individuals carries with it much power and respect. All talents are used and applied by the mercy of the individual not by the mercy of the group nor does the group demand a sacrifice. Yes teamwork is important for any group work however, what good is teamwork if the true individual were not insightful and knowledgeable enough to improve the outcome of the group? Someone may say, "Well, if they are all true individuals than what happens if a problem occurs?" The true individual and the group of true individuals need not worry because, the emphasis for understanding would be there and to work towards the best mutual outcome would be set.

4. Personal Experiences

So now we arrive to an even greater awareness of what a true individualist is. That a true individual does not sacrifice anything because sacrifices are defined as giving up something in the name of something greater than you. Instead a true individual or individualist does things based on their own level of mercy. An individualist uses and develops the traits of insight and knowledge-ability to further improve the outcome of the individualist group so as to arrive at point where there is a win for all not a win for some unless by the mercy of the individual they agree to take less than what could be fully given for example, a job you collect your wage from your job and from their you also have employment as such you agreed to take this job even though you don't own the company and its fuller privileges the owner enjoys.

Nonetheless, I must speak now of my own personal experiences for sometimes leading by example is the best way a follower (a collectivist) becomes a leader (an individualist). When I was younger say back in grade school my desire was to become popular yet at the same time I was reserved so in a sense sought to become popular but not speak much. This desire thankfully didn't last long but I had seen that some of my classmates as we entered into middle school were more focused on popularity than on developing a true and lasting friendship, they sought quantity I sought quality as I got older. As we arrived in high school it was the same story but becoming increasingly mature I had developed my introspective nature to a degree where I had tremendous inner power and awareness but my social life had suffered I had friends but even they didn't keep in touch with me all that much anyway.

That would change after a couple events that occurred in my high school career where I was reinvigorated to leave old friends behind that I decided lost their quality that I had enjoyed throughout the years previous to these events, so we grew apart. I found a group of new friends and quickly they took me in, we were a small group but the quality time of that group was great, I found a job and invited one of my friends to join in on it. To this day we both still work there with a second handful of co-workers who turned into friends. But, what can I say, it was work we had our fun times, we had our hard times. It was my determination that didn't make me quit from this job even when I was fed up with it and the people at certain times.

I had a desire to grow and expand in knowledge and understanding because, high school education generally speaking left me unprepared for college life and the world. I had interests in politics, religion, philosophy and writing. I learned critical thinking and logic skills within my first year of attending college because I believed that being critical of the society we live in and ourselves will in time improve our lives and surroundings. My interests in religion, spiritual and occult philosophy is at the highest at this time than ever before. I had sought to improve my writing skills and enjoyed the philosophical viewpoints the college offered coupled with my own understandings of life. My life has only begun in the time allowed a typical person but nonetheless I look forward to all of which life has to offer including its difficulties. This was not just schooling that offered this awareness but it was my own life experiences guided by whatever supreme cause you belief in.

5. Religious/Scientific Examples

There are spiritual and philosophic as well as a scientific appreciation for the ideas of individualism. Within this section my intent is to sow some of them, not argue doctrines and dogma but rather show that even belief systems are there to help in the liberation of an individual to come out of the collective mindset. I was born and raised in Christianity and had developed esoteric interests because of that I have a larger understanding of these two mindsets than I do of Jewish or "secular" mindset. Nonetheless, I will put my own insights into these understandings to help show that the individual is the focal point to life and that the collective seems to only old people back.

a. Christian Tone

The first important example that can be shown is the Judeo-Christian Story of Creation. God made Adam and from Adam made Eve as the story goes. God breathed into Adam with his breath of life. Now many say that by eating the apple on the tree of knowledge of good and evil caused the fall of mankind from my perspective it was a necessary event. God gave Adam and Eve the willpower to be free and to not need the consent of anyone but their own consent to do what they did. Freedom was sacred in the eyes of God according to the Genesis story, because, even though God knew that free will would make mankind fall and even though he knew that freedom would bring much suffering and death to the world it was still given to us. This comes back to the point, that even if something brings negative consequences it does not necessarily mean it has no value. So our existential questioning began what would it mean if God did not make us into beings of free will? We would be herd animals, we would be collectivists by birth and our will wouldn't exist we would be mindless and soulless robots living out a meaningless life.

