The Principle of Individuation suggests new approaches, on both personal and communal levels, for gaining freedom from the compulsion to repeat endlessly the dysfunctional patterns that have conditioned us. In this concise and contemporary account of the process of individuation, Murray Stein sets out its two basic movements and then examines the central role of numinous experience, the critical importance of initiation, and the unique psychic space required for its unfolding. Using psychological insights from Carl Jung's writings, from myths and fairytales, and from years of clinical experience, he offers a vivid description of this lifelong and dynamic process that will be useful to clinicians and the general public alike.