Carl Jung's The Shadow: Become Who You Are Afraid To Be

one thing is sure a great change of our psychological attitude is imminent that is certain why because we need more we need more psychology we need more understanding of human nature because the only real danger that exists is man himself he is the great danger and we are pitifully unaware of it we know nothing of man far too little his tyy should be studed because we are the origin of all coming evil have you ever felt like something inside you is holding you back sabotaging your best efforts what if I told you there's a hidden

side of your personality lurking in the shadows influencing your every move through synchronicity this hidden side is what Carl Yung calls the Shadow the shadow is a part of our unconscious mind that contains all the aspects of ourselves we reject or deny including repressed desires instincts weaknesses and parts of our personality we consider negative or undesirable these hidden traits influence our behavior and emotions in ways we often do not realize to truly understand the impact of the Shadow let's delve deeper into how it forms and affects our lives Yung tells us in his collected works

psychology and religion unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is on the whole less good than he imagines himself or wants to be everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life the blacker and denser it is if an inferiority is conscious one always has a chance to correct it furthermore it is constantly in contact with other interests so that it is continually subjected to modifications but if it is repressed and isolated from Consciousness it never gets corrected everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in

the individual's conscious life the blacker and denser it is if an inferiority is conscious one always has a chance to correct it but if it is repressed and isolated from Consciousness it never gets corrected and is liable to burst forth suddenly in a moment of unawareness ultimately it creates an unconscious barrier undermining even our best intentions often revealed through meaningful coincidences the shadow forms through societal Norms personal experiences and repression from a young age we learn which behaviors thoughts and emotions are unacceptable to our family and Society pushing these traits into our unconscious mind for

example a child told that anger is bad might repress their anger making it part of their Shadow the shadow holds various qualities strengths and potentials if left unexplored these aspects can lead to a diminished personality creating unconscious obstacles that hinder the development and expression of these positive traits understanding that everyone carries a shadow helps us recognize its profound impact on our lives next let's explore the different types of Shadows beginning with the personal shadow in analyzing a patient you uh make uh typical uh experiences namely there is a s of typical way in which the

integration of Po takes place Nam the this the average way is that um through the analysis of dreams for instance you become acquainted with the contents of the cultures I already told you this to begin is all personal material now that we've introduced the concept let's delve deeper into the different types of Shadows well the ego is supposed to be the representative of the real person but as I say for instance in the case where B knows of a but a doesn't know of B yeah in that case one would say the ego is more

on the side of C because the ego has a more complete knowledge and a is uh a split of personality you see when I say self then you must think of I myself because that is only your empirical self and that is covered by the term ego ego but when it is matter of the S then it is matter of a personality that is more complete than the ego because the ego is only consist of what you are appr of Y differenti Ates between the self and the ego the ego represents our conscious identity while

the self is a more comprehensive and complete representation of our entire personality including both conscious and unconscious elements now that was a very serious thing to me because what else then you see and I hated that fellow and that was the the only man I could have killed you know if I had met him one at a dark corner I would have shown something of what I could do did you often have violent thoughts about people when you were young no not exactly only when they got mad well then I beat them up and did

you up and get mad not so often but then for good you were you were very strong and big I imagine yes I was pretty strong and you know Reed in the country with those B boys was rough kind of life and and I I would would have been capable of of of violence I know I was a bit afraid of it so I I rather try to avoid the critical situations because I didn't trust myself once I was attacked by uh about seven boys and I got mad and I took one and just Swang

him around with his legs you know and and and beat down four of them and then they they were satisfied Yung is reflecting on his own capacity for violence and aggression during his youth he acknowledges his strong emotions and physical capabilities but also his fear of losing control leading him to avoid situations that could provoke violent behavior is Shadow now that we understand the basic concept of the Shadow let's explore Jung's model of the psyche further I wonder if you would uh mind telling us a little bit about how you uh through this term Persona

well this is a a practical concept we need in elucidating people's relation um I noticed with my patients particularly with uh people that are in uh in public life that they have a certain way of presenting themselves so the Persona is partially uh the result of the demands Society has and on the other side it is a compromise with what one likes to be or with what or as one likes to appear say now this is not the real personality in spite of the fact that people will assure you that it that is all quite

