The soul of the life cycle---a transpersonal psychology of adult development

By what means do people choose to diffuse some aspects of identity and generate new aspects of identity? This phenomenological hermeneutical study researched how 12 elders developed toward self-fulfillment: It examined identity as an ongoing creative act, adjusted and modified by life's experiences and lessons, rather than becoming fixed during early adulthood. Semistructured interviews with five men and seven women aged 60--82 inquired how their highest and lowest experiences, how their perceived personal traits, and how their sense of whether or not they had followed their soul's calling affected their development of identity during their lives. These elders had integrated or were integrating forgotten desires, talents, or repressed aspects of self, including archetypal self-concepts and gender qualities, during middle and late adulthood, redefining who they were in a process Jung (1961) called "individuation...more than a coming to terms between the inborn germ of wholeness and the outer acts of fate" (p. 164). This study expands upon Erik and Joan Erikson's concepts in identity formation and end-of-life considerations. In discussing the results, it applies Daniel Levinson's perspective on Lifespan Psychology in middle age, James Hillman's perspectives on sense of calling and character, and turns a lens of Archetypal Psychology to build upon the concepts of Carl Jung, Thomas Moore, Marie von Franz, and Marion Woodman. Robert Moore's (2001) Four Tensions provide a framework for a new perspective on developmental archetypes involving Superior and Inferior Archetypes, which evolved into a dominant viewpoint in the Discussion. In Lifespan Psychology, the study models how adults may reinvent identity by pursuing new interests. In Archetypal Psychology, the study models how people may renew identity by aligning their self-concepts with archetypal qualities. In Transpersonal Psychology, the study explores ways individuals may relate to themselves and others by exploring spiritual qualities and practices.