So knowing this, we understand that God's will was for us to have life by being free. So now we must ask ourselves what is the relationship between man and the serpent who tempted eve into eating the apple and in effect Adam as well. The serpent made the couple aware of their "nakedness" and fundamentally changes them to the point where God threw the couple out of the Garden. Many say the serpent brought upon them ignorance and suffering but the serpent only showed them reality because; the garden was a locality in the rest of the world. The serpent brought upon them the hardship and difficulty of reality. It is our job than to hold on firmly to our individual liberty during hard times and know ourselves by not yielding our freedoms to adversity.

I am not playing devil's advocate either. This is what the serpent has done, what God has willed and what we have done, if God did intervened to stop the serpent, than we would have never learned to take the consequences of our actions, which proves that personal responsibility is an important value that must be learned in our desire for freedom. If the serpent did not exist, than we would have never learned the hardships and challenges our freedom brings. If Eve or Adam fought the temptation not to eat the apple, than they would have continued living in a naïve ignorance of the world in which they came from. So some values to be instilled in an individualist would be personal responsibility, the desire to overcome adversity, and awareness of who we truly are.

"I desire mercy not sacrifice" (Matthew 12:7)

Christ whom which Christian doctrine espoused is the Son of God was an important lesson to be learned. Because, God was the being that bestowed free will and desired freedom for all humans. It is God's son than that would be representative to true individuality. This phrase that Christ used was meant to convey an important lesson. I had mentioned earlier that mercy was an individualist or free persons value and sacrifice was a collectivist or enslaved persons value. To expand on this it is by the mercy of the individualist that progress is made, it was the work of Christ that bestowed the message of love to the world, and it was not the work of the collective that made such a message known. It was by Christ mercy on the collective that love was made known.

Mercy is defined as an act of kindness, compassion, or favor. The acts of Mercy start from the individual and go outward to whomever. However sacrifice is defined as the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim. The act of sacrifice is imposed upon the individual in the name of whatever or whomever. People consider the Passion of The Christ to be an act of Sacrifice however it was not it is an act of Mercy. Because, Christ represents the light of a true individual in the Christian mindset than it is the idea of the followers or anyone else that follows with the teachings of Christ to provide mercy not self-sacrifice. Christ knew that the individual is higher to the collective.

Someone may say "God is greater than I am, so I must sacrifice X in the name of God." This is deceptive the son of God asks for mercy not sacrifice, he was tired of these hollow acts of sacrifice they meant nothing to him and in effect nothing to the father. So what should be done or said is "God is greater than I am, so I must show mercy to others by doing X in the name of God." Not only will this keep you more honest with yourself but also with those around you. Sacrificing brings problems someone may say "I sacrificed X for you, so you owe me!" This only feeds self-aggrandizing and pride. Mercy brings peace because it was your will to do what you did. It keeps you honest with yourself.

We must know of course that an individual must carry balance within him/herself if they wish to not be exploited by those who seek to exploit the mercy of the individual for less than noble or genuine reasons. The gift of discretion must be developed and applied in order to better judge the genuine nature of one's application of mercy. Too much mercy invites weakness by way of developing an unhealthy toleration for people or groups. However, too much severity invites hatred by way of developing an unhealthy judgmental if not elitist personality.

So to review what can be learned from this verse we know that an individualist is capable of honesty not just towards others but towards themselves as well. The true individualist is capable of mercy but will not be overly sympathetic in order to deny exploitation. To deny exploitation the individualist will balance their merciful side with their discretion but will not allow the gift of discretion to be perverted into being overly judgmental.

"You Are The Light of the World" (Matthew 5: 13-16)

The whole verse that I had selected was that of two verses. The first verse states that "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." This is an interesting verse. At first it may seem like a call to collectivism, because someone may say "what is one grain of salt going to do? Wouldn't you need to have several grains of salt to make a difference?" I would say this is true insofar as each grain of salt maintains its unique salty characteristics. Because if salt lost its saltiness which is the thing that gave it meaning than it has lost its purpose. This is the point of this first verse, that each of us is unique.

Uniqueness is the gift, we are each unique individuals on this planet. Therefore, we must be able to maintain our uniqueness in the world that only seeks conformity to uniformity. This is the larger lesson to being an individualist, that a true individualist will be a non-conformist or someone who will not blindly serve common standards, conventions, rules, customs, traditions, norms, or laws unless they are in agreement to them. In the name of true individualism the individualist will not submit to peer pressure unless they can see the genuinely beneficial aspects to said pressures. Also the individualist will see to it that they will not submit to the groupthink mentality which is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. Some people know this as "drinking the kool-aid" in which one becomes a strong or fervent believer in a particular philosophy or mission, wholeheartedly or blindly believing in its virtues without being critical of them.

