THE SHADOW

For Freud, the unconscious was about content that was socially unacceptable. Jung agreed with
Freud and called this the personal unconscious, or the personal Shadow. However, there are
some differences. Jungians will often refer to any material that is unconscious as "In Shadow"
and there are depths to the Shadow that become collective rather than personal, such the Devil
Archetype, or the dynamics that Shadowed Nazi Germany. That is, at some point, our personal
Shadow becomes so large it is more accurate to call it a Collective Shadow. Positive
characteristics may be in Shadow as well. But the most common way to refer to Shadow
material is anything we once were but then pushed away. Jung felt the Shadow would often
appear in dreams as an unknown but same sex person. But not *all* unknown same sex persons
in dreams are Shadows. All that is unacceptable is, as they say, "in Shadow" to the degree that
is us, or was us, and we deny it.

I believe most of us would usually consider a Shadow figure as morally inferior. They slink
around our dreamworld and we would rather die than have someone say we are like them. But
denying the Shadow robs us of strength and that's why it's so useful to take a look at the
Shadow when one is frozen or loses the ability to move or walk or is paralysed in some other
manner. When its time for a person to begin to deal with the Shadow, it may begin to stalk the
dreamer, which is that part of the psyche's way of saying, "Hey, you've neglected me too long
and we need to talk."
The point, according to Jung, is not to become or accept these figures nor to reject them, but to
find your own unique and creative way to be with them or relate to them. Jung felt the dream
not only *revealed* the Shadow problem, but always offered a *solution* that the ego might
creatively consider, thereby carrying the dream forward. The general idea being that this is an
undeveloped aspect of your personality and by coming into playful and even serious
relationship with it, something special and unexpected happens.

The Shadow is not a difficult concept. It is merely the “dark side” of the psyche. It’s everything
that doesn’t fit into the Persona. The word “persona” comes from the theatre. In the Greek
Theatre, characters would put on a mask that represented who the character was in the drama.
The word “persona” literally means “mask.” The persona is how we would like to be seen by
the world, a kind of psychological clothing that “mediates between our true elves and our
environment” in much the same way that clothing gives an image. The Shadow is what doesn’t
fit into this Persona. These “refused and unacceptable” characteristics don’t go away; they are
stuffed or repressed and can, if unattended to, begin to take on a life of their own. One Jungian
likens the process to that of filling a bag. We learn at a very young age that there are certain
ways of thinking, being and relating that are not acceptable in our culture, and so we stuff
them into the shadow bag. In our Western culture for example, thoughts about sex are among
the most prevalent that are unacceptable and so sex gets stuffed into the bag. The shadow side
of sexuality is quite evident in our culture in the form of pornography, prostitution, pedophilia,
SM parlours etc. Psychic energy that is not dealt with in a healthy way takes a dark or shadow
form and begins to take on a life of its own. We can use the term “shadow” in a more general
sense. It is not merely the dark side of a particular archetypal pattern or form. Wherever Persona
is, Shadow is also. Wherever good is, is evil. We first know the shadow as the personal
unconscious in all that we abhor, deny and repress: power, greed, cruel and murderous thoughts,
unacceptable impulses, morally and ethically wrong actions. All the demonic things by which
human beings betray their inhumanity to other beings is shadow. Shadow is unconscious. This
is a very important idea. Since it is unconscious, we know it only indirectly, projection, just as
we know the other Archetypes of Warrior, Seeker and Lover. We encounter the shadow in other
people, things, and places where we project it. The scape goat is a perfect example of shadow
projection. Jung says that when you are in the grips of the archetype, you don’t have it, it has
you. To me this idea of projection raises an interesting point. It means that the shadow stuff
isn’t “out there” at all; it is really “in here”; that is inside us. We only know it is inside us
because we see it outside. Shadow projections have a fateful attraction to us. It seems that we
have discovered where the bad stuff really is: in him, in her, in that place, there! There it is! We
have found the beast, the demon, the bad guy. But does Evil really exist, or is what we see as
evil all merely projection of our own shadow side? Jung would say that there really is such a
thing as evil, but that most of what we see as evil, particularly collectively, is shadow
projection. The difficulty is separating the two. And we can only do that when we discover
where the projection ends. Therefore we must “Own our own Shadow.” I believe
passionately only when we own our own shadow and bring it into our conscious awareness does
true healing start to happen, and we start to attain self- realisation which ultimately leads to
self-actualisation.

