Exploring the Shadow

 

  • CARL JUNG

    Exploring the Shadow is often attributed to Carl Jung and I thought these quotes were a good place to start …

    “The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.”

    — Carl Jung, Aion (1951)

    “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

    — Carl Jung

    “Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the shadow self and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

    — Carl Jung, “The Philosophical Tree,” Alchemical Studies (1945)

    “If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his 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… Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day.”

    — Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion (1938)

    https://highexistence.com/carl-jung-shadow-guide-unconscious/

    BRENÉ BROWN

    TED TALK - Listening to shame 2012

    Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

    Or TED TALK – The power of vulnerability 2010

    Or Netflix – Brené Brown: The Call to Courage

    THE WORK

    Byron Katie has developed a 4 question process for identifying our shadow – have you tried it? What was your experience? (I’m sharing some videos below – but youtube is FULL of these, so pick anyone you like).

    What is the Work? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIuCvUJWMfM

    An example of the Work - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_8TJtRhEnc

    Her worksheets - https://thework.com/instruction-the-work-byron-katie/

    THE VEDIC CONTEXT OF THE SHADOW

    “In Samkhya and Yoga, "there are two irreducible, innate and independent realities:

    1) consciousness itself (Purusha), and

    2) primordial materiality (Prakriti)"

    • The unconscious primordial materiality, Prakriti, contains 23 components including intellect, ego and mind. Therefore, they are all seen as forms of unconscious matter

    Thought processes and mental events are conscious only to the extent they receive illumination from Purusha.

    Consciousness is compared to light which illuminates the material configurations or 'shapes' assumed by the mind

    Consciousness is itself independent of the thought structures it illuminates.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism_(Indian_philosophy)

    READING

    “The shadow of the tree falls beneath the tree. The shadow is in the shape of the tree.

    Which one is the reason behind the shadow?

    Is the tree the reason behind the shadow or the sun?

    Without the tree, there is no shadow of the tree.

    Without the sun also, there is no shadow of the tree.

    The shadow is the aspect that is caused by the combination of the tree and the sun.

    Does the tree try to create the shadow? No. Does the sun try to create the shadow? No. The shadow is in the place where there are no rays of sun.

    The shadow exists as an image of the tree when there is a combination of the sun and the tree.”

    Vedanta By Sri Bagavath

    VEDIC ASTROLOGY

    Rahu – the North Node of the Moon. (my video – Rahu, Ketu and the Hero’s Journey)

    The 8th house – the caves of darkness that one navigates and exits a friend of all.

    Lajjita Avastha – the planetary combination that causes Shame (my video – The 7 Faces of Shame)

  • 1) What do you wish to disown in your self?

    • Physically?

    • Mentally?

    • Emotionally?

    • Intellectually?

    • Sexually?

    • Financially?

    • Spiritually?

    • Habitually?

    2) If you imagine yourself as a new-born and that Life wants to beam light onto you, but would harm you with Its brightness, so delegates that role to your guardians (parents, siblings, community) – where do the shadows fall on you as the Light of Life shines through these humans an on to your body? Which shadows on you have you mistaken as your own?

    3) When have you integrated something from your shadow? How did it feel? What was the experience?

    4) Write here any commitments that you would like to make based on the material, your reflections and the discussion at the Truth Room ….