The second half of the verse we arrive to the message that "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." You are the light of the world is the beginning of this verse that each of is light, something usually related to a divine nature. That this light because it is divine is capable of so much power and contains so much life that it serves as an empowering inspiration to the world. Each of us who has aspired to true individuality is a city on the hill but because you are exalted by the humble position of true individuality you cannot be hidden by anyone, people sense that you are different than the rest of them and they revere you because of that. The hallmark of true individuality is not to run and hide or to be ashamed of any of the gifts you have but to use and apply them wisely and with a humble stance, a true individual has no desire to lead people but rather to guide them so that they may develop their own individuality so that they may lead themselves.

This power I speak of is the power of life itself without it individuality would be dead. Remember God gave life and gave freedom simultaneously because without one the other has no point to exist. When the true individual has aspired to life and liberty they understand its power and become that power, this power which the true individual posses empowers the individual and those around the individual to the point where it is an inspiration at every level of being. It would do well to keep in mind that the city on the hill is something not to boast about hence I remind that the true individual posses a humble spirit because of their maturity. I also say that the true hallmark to true individuality is not to lead but to guide; an individual needs to be guided out of or toward something. The true individual guides because experiences must occur within the growing individual to aid further in the development of true individuality whereas if they were lead down a path than their experiences would be limited to the leader's will which is not helping in developing true individuality.

"Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

When I read this saying I thought about what the larger lesson meant in the eyes of true individuality. It dawned upon me that, there are ultimately two emotions and all other emotions are related to one of the two or both indirectly. Those two emotions were love and fear. Anger is can be found in compassion, which is rooted in love, for those who suffer from injustice or ignorance and it can be found in not getting your own way. But I came to a larger realization that love and anger are also perspectives and ideas. This to me was the message behind the message that Christ shared with his apostles, that when you dedicated yourself to an idea, in particular a good idea, and are willing to lay your life down so that others may understand and celebrate it in such an existential way than the individual is powerful.
Christ dedicated his life to love and died for that idea, that experience and that emotion. It was by his mercy that he died for such an idea. According to the myth he died to save the world through love. Likewise, the founders of this country and countless true patriots died to see to it that the idea of freedom be maintained and have a place in the world to maintain it. The founders wanted peace and prosperity with all, they wanted other countries to emulate us and celebrate liberty. Freedom is after all based on the principle of love. That I love all equally enough to fight for their own freedoms even when they wouldn't and that I love all equally enough that I would want them to be free despite any shortfalls that they may have. The founders wanted us to be emulated in the world not by sacrificing our liberty for security or by forcing countries to change by force of arms. Where is the love in sacrifice, when the man of love demanded mercy? Where is the love in unnecessary violence to spread the idea of liberty, which is based on love?

b. Jewish Tone

"Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me." (Exodus 8:1)

Although I am not Jewish and do not impose my own commentary to be the final say on the story of Exodus I still must say that from an individualist perspective however I find the story of Exodus to be quite liberating. The story of Exodus is about how Moses led his people out of slavery from the land of Egypt. I find it interesting that the Pharaoh who represents the will of a powerful hierarchal collectivist society demands that slaves do the labor of his own nation. From an individualist standpoint it represents how collectivism does not value personal responsibility but puts all the responsibility on others for their own maintenance. Also the story seems like a message of religious tolerance, that the Jewish people just want to worship their God freely without someone trying to interfere in their worship. Finally, I have observed that from an individual perspective, that the collectivist Pharaoh viewed material possession as the highest end he could establish for his nation where as the minority of enslaved Jews saw its inconveniences of such a viewpoint. This tells me that perhaps an individualist sees material possession as something that is a means to an end.

So to review what seems to be considering a hallmark of individualism in Judaism would be again personal responsibility, tolerance in other people's viewpoints, and finally that things should be used not worshiped. Again, I do not impose my commentary as the final say in the matter because I am not Jewish.

c. Gnostic Tone

Gospel of Thomas: "I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one."
I have great respect for the Gnostic message and the world we live in. This phrase is unique as is what the promise is. This could not be any clearer form of the importance of individuality. That out of the many people or society comes one person who has the power to make a difference. These representatives of true individuality are indeed unique and yet are the same in that they share the quality of uniqueness. It is a message that the focus lies on ourselves in order to realize the potentials life has to offer and to be liberated by being aware of and applying the realization.

