What is the Shadow?
To confront a person with their shadow, is to show them their own light.
- Carl Jung
The shadow is an inner-hooman problem that challenges the entire ego-personality, for no one can become aware of the SHADOW without considerable inner-mind work. To become aware of our own shadow involves recognizing the dark aspect of our own personality as present and real, as in admitting to our own personal flaws. This act is a vital aspect of self-knowledge, and it is often met with considerable resistance on our end. no one wants to take a deep in depth personal look at their potential HOOMAN flaws. These shadows are repressed elements of our personalities which we CHOOSE not to be identified with. Yes, I said choose…
The shadow lurks in the deep, dark recesses of the hooman psyche. It is buried in the heart, in the mind; it is part of all of us, every cell in our bodies, every fiber of our beings. It follows us, it frightens us, and it comes to us in many different forms, but it always appears somewhere. The shadow is not an idea or a matter of perception. It is very real, and very ever present.
Just as there is light, there is also always darkness. It is not possible to deny the shadow within us. Even among the most benevolent of hoomans, the most respected personalities and leaders in every field or endeavor, part of their shadow element peeks through their eloquence and their elegance. Do they really know themselves, or have they denied their shadow element? They may find their views, their words and their actions in conflict. This is not intentional, this is hooman nature.
Is it possible to ignore or avoid the shadow? Solid NOPE. When we are at the lowest point in our lives, the shadow haunts us. It is that part of ourselves that we leave ‘in the closet’ as we face the public and put our best mask on. Hide it, deny it, suppress it, the shadow will never vanish. In fact many avoidance mechanisms may end up attracting the shadow back into our lives in other, potentially more nasty, ways.
Does the shadow impact our lives? Does it mean anything? The shadow comes in many forms. it can take the form of temptations, obsessions, addictions, co-dependency and other nasty little ‘brain-weasels’. The shadow can also take the form of projections. It can be a dislike of certain traits in other fellow hoomans, unjustified and unexplainable, until explored. If we don't like what we see, perhaps it is because it mirrors parts of us that we choose to ignore or may not even be aware of, maybe even parts of us we dislike…
Are you comfortable with your friends? If not, ask yourself, why do you hang out with them? Do you judge them harshly? If so, why do you share your precious time with them? Do you tend to make compromises that you can not meet? Do you tend cross your own boundaries often? What about getting angry at the slightest provocation, at times, at the same hooman? There are times we look for our shadows in the faces of other hoomans. We even attract them into our own lives! Buried deep in our core being, these shadows can drive us to places we never even wanted to go.
Experts would say it is not wise to deny the shadow element. They believe the only way is to confront it, deal with it face first and work through the conflicts it creates… The shadow doesn’t present the same for every hooman, so why would dealing with it look the same for every hooman?
Every Hooman has their own personal ‘inner demons’ to deal with, in whatever way they can. otherwise, the shadow follows us in less obvious ways. There are ALWAYS lessons that come from the shadow element. To become aware of it, we need to go deeper into ourselves and our psyche. We can take the good, Work with the bad, see the light and face the darkness without fear, TOGETHER.
We are not perfect. Hoomans are flawed, every single one of us. No matter how many dark clouds hover above out heads, no matter how long the darkness lasts, the light will come. This darkness offers us a chance to enrich and nourish our inner selves, our minds and our lives. It can help us to align ourselves with our highest self. By striving for balance between light and dark, we generate more personal power and strength.