At this stage I would like to quote some very profound Jungian quotes that summarise his
concept of the Shadow:-

“The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made
conscious, it happens outside as fate. That is to say, when the individual
remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner opposite, the
world must perforce act out the conflict and be torn into opposing halves.”

Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is

embodied in the individual’s conscious life,
the blacker and denser it is.
At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag,
thwarting our most well-meant intentions.

‘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. 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’.

‘It is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow side to him,
consisting not just of little weaknesses- and foibles, but of a positively
demonic dynamism. The individual seldom knows anything of this; to him,
as an individual, it is incredible that he should ever in any circumstances go
beyond himself. But let these harmless creatures form a mass, and there
emerges a raging monster; and each individual is only one tiny cell in the
monster's body, so that for better or worse he must accompany it on its
bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost. Having a dark suspicion
of these grim possibilities, man turns a blind eye to the shadow-side of
human nature. Blindly he strives against the salutary dogma of original sin,
which is yet so prodigiously true. Yes, he even hesitates to admit the conflict
of which he is so painfully aware’.

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.
 To confront a person with his shadow is to show him his own light. Once
one has experienced a few times what it is like to stand judgingly
between the opposites, one begins to understand what is meant by the
self. Anyone who perceives his shadow and his light simultaneously
sees himself from two sides and thus gets in the middle.

QUOTES BY CARL GUSTAV JUNG

I feel it is also necessary for me to express the view of the shadow in occultism, which
is my real passion, the word "dweller," as an analogy to Jung’s shadow concept. It
refers to several things, but more particularly has an application to what H. P.
Blavatsky calls "certain maleficent astral Doubles of defunct persons." This is exact.
But there is another meaning of this phrase still more mystical and still more difficult to
explain which refers to the imbodied karmic consequences or results of the man's past,
haunting the thresholds which the initiant or initiate must pass before he can advance or
progress into a higher degree of initiation. These dwellers, in the significance of the
word just last referred to are, as it were, the imbodied quasi-human astral haunting
parts of the constitution thrown off in past incarnations by the man who now has to
face them and overcome them -- very real and living beings, parts of the "new" man's
haunting past. The initiant must face these old "selves" of himself and conquer or --
fail, which failure may mean either insanity or death. They are verily ghosts of the dead
men that the present man formerly was, now arising to dog his footsteps, and hence are
very truly called Dwellers on the Threshold. In a specific sense they may be truly
called the kama-rupas of the man's past incarnations arising out of the records in the
astral light left there by the "old" man of the "new" man who now is.

In Tarot tradition, the Moon represents unconscious desires and the fears that
accompany the sense of losing control or falling into the unconscious realm of sleep
and dreams. However, if one is afraid to enter one's own astral territory, one can never
truly know oneself - and the mystery of initiation is about little more than this.

The real confrontation that the Moon represents is the meeting with the "Dweller on the
Threshold" of which occult and esoteric teachers speak. This is the giant force of
accumulated evil or wrongdoings, the hideous part of the self that a person would
rather not look at and would like to pretend doesn't exist, and which rises up at the
point of real psychic growth. This "demon" must not only be looked at, but integrated
into the being, in order to establish wholeness.

So here we have the methodology for accomplishing the Black Stone that will vanquish
and transmute our Dweller or Sin-Body: We must enlist our Martian energy or moving
spirit--the "purified metallic Sulfur"--by separating it from any connection with the
Personality or lower nature, so that our "unripe Mercury" becomes the voice of pure
conscience, moderated by a loving spirit of gentleness and patience. Our Mars becomes
the warrior of the Higher Ego, and as the Christ Spirit, speaking through the man Jesus,
said: "I come not to bring peace, but a sword" and, "A man's foes will be those of his
own household." This will be our St. George who will slay the dragon of our lower
nature -- the Dweller on the Threshold.