The Secret Book of John: "And the man came forth because of the shadow of the light which is in him. And his thinking was superior to all those who had made him. When they looked up, they saw that his thinking was superior."
This is part of the Gnostic story of Creation. In this man is seen as something more powerful than the maker himself. Which is a metaphor for just how powerful the individual self is and how much life they posses. According the Gnostic creation myth our light, which is part of the divine, is sought to be exploited by the forces of ignorance by way of fear. It is humanities choice as well as each individuals choice to decide if they will allow the light to be exploited by the forces of ignorance or if they will reside in the light and be empowered by the light by way of love and knowledge.

d. Secular/Philosophical

Ralph Waldo Emerson American philosopher, essayist, and poet: "Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment."

The idea behind this is that this is only an individual's ability and experience. A collectivist cannot do this because they are either told not to or they do not know how to. The individualist for one is a realist with an open mind, the individualist must be determined and seek truth for the truth sets all free and the individualist cannot be an individualist if they are not free. This awareness of truth leads to an inspirational sense of power and joy. As Emerson has said it "animates all whom it floats." This is life itself and nothing short of that, this is what empowers the individual. Therefore, the individual must seek wisdom, for a fool is a collectivist even if the fool thinks themselves as true individuals, they are not because, fools like people who are stuck in the collectivist mindset do not think, they sacrifice their individuality to conformity and their uniqueness to uniformity. A fool laughs at the wise but it is the true individual who has the last laugh.

i. Individuation

In Jungian psychology individuation is a process of psychological differentiation, having for its goal the development of the individual personality. "In general, it is the process by which individual beings are formed and differentiated; in particular, it is the development of the psychological individual as a being distinct from the general, collective psychology." (C.G. Jung. Psychological Types. Collected Works Vol.6., par. 757)

Carl Gustav Jung (26 July 1875 - 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in counter cultural movements across the globe. Jung is considered as the first modern psychologist to state that human psyche is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth. He emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, world religion and philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts. His most notable ideas include the concept of psychological archetypes, the collective unconscious and synchronism. From the psychological perspective CG Jung forewarned that people should seek balance and harmony. He cautioned that modern people rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of unconscious realms.

Concerning his idea about the collective unconscious, it is just that unconscious. There is no such thing as the collective conscious but the one we create. We are not meant to be born like heard animals, like a hive of bee's or sheep. The collectivist is to relegate their position for the sake of the group because of some fear or mentality. Therefore, the collective is unconscious, which only further makes my point that like an animal the collectivist relegates themselves to basic survival rather than realizing their potentials.

Individuation is the development of one's individual personality through a bringing-to-consciousness and assimilation of unconscious tendencies (both complexes of the personal unconscious and archetypes of the collective unconscious). Individuation is both a goal (one that will never be completely reached) and a life-long process with a twofold movement (see Wehr 50). Acknowledging that these unconscious tendencies are part of oneself, of one's personality and then, refusing to allow one's personality to be compelled by these tendencies through possession or projection.
We can understand individuation not only through discussing how it is manifested in our psychological development (see Wehr 58) but also through analyzing how it is portrayed in narratives. Individuation appears in myth, fairytales, literature, film, etc. in the form of a narrative or story because it is a process. Frequently the narrative portrays a journey or quest of a hero/heroine who represents the individual ego in the process of individuation. To analyze such a story, interpret all images, symbols, actions, etc. from the perspective of this individual ego, as personifications of various aspects of his/her unconscious that need to be integrated and/or distanced for the person to move toward wholeness.

6. What makes an individual a true individual?

Based on all of that which I have gone through the awareness and values that go into building an individualist I could say that everything above is what makes an individual and I wouldn't be wrong. However, I wouldn't be right as well, to suggest that if you listen to my advice above you will become an individual does not do justice to the claim that the individual first and foremost is the source of power and life in fact it would be arrogant of me to make such a suggestion of following the morals and values set above since the beginning of this essay. Morals and values may lead to a better life however; following morals and values is just that following. The individualist is not a collectivist and only the collective follow, whether the individual leading is of good or bad intentions.