real and quite honest yet it is not now such a uh performance or say the performance of the Persona is quite all right as long as you know that you are not identical with the way in which you appear in yung's model of the psyche there are various personified structures that interact with one another in our inner world two of these the Persona and the anima animus are relational the Persona relates to the external world and the anima animus to the internal world the ego which is primarily body based and may be understood as the

executive part of the personality stands alongside the shadow together the ego and the shadow are Central to our identity the anima is the feminine aspect present in the unconscious of men it represents the inner feminine side and influences men's interactions with women and their own emotional life its opposite the Animus is the masculine aspect present in the unconscious of women it represents the inner masculine side and influences women's interactions with men and their own assertiveness and reasoning to understand how our unconscious mind shapes our reality let's hear from Jung on the interplay between personal and

Collective Shadows TI has two conditions two important conditions one is the envi Environmental influence and the other is the given fact of the the of the psyche as it is BN the self is really a term that designates the whole personality because the whole personality of man is Indescribable he his Consciousness can be described his unconscious cannot be described because the unconscious as I must repeat myself is always unconscious and this is really unconscious really does not KN and so we don't know our uh our unconscious personality we have hints we have uh certain ideas

but we don't know it really nobody can say where man ends that is the the beauty of it you know it's it's very interesting Yung is emphasizing that our unconscious personality remains largely unknown to us despite occasional insights he explains that the psych is shaped by both environmental influences and inherent psychological factors present from birth well chiefly his purely personal approach and his disregard of uh the historical conditions of man you see we depend largely upon our history uh we are shaped through education through the of the parents which are by no means always personal

they were prejudiced or they were influenced by historical ideas or what I call dominance and and that is a most decisive factor in Psychology we are not of today or of yesterday we are of an IM men's age Yung is discussing his disagreement with an approach that focuses solely on the personal aspects of psychology neglecting the historical and Collective influences he emphasizes that our psyche is significantly shaped by historical context parental influence and societal Norms which are deeply ingrained and impact our psychological development let's now take a closer look at the personal shadow in the

collected works of CG Yung volume 9 part 2 ion Carl Yung says closer examination of the dark characteristics that is the inferiorities constituting The Shadow Shadow reveals that they have an emotional nature a kind of autonomy and accordingly an obsessive or better possessive quality these are usually aspects of the personality which one tries to hide repress and deny to oneself and others because they are things which one has no wish to be failing to recognize and deal with our shadow can lead to significant problems think about a time when you felt an intense irrational emotion

was it really about what was happening at that moment or was it something deeper let me know in the comments the shadow is most visible when one is in the grip of anxiety or other emotions for example under the influence of alcohol one may suddenly blurt out a hostile remark during a friendly conversation when we do not want to assimilate what we despise we project it onto others many people refuse to recognize their Shadow so completely that the ego is not even aware of Shadow behavior and thus has no possibility of commanding it under these

conditions the shadow is is autonomous and may Express itself in inexplicable moods irritability and cruelty and so uh the the psychical events are facts are realities and when you observe the stream of images Within You observe an aspect of the world of the world within because the p you know if you understand it as a phenomenon that takes place in soall living bodies uh then it is a quality of matter as our body consists of matter we discover that this matter has another aspect namely a pyic aspect let's now explore the positive aspects of understanding

our shadow from the book CG Yung speaking interviews and encounters When You observe the world you see people you see houses you see the sky you see tangible objects but when you observe yourself within you see moving images a world of images generally known as fantasies yet these fantasies are facts you see it is a fact that a man has such and such a fantasy such a tangible fact that when a man has a certain fantasy another man may lose his life or a bridge may be built these houses were all fantasies everything you do

here all of the houses everything was fantasy to begin with and fantasy has a proper reality this should not be forgotten fantasy is not nothing it is of course not a tangible object but it is a fact nevertheless there is an impersonal stum in our p and I can tell you an example we had a p a patient in the world he was quiet but completely dissociated schizophrenic and he was in the clinic already for over 20 years he had come into the clinic as a matter of fact being a young man a little CL