One of my Shadow issues is irresponsibility. I was brought up to be responsible, and I learned

my lesson well. I work hard, and am generous with my time and money. So what’s wrong with
that?
Well, every now and again I discover myself furious with somebody else’s irresponsibility.
Perhaps one of my friends or my partner. Perhaps a public figure. I will find myself driving in
the car while having an imaginary conversation, in which I am telling them off. Somehow, I
don’t ever feel very good after these imaginary conversations. That feeling of being “hooked”
by an issue that, I believe, doesn’t apply to me is a sure-fire clue that I am in Shadow territory.
So I go through a dialogue with myself:
“So, what’s the big deal with being responsible?”
“It’s important to me. I get really irritated when I see how much damage irresponsible people
cause.”
“So, have you ever been irresponsible, either now or earlier in your life?
“I’ve always been responsible, even when I was a kid.”
“And you really don’t exercise enough, and your eating habits could be better. Is that
responsible?” This line of internal discussion can get pretty uncomfortable This little dialogue
to me does demonstrate two key strategies we all use to avoid dealing with Shadow issues in
our lives:
 We distort, ignore, or rationalise behaviour in our lives that expresses our Shadow. In
other words, we don’t see our own irresponsibility, insensitivity, anger, etc., although it
may be crystal clear to others. This defense is called denial.
 We become hypersensitive to manifestations of our Shadow in other people—strangers,
our partners, our children or parents, friends, etc. This defense is called projection.
These defenses are powerful and unconscious. They can and do separate us from others, who
often are more aware of our Shadow than we ourselves are.
Underneath these behaviours is a strong unconscious desire for wholeness, for balance. I attract
into my life those people who express those things I can’t or won’t, because in that way I feel
more balanced, closer to wholeness. Moreover, by attributing those traits to them (certainly not
to me!), I get to avoid facing my fears of being “like that”. But I also fail to own my whole self.
Without wrestling with these fears, inviting these devils into our consciousness, the same
patterns continue appearing in our lives.

Jung has suggested “we marry our Shadow.” The thrifty person marries the spendthrift, and
forever after disapproves of their spending habits. And vice versa. Opposites do attract, and
when they do, the Shadow is often alive and well. This can be the big downfall in a relationship
“after the honeymooon period is over”
Unfortunately, the confrontations with the Shadow in a relationship often lead to distance and
alienation instead of growth. Relationships frequently end because the Shadow sides stirred up
by the relationship become too painful to be borne. Therefore don’t deny and don’t project in
your relationship, there is a middle way and two individuals that are on the ‘path’ will reflect
into themselves and take 50% of the responsibility, the old saying “it takes two tango” is Truth.
I believe by being less good, I become more whole. And, ironically, by becoming more whole, I
express my goodness more effectively.
But won’t accepting our Shadow lead us to be “bad?” After all, if I have a potential bigot or
murderer inside, it can’t be good for me to let that out. And of course that’s true. But there is a
big difference between awareness and action. If I am aware of something, I don’t have to act on
it. In fact, awareness can make me more compassionate, and allow me to act more effectively.
For example as a parent, if you are aware of the rebellious teenager inside you, you will deal
with your teenager more compassionately and effectively. If you are not conscious of your inner
rebel, the teen’s behaviour will lead you to anger, and you will attempt to repress the teen the
same way you repress your own rebellious Shadow. And this in turn leads to more rebellion in
the long run. If we are to be whole, in ourselves and our relationships, we must give up denial
and projection. A very tall order.

Shadow work is the work of a lifetime. We don't get rid of our Shadow by doing Shadow work
(though it will shift and change). Develop one side and another will slip into being unused and
underdeveloped. To accept and value one thing means another will seem unappealing. What can
we do? If Jung is correct about our dreams balancing our ego, and our path is one of wholeness
and individuation, we watch our dreams, that's what we do. The dream itself forms a Shadow
for our society. Notice how in popular culture the dream and the Shadow are both considered
something morally inferior (rare is it that the ethics of a dream are taken by people as superior
to dayworld judgements). Both are something we want to be rid of (as a culture, our parents tell
us it was "just a dream" and we should focus on the daytime tasks at hand). Both are intrusive ?
they happen *to* us. It's only recently that lucid dreaming has come into the public
consciousness. For the most part, we are the passive recipients of dreams (and inferior parts of
our self ? we don't *choose* to have people get under our skin!). The first thing we have to do
in order to begin to see our Shadowsides, is to take 100% responsibility for our lives. This is a
very difficult thing to do and no one does this overnight so we have to be patient with ourselves.