So what makes an individual a true individual and not just a unit of the collectivist body? The answer lies in the awareness of one. In other words, the awareness of what you are and what you are not. The individual is everything but nothing in particular. What I mean by this is that the individual is free from all forms of identification whether it is a title or calling yourself the adherent to some type of mindset. By doing this the true individual no longer follows or runs after something everything runs to the individual. The acting out of the values described throughout this essay are no longer done because the individual does it in spite of the collective (also known as the counter-culture) but rather does it genuinely from the heart because the individual is just being themselves. If this is understood intellectually than good on that person but my hope is that the person understands it existentially and can experience what I am trying to say.
Also the true individual adheres to no dogma and no doctrine but their own. This is a paradox, a contradiction to everything I have said. First I say adhere to these values as the hallmark to true individualism. Then I say that these same values I told you to uphold mean nothing unless one understands how to use them. Now I just said forget about everything I told you and adhere to know rules in particular. I acknowledge this and say its part of the process of becoming, where people say contradictions do not work or paradoxes are mishaps we still must acknowledge that they occur. As a suggestion instead of running from contradictions and paradoxes embrace them. Values and morals are merely the acting out of what we know. This is the secret to true individuality rather than accepting who you are, know yourself. I am not suggesting that you must know the trivial things about who you are to the world like "what you like and what you dislike" often society determines that until the individual has come to the realization that collectivism is not the way. So instead, know yourself by pushing your boundaries and overcome that which holds you back. Truly, the individual who has come to know themselves is free because they are no longer in bondage to anything that may stop them from living life to the fullest and they are aware of themselves.

7. On Becoming an Individual

When a person is ready to travel the many paths that lead to true individualism they must be ready to essentially die to the world around themselves. This death is no different than the concept of being born-again like in Christian concept of the idea. However, unlike the religious undertone my intent is not to put people into groups. Rather this process is lifelong process and yet has many sub-processes that occur as events throughout one's life unfold. This process is more so like the Alchemical idea of changing oneself from Base Lead to The Gold of Great Price. The base lead is common and is boring because it is plentiful it is not valuable but it is a necessary place to start. The gold of great price is the end result and in the time it takes to get from lead to gold there are many new and promising transformations which come in the way of physical, mental, and those open to the idea spiritual understandings, realizations, actions, and experiences. Throughout our lives we have events and consequences of those events that transform us, the difference between an individualist and collectivist is that one is conscious while the other is not.

However, to give a procedure on becoming a true individual would be wrong of me to do because; it limits your ability to become what you truly are. There is usually a process one that we all share but the experiences that the process encompasses are dramatically different for all. Like the theory of individuation it is a lifelong process but it is a daily process. A true individual is aware of more than a collectivist is aware of because they are not limited to one mindset. I will share with you the beginning of the journey and it starts with being critical of yourself and your own beliefs. At the conclusion of this article is a poetic short story, I hope that the story will provide for you a better picture concerning the path to the development of individuality.

a. Question Your Own Beliefs

In the journey of becoming the first stage to take part in is, being critical of your own worldview. This is difficult for most because, people build worldviews and belief systems so as to seek comfort in their own lives rather than seeking comfort in life itself. When one wonders why there are more collectivist in the world it usually has to do with the fact that they subdue their critical thinking abilities with group think mindsets afraid of the journey of self-discovery. There is a childish fear of the unknown that is prevalent within the psyche of all humans. The collectivist "group thinker" seeks comfort in and demands others to submit to their own beliefs, regardless if those beliefs are set in reality or not. The individualist seeks comfort in embracing the unknown and to share their experiences as well as knowledge concerning that which is unknown. The collectivist lives in a naïve bubble in which they do not want to know and also seek to make those under their influence not to know either. We know such a fallacy to truth as Ad Populum or appeal to popularity, also known as "it is right because everyone believes it is right".

So, you must begin to question your current beliefs and values. Regardless of the pain, listen to and accept some if not most of the counter argument to your beliefs. The point is not to make you into a convert because that would only switch your worldview and "group thinking." The point is to go into a full 360 degree critical introspection of your beliefs and the counter-beliefs you discovered. You are trying to grasp the idea turn it on its head and then take the counter idea and turn it on its head as well. Not merely accepting one over the other.

As an example, in this country we as a collective say to the world that "you are with us or against us in the fight on terror." However, when one becomes critical of such a "group think" viewpoint and investigates the counter argument of the claim say in your mind "US Sponsored Terrorism" you discover that the history of this country during the late 19th century to present day has done nothing shy of causing people everywhere to hate us, and in particular one finds out the our government was responsible for destroying democracies or propping up dictators under the guise of fighting communism than we arrive to an even broader awareness that we should not have such a group think mentality as arrogant as the one we have because our government is just as guilty.

The effect of course is that the world view you had has changed a bit and you as an individual may begin to define yourself a bit differently. Now again earlier I said that one should not be concerned merely with how the world sees you; you must be honest with yourself otherwise you will just fallback to a collectivist mindset. The point of course to being critical of your beliefs is knowledge. Now the above example was an external one but what about the internal world, what about your personality? It would be good to find out why you have the negative qualities you may have and how you act upon them. Therefore, the more you know yourself the more critical you have become of your old world views and what they really mean.