and there's no particular education and once I came to the war and and he was obviously excited and called to me took me by the label of my coat and led me to the window uh and said now now you must see now look at it look up at the sun uh and see uh how it moves see you must move your head too like this and then you will see the the follows of the Sun and you know that's the origin of the wind and you see how the sun moves As you move your

head from one side to the other now of course I didn't understand that all I thought there you are he's just crazy uh and but that case remained in my mind and four years later uh I came across uh a paper written by the German umoran who had dealt with a with the so-call mitas litery a part of the Great Parisian sorcer papos and there he U produced The U um a part of the soal M ly namely uh say there after the second prayer thou will see the how the disc of the sun unfolds

and you will see hanging down from it the tube the origin of the wind and when you move thy face the face to the regions of the East it will move there and if you move your face to the region of the West it will follow you and instantly I know I knew now this is it this is the vision of my patient but how could you be sure that your patient wasn't unconsciously recalling something that somebody had told you oh no quite out of question because that thing was not known it was in a

in a in a magic papos in Paris and it wasn't even published it was only published four years later after I had observed it with my patient and this you felt proved that there was a an unconscious which was something more than personal oh well that was not a proof to me but it was a hint and I took the hint yes these examples are crucial because they highlight Carl yung's deep understanding of the unconscious mind and how it affects our behavior and perceptions by showing that fantasies and dreams have a tangible reality Yung stresses

that the unconscious is not just a storage place for forgotten or repressed thoughts instead it is an active and Powerful part of our psyche that significantly shapes our experiences and actions this helps us understand that our inner world is just as real and influential as the external world we see around us throughout his writing Yung refers to the importance of developing awareness of the shadow in Psychotherapy and its projections in the individual's life although the shadow is usually perceived as negative it can also be positive in fact exploring our shadow gives us access to many

positive qualities Yung explains to us with these quotes from the collected works of CG Yung volume 9 part two the first of these is the shadow that hidden repressed for the most part inferior and guilt-laden personality whose ultimate ramification ations reach back into the realm of our animal ancestors and so comprise the whole historical aspect of the unconscious if it has been believed hitherto that the human Shadow was the source of evil it can now be ascertained on closer investigation that the unconscious man that is his shadow does not consist only of morally reprehensible Tendencies

but also displays a number of good qualities such as normal instincts appropriate reactions realistic insights creative impulses Etc man is not complete if he is not conscious of uh that aspect of things so is see a man is not complete when he lives in a world of statistical truth he must live in a world of his biological truth that is is biological Tru that is not uh um nearly satis speaks it is the the expression of what he really is as what he feel himself these explanations highlight yung's views on the Shadow and the self

emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and integrating all aspects of our personality to achieve psychological wholeness one of yung's closest collaborators Mari Louise Von France writes in man and his symbols part three the process of individuation the realization of the Shadow the shadow is not necessarily always an opponent in fact he is exactly like any human being with whom one has to get along sometimes by giving in sometimes by resisting sometimes by giving love whatever the situation requires the shadow becomes hostile only when he is ignored or misunderstood well they in Practical life they emerge but

the personal Shadow is the personal shortcomings of uh things which every human being could be conscious of which is not archetypal and therefore not a mystery for instance such things as Greed for money or jealousy jealousy is one of main aspects of the Shadow or laziness sloppiness uh unrelatedness sentimentality and whatnot inferiorities which everybody has but uh prefers not to know about as to the personal nature of the unconscious the personal quality of the unconscious in a given case where you take an ex well his unconscious has then an introverted quality because all the extroverted

qualities are played in Consciousness and and in has qualities the the same uh that gave me a lead of the diagnostic value it uh it help me to understand my patience both Marie Lise Von France and Carl Yung collectively stress that acknowledging understanding and integrating the shadow a complex emotional and personal part of our unconscious is essential for achieving psychological wholeness and self-awareness to better understand this let's visualize the shadow imagine your Shadow as a dark figure following ing you around at first it seems intimidating but as you turn to face it you realize it's