Being in the human experience, we have all had many painful, difficult experiences where it
clearly looks like it is the other persons fault, or bad luck in life or whatever else we want to call
it. So taking total responsibility for what appears to come to us is no easy task but it is well
worth the effort because when we take responsibility for what happens to us, we can then learn
and grow from our experiences and make new choices for ourselves.

Changing our attitude from blame to responsibility will change what happens next in our world.
Our destiny is of our own making and what goes on inside of us will be reflected outside of us
all the time. The alchemists of long ago: “As above, so below, as within, so without, so that the
miracle of the one can be established.” What it is saying is that what is within us, will also be
oustide of us. Inner states of consciousness will be reflected in outer situations time and time
again. If we are willing to look at the significance of these repeating patterns, we will see the
syncronicity of events and situations and ultimately once integrated the miracle of the one is
established as we become one with ourselves. So notice. Notice who comes into your life that
irritates you or pushes your buttons. It’s usually something that is so unconscious within
yourself, that it’s impossible to see that it’s about yourself. If it indeed is a part of your own
Shadow, in time you are going to see how it’s going to start repeating in patterns. So I believe
if you spot the projection or the denial “if you spot it, you got it.” This is a profound sense of
self awareness which as the Delphic oracle says “MAN KNOW THYSELF” you are well on
the way to becoming whole, patience and endurance are the key words here!!!!!!

So if you are a counsellor and would like to be affective in your therapy, all of the above need
to be looked at in yourself before you can heal others. This is the answer to many of our
relationship problems. (including the therapeutic relationship)

Doing Shadow work requires that both people have to be willing to come to the middle of the
polarisation. It requires honest and authentic communication. Two people who trust each other
enough to be vulnerable, and have a commitment to the relationship, can help each other see
each others Shadow and bring about in each other a more cohesive state of integrity with the
Self.

There are no accidents. Both people are attracted or repelled whatever the case may be by an
unconscious collusion. There is an order in the Universe whether we can see it or not.
According to Jung, the psyche is always striving for wholeness and if we can take our cues from
nature we will see that wholeness is balance. As Marian Woodman, a Jungian analyst, so aptly
put it: we have day time and night time. Which one of us would want no night time?
So whenever you catch yourself saying “I’m not like that,” if it gave you an emotional charge
when they said it, — you probably are like that, you just don’t know it. A really good way to
bring your Shadow qualities into awareness is to ask a couple of really close friends to describe
you on paper. They see our Shadowside way before we do. Our real friends love all of us, the
light and the dark, and accept our humanity the way we accept theirs. And isn’t acceptance what
we are all looking for? There are many hidden and undeveloped parts in all of us and in
attempting to keep our self-image intact, we will completely deny their existence. We do this
because we want to be accepted by our society, by our families and our peers. Our baser
qualities — our hypocritical behaviour, our excessive greed, our ruthlessness, our ability to be
manipulative — go straight into the unconscious. But that doesn’t mean they are not active in
our life, they just live in the unconscious (unsupervised), and periodically they burst forth into
our awareness and propel us into situations that we would much rather avoid. Boy do I know
this one!!!!
So the more we know about ourselves, the more choices we have. We can then choose not to
behave in a certain way. When we don’t know about something, then it will take on a
compulsive, automous element to it.
So learning about our Shadows can bring us the real peace Jesus talks about when he says “You
will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Since the shadow is about the union of
opposites we therefore must not forget The "shadow" can be
positive

as well as negative

in nature.
An example of a positive shadow characteristic may be the quality of "bravery or
assertiveness." If its a quality you admire greatly in other people, but for some reason you
chose to believe it just wasn't in you to be a brave person or an assertive one. You didn't and
don't believe it's within you to be this type of person. Any quality you admire in another and
believe you don’t possess can be a positive shadow characteristic. This is essential work for a
good therapist, to also help uncover the positive shadow in the client that they have repressed
to enable them to heal and transform. When the person is “yearning to be” or says things such
as “I wish I was like her/him” or “if only I could be more………….” These are key statements
the therapist needs to listen to attentively, and help the client discover “the gold within”

