Dark side

"The Shadow" as Carl Jung termed it, is a state of the human unconscious. It is said to be where repressed thoughts and feelings reside and build up. Insecurities, fears, masks, denial, and other similar aspects of our psychology frequently make up the Shadow. After a time, they are either addressed willingly or risk either momentary or permanent psychological corruption. Because of this, it is recommended to recognize our shadow and embrace it.

Embrace
I recall Alan Watts once describing the "element of irreducible rascality" which is inherently part of being human. This concerns the reality that being human inherently involves both the good and the bad, both the angel and the devil, the reasonable and the passionate. Unfortunately, repression of our rascality happens and the growth of our shadow ensues. This is a result of the fact that we live in a society that throughout the generations has always promoted one set of desirable characteristics while condemning one that is non-desirable - The light over the dark, the good over the bad, the angel over the devil. Because of this, we are conditioned into thinking that it is good to banish the undesirable in order to transform humanity into that which we've come to deem as desirable. Thus, we are moved to deny the darker aspects of our own humanity in order to transform ourselves into what is deemed as "right" and "good".

"Self Improvement" is often seen as "nurturing the good things about yourself" while "eliminating the bad". What is less explored is the fuller concept of "self acceptance" which would include both the good and the bad, both the desirable and the undesirable. It is through the acceptance of all of these aspects equally that we should be able to work with them and integrate them into our daily lives. In order to do this, we embrace the fact that we inevitably repress the dark aspects of ourselves. We embrace the shadow, acknowleding them, understanding them, and thus relieving them of the pressure of repression. As Alexandre and I would always talk about it, we "work with our dragons, instead of trying to slay them".

Many things even other than evil traits can end up in the shadow. This includes aspects of our creativity, certain interests and sexual preferences. These can all become repressed likely due to our environment considering them unconventional and/or inappropriate in some way. Often we respond to this repression in the form of denial and projection - all forms of resistance.

Denial
It is common that people come to deny their own negative traits, or otherwise attempt to reduce their unwanted characteristics. This often risks leading us down a path of self-betrayal, self-sabotage, and ultimately self-destruction, not only to ourselves, but to our environment as well. I can personally admit to doing this. I often filter my characteristics both to myself much of the time, and toward most people I interact with. In another journal entry, I used the term "self-proclaimed fraud", which speaks of this. The reality is that there is "evil" in me. And there are many traits typically deemed "undesirable" which have in fact lead me to behave in ways that I regret. Often when the shadow takes over, and we behave in these undesirable ways, we often want to blame the environment, or say "I wasn't myself". In a religious context, we might put the "blame on the devil" for possessing us.

What is important to understand is that nothing can erupt within us if the seed isn't already present. If we deny the darker sides of who we are, we simply thicken our shadow. This is why, as Alan Watts aimed to point out, the most purist "goodie two-shoes" often end up as the biggest troublemakers. These have taken many forms in history such as with religious extremists waging ideological wars and forcing their vision of "goodness" upon others. The concept of "goodness", however, is simply a construct. It does not equal humaneness. "Humaneness" consists of both what we consider good and bad, as there can only be good when there is bad. After all, without bad, there is no basis for calling anything good. Thus being humane consists of the entire package of these ideas, including all of its ugliness.

Projection
Projection is the outer manifestation of the shadow. We recognize in others what we repress in ourselves. It's quite a logical reaction because traits we dislike in ourselves we automatically dislike in others. There are many examples of this, including things such as the paranoid spouse who blames their partner for cheating while they struggle with the secret, repressed guilt of having cheated themselves. There are many different versions of this same behaviour on both large and small levels.

It is important for us to learn to acknowledge and integrate unwanted traits into our daily lives and in a healthy way. This is to mitigate their harmful elements. We want to avoid letting them build up and over-take us. This lets us cultivate the positive, constructive aspects of our shadow such as creativity. But it requires a process of developing deeper self-awareness. For example, projection is actually an opportunity to discover things which have been repressed, by becoming mindful of our own reactions toward other people's characteristics which are a direct manifestation of the shadow. This process may ultimately help us make the unconscious conscious.

"If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all these projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do this or that, they are wrong, and they must be fought against." - Carl Gustav Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East (1938), Psychology and Religion, p 134

The integration of the shadow is a lifelong process. However, by making the unconscious conscious, we make the first step toward this integration. As a result, we learn to let go of our projections and see what lingers in the dark. The sight may be ugly, but we cannot work with what we cannot see.

"No doubt this also sounds very simple. In reality, however, the acceptance of the shadow-side of human nature verges on the impossible. Consider for a moment what it means to grant the right of existence to what is unreasonable, senseless, and evil! Yet it is just this that the modern man insists upon. He wants to live with every side of himself - to know what he is." - Carl Gustav Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East (1938), Psychology and Religion, p 528

The reality is, the shadow is an inevitable part of our being. It is like a living organism, always in flux, and some of it has never been exposed to the light of day. This is why integration of it takes the whole of our lifetime. We can only illuminate parts of it, but as soon as we become aware of these parts, we are able to transmute them. When we expose our fears, we let them guide us into being courageous. Once we see our aggression, we can channel it into driven achievement. Once we are confronted with our creativity, we can incorporate it into our daily lives.

From the perspective of Jung, instead of trying to be the light and rejecting the dark, stand between both of them without judgement, so we can foster the wholesome humaneness of who we are, our potential to grow and flourish, and help others do the same.