just a part of you that needs understanding and compassion for instance a person might believe that being assertive is being rude or aggressive losing the qualities of confidence and the ability to speak up for himself in an honest and respectful way which in turn may lead to less proactivity make it more difficult to get a raise or job promotion struggle with money and so on so when a person encounters an assertive person deep down he feels resentment and guilt which makes his shadow blacker and denser these valuable aspects ought to be assimilated into actual experience

and not repressed it is up to the ego to give up its Pride because your un conscious is in a compensat relation to Consciousness and uh and after a while you get the full picture and if he has a full picture and uh has the the necessary moral stamina well then we can be cure but in the end it is a moral question it is the manifestation of the situation of the uncons look back from the uncons to put this into practice let's talk about actionable advice for shadow work to start your own shadow work

try keeping a journal write down moments when you felt a strong emotional reaction and reflect on what might have caused it over time you'll start to see patterns that reveal your hidden Shadow observe your emotional reactions throughout the day when you notice a strong reaction take a moment to pause and ask yourself what triggered it write down your observations to identify patterns we also encounter our shadow in our dreams as a person of the same sex as the dreamer it is what seems to be a criticism of our character from the unconscious an inner judge

of your own being that reproaches you and the result is usually embarrassed silence we must identify the contents of the Shadow and integrate them into our personality it is a regular uh observation that when you talk to an individual and this individual gives you um insight into its uh inner preoccupations interests emotions the other was uh hands over uh his uh personal complexes then you get slowly and near really into the situation of a of a sort of authority u a point of you become a point of rence Yung suggests that by confronting and integrating

our shadow we can transform these repressed aspects into a source of inner Authority and self-awareness becoming a point of reference for our own personal growth let's now explore how to integrate Shadow aspects into our lives through the analysis of dreams for instance you become acquainted with the contents of the unconscious this is the process of the realization of the Shadow also known as Shadow work here Begins the painful and lengthy work of self-education one must enter into long and difficult negotiations with the shadow a work we might say that is the psychological equivalent of the

labors of cyphus through Shadow work one can observe one's Shadow outwardly by watching one's emotional reactions and being radically honest about one's interactions with others and inwardly by exploring one's dreams before we delve into the fascinating ways our shadow manifests in our lives let's first understand how this hidden aspect intricately weaves into the very fabric of our identity in Carl yung's collected works volume 13 alchemical studies Yung tells us that one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious the latter procedure however is disagreeable and therefore not popular

with a deeper understanding of our identity it's time to witness the shadow in action let's explore how this concealed part of ourselves manifests in everyday behaviors and decisions understanding our shadow is crucial but it doesn't have to be a daunting task it can be a fascinating journey of self-discovery this allows one to become enlightened and reduces the Shadow's destructive potential not so much as it were by Waging War against the darkness but by bringing the darkness to the light the light to the darkness from Carl Jung's collected works volume 12 psychology and Alchemy there is

no light without Shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection however scary or dark it is to confront our shadow finding truth brings relief discernment of the truth is the process of authenticity a painstaking excavation into the depths of our being to explore possibilities and limitations distortions the Buried and often forgotten parts of ourselves and abilities most people however are too indolent to think deeply about even those moral aspects of their behavior of which they are conscious let alone to consider how the unconscious affects them here's another actionable step you can take in your daily interactions

practice being radically honest with yourself if you feel irritation or discomfort reflect on whether these feelings might be related to your shadow look for synchronicities that may provide insights now that we've covered the personal Shadow let's explore the collective Shadow the shadow can also consist of factors that stem from a source outside the individual's personal life here is when we stumble upon the collective Shadow the dark side or the unknown or little known aspects of a society and culture it consists of that which opposes our shared and Collective values to understand this better let's look

at the broader implications of the collective Shadow archetypal ideas stream of archetypal ideas that goes on through one individual through the centuries you see it it it's it it it is like a continuous stream and that comes to the daylight in the great Ms say in in political movements or in spiritual movements um for instance in the time before Reformation uh people dreamt of the great change and that's the reason why such great Transformations could be predicted yeah uh if uh somebody has been clever enough to see what is going on in people's mind in