INNER CHILD ARCHETYPE AS PART OF THE SHADOW

The psychological wounds we all suffered in childhood and our formative years form part of
our inner shadow. In recent times those psychologies came to be known as the inner child . We
were all abandoned and scared and often hurt by our caregivers. It's the task of the authentic
grown-up to go back inside those wounds to discover himself or herself. For, if the inner child
is not understood and handled properly it can become the inner brat that destroys you in the
end.
It creates such a storm of anger and unreasonableness that others start to shun you, and they
become uncooperative, life falters all around you. You burn out those that love you and those
that would support you.
I have came to see how much of my early fear in life was nothing much to do with my
circumstances but that it was a deep shadow process that I knew nothing about. Our spiritual
journey is very much the process of becoming authentic. We learn to clean up and stop lying.
We stop pretending, we become better communicators and more real. Strangely, the journey to
the authentic grown up is through the egocentric, frightened child. It's the journey through the
phony you, to the spiritually mature being. There is a beauty in that.

Stuart Wilde says and I agree with him to a greater extent: “Where I have seen problems is
when people get so caught up in the inner child process that it becomes the only thing they do.
Life falls apart surrounded by the story of their pain. Your life no matter how sad it is, is just a
story; you should never make that story too important—it's irrelevant for the most part. You
may have suffered injustice, but it was part of your karma to evolve in a dimension where
injustice is everywhere. Werner Erhart said, “Life's a rip off, then you die.” You liberate
yourself from your anger and your shadow's reaction once you accept that. You realize you can
be happy and live a full life even when surrounded by injustice. “

The mysteries of the inner child aren't so mysterious. You can study them in books but most of
it is fairly obvious. When you get angry with people for little or no reason that is the inner brat,
demanding attention. When you get scared it is often the child suffering abandonment, or
suffering the fear of not being able to cope at a young age to situations in the family it knew
nothing about (like shouting between parents) that the child takes on emotionally, with no way
of fixing the problem. So fear of losing control is often an inner child reaction. (this is me at
times)
The inner child in romance is often seen as co-dependency. He makes the girl into his missing
mother, and/or she creates him as the father figure, each enables the dysfunction of the other.
Greed is sometimes an inner child reaction to money fears that were handed down from the
parents.