the unconscious mind would be able to predict it for I have predicted the Nazi rising in Germany through the observation of my German patients they had dreams in which the whole thing was anticipated and and is considerable detail the collective Shadow a vast and often horrifying aspect of human life inflicts immense harm on both humanity and the natural world leaving lasting effects across Generations manifesting through projected Darkness violence oppression and denial of responsibility it emerges in Wars genocides and cultural deaths this pervasive yet elusive interdimensional Force breeds atrocities persecution and widespread suffering hiding under seemingly

benevolent actions like language enforcement outwardly it shows as physical suffering poverty and crime while inwardly it Fosters self-hatred depression and a desire for Revenge causing others to endure similar suffering let's dive deeper into the collective Shadow and its relation to evil the collective Shadow has long been labeled as evil akin to the devil in Christian tradition where possession strips away one's Humanity replacing it with a demonic nature for Yung the primary response to such evil lies in the Relentless quest for self-knowledge and whole Ness each individual must recognize the full spectrum of their capabilities knowing

both the extent of the good they can achieve and the potential crimes they are capable of committing you know every society has Collective problems Collective convictions and so on now we are very much influenced by them because you belong to a certain political part to a certain confession and and that can be a serious determinant of your behavior now as as personal conflict doesn't touch upon it it's no question it doesn't appear but the moment you transcend your personal sphere and come to your un personal determinance say to the question a political question or any

other social question uh which really matters to you then you are confronted with a collective problem then you have Collective things when there is an issue known in a particular society it can be called a shadow issue if there is evidence of denial projection and a lack of taking individual and Collective responsibility therefore taking responsibility morally politically and spiritually is particularly crucial the courage with which we bear our Darkness frees others from having to carry it for us to illustrate let's discuss dealing with the past and taking responsibility to respond to massive historical suffering Wars

genocides holocausts and pervasive oppression the effects of which persist we must learn much as human beings denial often connected with a wish to get on with things and put the past behind us is the most common approach and usually the first reaction many attempts have been made to deal with painful pasts through public apologies repentance reparation payments pilgrimages to places of suffering Etc but how do we integrate the shadow deeply and broadly Within in a population rather than symbolically through leaders or policies remembering and speaking the Unspeakable is a painful process for victims perpetrators bystanders

and Witnesses such a process is successful or reasonably complete once pain outrage betrayal suffering and all other feelings have been voiced and heard and responsibility has been taken truth telling is both the most desirable and feasible way to Grapple with a difficult past the world hang is on a thin thread and that isy of man assume that uh certain fellows in Moscow lose their nerve or their commense for a bit and the whole world is in Fire and Flames it is nowadays we are not threatened by Elementary catastrophes there's no such thing as an ageb

that is all man's doing we are the great danger psyche is the great danger what if something goes wrong with the psyche see and so see it is demonstrated to us in Ouray what what the power psyche is of man how important it is to know something about it but we know nothing about it no nobody would would give credit to the idea that uh the psychical uh processes of the ordinary man have any importance whatever one example of a terrible Mass psychosis represented by the collective Shadow is systemic racism and police brutality where deep-seated

prejudices and personal biases escalate into widespread discrimination and violence Ordinary People Under certain conditions participate in or tacitly support actions they wouldn't normally consider the personal Shadow is the bridge to the collective Shadow thus solving one's inner conflicts personal Shadow is crucial to avoid unconsciously falling into the collective Shadow often revealed through synchronicities by doing so one can influence others benefiting society as a whole suppose um um um a patient comes to to that to that level or uh that his conflict begins to become really very serious that this his mind might suffer then he

can have a collective the question is how can we Face the collective shadow we must first confront our personal Shadow by engaging in thorough and challenging self-examination being truthful in our interactions monitoring our emotional responses and analyzing our dreams this process prevents us from becoming unwitting victims of our shadow and unconscious projections allowing us to uncover and harness the positive traits within us ultimately enriching our lives and those around us by acknowledging the collective Shadow we can avoid its influence and take responsibility for addressing ignored issues and the absence of personal and Collective action embracing

our Darkness with courage not only brings relief to others but also ensures that we confront and rectify the past preventing the Shadow from intensifying and history from repeating itself you see everyone who says that I'm a Mystic you know uh is just an idiot well he doesn't understand the first word of of fact col up [Music]