Caroline Myss says there are four main archetypes for survival:- The Child, Victim, Prostitute,
and Saboteur are all deeply involved in your most pressing challenges related to survival. Each
one represents different issues, fears, and vulnerabilities that you need to confront and
overcome as part of your Sacred Contract. In doing so, you come to see these four archetypes as
your most trusted allies, which can represent spiritual as well as material strengths. The child
archetype is the one that continuously throws shadow aspects into our day to day living and the
one that has the greatest wounds for us. She goes on to divide the Child archetype into sub
archetypal categories which I believe are worth mentioning. To me she has a very deep
understanding of the human psyche and is obviously influenced by Jung.
The Child
The mature personality of the Child archetype nurtures that part of us that yearns to be
lighthearted and innocent, expecting the wonders of tomorrow, regardless of age. This part of
our nature contributes greatly to our ability to sense playfulness in our lives, balancing the
seriousness of adult responsibilities. The balanced Child is a delight to be around because the
energy that flows from this part of our personality is positively infectious and brings out the
best in others, as well as in us.
The Child also establishes our perceptions of life, safety, nurture, loyalty, and family. Its many
aspects include the Wounded Child, Abandoned or Orphan Child, Dependent, Innocent, Nature,
and Divine Child. These energies may emerge in response to different situations in which you
find yourself, yet the core issue of all the Child archetypes is dependency vs. responsibility:
when to take responsibility, when to have a healthy dependency, when to stand up to the group,
and when to embrace communal life. Each of the variants of the Child archetype is
characterised by certain tendencies, including shadow tendencies.
The Wounded Child archetype holds the memories of abuse, neglect, and other traumas that
we have endured during childhood. This is the Child pattern most people relate to, particularly
since it has become the focus of therapy since the 1960s. Many people blame the relationship
with their parents that created their Wounded Child, for instance, for all their subsequent
dysfunctional relationships. On the positive side, the painful experiences of the Wounded Child
often awaken a deep sense of compassion and a desire to help other Wounded Children. From a
spiritual perspective, a wounded childhood cracks open the learning path of forgiveness.
The shadow aspect may manifest as an abiding sense of self-pity, a tendency to blame our
parents for any current shortcomings and to resist moving on through forgiveness. It may also
lead us to seek out parental figures in all difficult situations rather than relying on our own
resourcefulness.
The Orphan Child that has been abandoned or neglected can manifest shadow aspects and
never recover from feelings of abandonment, and the scar tissue from family rejection stifles
their maturation, often causing them to seek surrogate family structures to experience tribal
union. Therapeutic support groups become shadow tribes or families and the child who knows
deep down that healing these wounds requires moving on to adulthood. For that reason,
establishing mature relationships remains a challenge.
Magical/Innocent Child This archetype is also gifted with the power of imagination and the
belief that everything is possible.
The shadow energy of the Magical Child manifests as the absence of the possibility of miracles
and of the transformation of evil to good. Attitudes of pessimism and depression, particularly
when exploring dreams, often emerge from an injured Magical Child whose dreams were "once
upon a time" thought foolish by cynical adults. The shadow may also manifest as a belief that
energy and action are not required, allowing one to retreat into fantasy.
Nature Child
This archetype inspires deep, intimate bonding with natural forces, and has a particular affinity
for friendships with animals. Although the Nature Child has tender, emotional qualities, it can
also have an inner toughness and ability to survive--the resilience of Nature herself. On the
shadow side of the nature child it can abuse people and animals often in very cruel and sadistic
ways.
Puer/Puella Eternis (Eternal Boy/Girl)
This archetype guides us to remain eternally young in body, mind, and spirit, and not to let age
stop us from enjoying life. The shadow Eternal Child often manifests as an inability to grow up
and embrace the responsible life of an adult. Like Peter Pan, the Eternal Boy resists ending a
cycle of life in which he is free to live outside the boundaries of conventional adulthood. The
shadow Puella Eternis can manifest in women as extreme dependence on those who take charge
of their physical security. She cannot be relied on nor can she accept the aging process. So for
both genders this can lead to superficiality and immaturity at a deep level.
Dependent Child
The Needy or Dependent Child carries a heavy feeling inside that nothing is ever enough, and is
always seeking to replace something lost in childhood - although exactly what is never clear. As
with the Wounded Child, this leads to bouts of depression, only more severe. The Dependent
Child tends to be focused on his own needs, often unable to see the needs of others. This can
lead to a self centeredness and burdensome nature which can repel others in the long run. (my
mother)
Divine Child
The Divine Child is closely related to both the Innocent and Magical Child, but is distinguished
from them by its redemptive mission. It is associated with innocence, purity, and redemption,
god-like qualities that suggest that the Child enjoys a special union with the Divine itself.
Divinity is also a reference point of your inner spirit that you can turn to when you are in a
conscious process of choice. You may also assume that anything divine cannot have a shadow
aspect, but that's not realistic. The shadow of this archetype manifests as an inability to defend
itself against negative forces. Even the mythic gods and most spiritual masters -- including
Jesus, who is the template of the Divine Child for the Christian tradition -- simultaneously
expressed anger and divine strength when confronting those who claimed to represent heaven
while manifesting injustice, arrogance, or other negative qualities (think of Jesus' wrath at the
money-changers in the Temple). Assess your involvement with this archetype by asking
whether you see life through the eyes of a benevolent, trusting God/Goddess, or whether you
tend to respond initially with fear of being hurt or with a desire to hurt others first.

Jung says “One common way in which people can be guilty of abusing the Child within is by
underidentifying or overidentifying with a role or roles, with a persona. Eg A man’s or
woman’s present state may have come into conflict with his childlike state or he may have
violently sundered himself from his original character in the interest of some arbitary persona
more in keeping with his ambitions. He has thus become unchildlike and artificial and has thus
lost his roots. All this presents a favourable opportunity for an equally vehement confrontation
with the primary truth. (Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious:162)
The Shadow can consume a person and bring about the collapse of the ego if one is in too tight
an embrace with one aspect of the ego, with a persona, that has been blown out of all
proportion. In such a case one has separated completely from the archetypal Child in one and
so childishness may overtake one. He talks of the puritannical minister as an example, who
saw himself as antisexual and fundamentalist. He was obsessed with the issue of sexuality and
used every possible occasion to drive home the horror of sexual sin. One night he had a dream
that was extremely vivid and pornographic. To cut a long story short, this man abandoned
everything he knew, including his family and religion and went on a rampage of sexual
promiscuity. He lived out the ‘sex maniac’ in him. Jung says this is because he had virtually
killed the Child in himself. Killing the Child within can be destructive to your growth and
manifest shadow qualities that can stunt your growth by rigidity, repression or any type of
narrowness or fundamentalism. It can set you up for a complete collapse of the ego. In a way
you do not become like a child you become like a '‘pseudo child” living out a paradox.

Finally I will end this essay by saying Shadow work is a A Life-long Process.
No one does this overnight. Shadow work is a life-long retrieval process and it takes years of
patient inner dialogue with oneself to understand and even admit to ourselves that Shadow work
is even realistic and necessary. It’s not easy to do and takes time and energy. Not always, but
most often it begins at midlife when we become determined to see the truth about ourselves
after a series of painful relationships, circumstances, and events etc. It is impossible to truly
learn about our whole Self and grow into more conscious human beings without this kind of
internal self-honesty and as Robert Johnson says in the book Owning Your Own Shadow, it
takes a great deal of courage. When you integrate when the dark you is integrated into the
light you, you acquire a new power. It is vast. The missing you is joined to the current, waking
you, and the sense of being lost falls from you.
We must answer the question: “would you rather be good, or be whole?”
Carl Jung
We live under the impression that in order for something to be divine it must be perfect. We are
mistaken. In fact, the exact opposite is true. To be divine is to be whole, and to be whole is to be
everything: the positive and the negative, the good and the bad, the holy man and the devil.
When we take the time to discover our Shadow and its gifts we will understand what Jung
meant by “the gold is in the dark.” Each of us needs to find that gold in order to reunite with our
sacred self.

Below I have outlined a shadow exercise by Carolyn Myss that can be used on clients in
therapy:-

“The Shadow Exercise”

"Think of someone you know whom you don't like very much. Maybe you even hate
this person. On a piece of paper, write down a description of that person. Write down
what it is about this individual's personality that you don't like. Be as specific as you
can."

When everyone in the class is finished writing, tell them to draw a box around what
they have written - and at the top of the box write "MY SHADOW."

"Consider this," I tell them. "What you have written down is some hidden part of
yourself - some part that you have suppressed or hidden. It is what Jung would call
your SHADOW. Maybe it's a part of you that you fear, can't accept, or hate for some
reason. Maybe it's a part of you that needs to be expressed or developed in some way.
Maybe you even secretly wish you could be something like that person whom you
hate."
Invariably, the students' reactions to this idea are mixed. Some immediately see the
connection; some immediately reject the idea. When I ask the class how many of them
have friends or romantic partners who fit the description of the "hated" person, many
are surprised to see that this is indeed the case. The exercise always leads to interesting
discussions about how we project suppressed parts of ourselves onto others, and about
why we sometimes choose these "hated" people for our close relationships.

Therapy must include dialogue with the Shadow, clients can use keywords, draw
them, dialogue with them, gestalt with them, jourmal them and fundamentally create
a reality with it.

References
www.myss.com
www.voidspace.org.uk
www.mythsdreamssymbols.com
www.cgjungpage.org
www.harbour.sfu.ca