The Shadow – Carl Jung’s Warning to The World

 The Shadow – Carl Jung’s Warning to The World

“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. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.”

Carl Jung, C.W. Vol. 11: Psychology and Religion: West and East

Carl Jung talks about two types of shadows: the personal shadow (the unknown dark side of our personality) and the collective shadow (the unknown dark side of society).

Personal Shadow

Starting with the personal shadow, Jung calls it:

“the thing a person has no wish to be.”

Carl Jung, C.W. Vol 16: Practice of Psychotherapy

It represents unknown or little-known attributes and qualities of the ego. It is the sum of all those unpleasant qualities we like to hide from ourselves. The shadow contains inferiorities which everybody has but prefers not to know about, they  seem weak, socially unacceptable or even evil. The shadow is most visible when one is in the grip of anxiety or other emotions, under the influence of alcohol, etc., 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 unto others.

It is possible for one to be acquainted with one’s shadow and be partly conscious of it, that is, under ego control. Many people, however, refuse to recognise their shadow so completely that the ego is not even aware of shadow behaviour and thus has no possibility of commanding it. Under these conditions, the shadow is autonomous and may express itself in inexplicable moods, irritability and cruelty.

Throughout his writing, Jung 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, Jung writes that the shadow:

“displays a number of good qualities, such as normal instincts, appropriate reactions, realistic insights, creative impulses, etc.”

Carl Jung, C.W. Vol 9 (Part 1): Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

One of Jung’s closest collaborators, Marie-Louise von Franz writes:

“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.”

Man and His Symbols. Part III: The Process of Individuation, “The Realisation of the Shadow” – M.L. von Franz

The shadow contains all sorts of qualities, strengths and potentials, which if remain unexplored, give us a state of impoverishment in our personality, creating unconscious “snags” which inhibit the growth and embodiment of these good qualities that lie dormant in our psyche.

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.

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. This is the process of “the realisation of the shadow”, also known as shadow work.

Here begins the painfully 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 labours of Hercules. 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.

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. As Jung writes:

“There is no light without shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection.”

Carl Jung, C.W. Vol. 12 “Psychology and Alchemy”

One must not strive for perfection, but rather wholeness of personality. The lifelong process of individuation creates a balance between one’s conscious and unconscious realms, aligning the ego to the self, the totality of one’s personality.

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 and 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 behaviour of which they are conscious; let alone to consider how the unconscious affects them.

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.

The collective shadow refers to a huge, multidimensional, often horrifying, yet elusive aspect of human life, to an immensity of harm inflicted by human beings upon each other and the natural world and to the vast aftereffects of such harm in subsequent generations.

We find the collective shadow in the projection of “darkness” and inferiority, in violence and oppression, in the invisibility of current suffering, in the denial of current responsibility.

While collective shadow material may be acted out brutally in wars, massacres and genocides, it may also hide under the often attractive cloaks of missionary activity, such as mandating the use of particular languages, an Orwellian reality that we are experiencing in the present time.

As is the nature of all shadow material, whether individual or collective, its existence and influence may be pervasive without being obvious.

The collective shadow manifests outwardly in atrocities, persecution, physical suffering, sickness, poverty, malnutrition, alcoholism, crime, the death of cultures and so on. It may also manifest more inwardly, amid the complexities of each individual psyche, as hatred toward oneself, one’s heritage, and one’s culture, depression and feelings of impotence, the desire for revenge (so that others might experience something like one’s own pain), etc.

The collective shadow is what has historically been labelled “evil”. In the Christian tradition it would be the devil, and someone who is possessed by the devil loses his human quality and acquires a demonic nature. Our primary response to evil, for Jung, must be the quest for self-knowledge, for wholeness, which presumes the assimilation of shadow material. The individual:

“must know relentlessly how much good he can do, and what crimes he is capable of”

Carl Jung “Memories, Dreams, Reflections” Chapter XII: Late Thoughts

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.

For instance, to respond to examples of massive historical suffering: wars, genocide, holocausts, pervasive oppression, etc., the effects of which persist. As human beings we have much to learn in that regard. Denial, often connected with a wish to “get on with things” and “put the past behind us”, seems the most common approach and usually the first reaction.

There are and have been many attempts to deal with difficult, painful pasts through public apologies for supporting atrocities, repentance, reparation payments after wars, pilgrimages to places of great suffering, etc. But how do we deal with the past in such a way that the integration of the shadow occurs deeply and broadly within a population, rather than simply at a symbolic level through leaders or policies?

Remembering and speaking what often seems unspeakable is inevitably a painful process for victims and perpetrators, bystanders and witnesses. Any such process can only be regarded as successful or reasonably complete once the pain, outrage, betrayal, suffering, and all the other feelings have been voiced and heard and once responsibility has been taken. Truth-telling is both the most desirable and the most feasible way to grapple with a difficult past.

One example of a terrible mass psychosis represented by the collective shadow is Nazi Germany where people fell into the demonic nature through their personal shadow. They joined the Nazi party and did worse things than they could have ever imagined or would have done under normal social conditions. In this sense, the personal shadow is the bridge to the collective shadow.

Therefore, it is important to solve one’s inner conflicts first (one’s personal shadow), so that one does not fall into the collective shadow unconsciously. One may then later influence other people and society would be better off as a whole.

“If we practice mindfulness, we will know how to look deeply into the nature of war, and, with our insight, wake people up so that together we can avoid repeating the same horrors again and again… The war is in us, but is also in everyone… Everything is ready to explode, and we are all co-responsible.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living

Summary – Facing the Collective Shadow

To summarise, we must first acknowledge our personal shadow and enter into long and difficult negotiations with it (being honest with ourselves and our interactions with others, watching our emotional reactions and exploring our dreams), in order to not become passive victims of our shadow and of our unconscious projections, allowing us to rescue the good qualities that lie dormant within us, which improves our lives and the lives of those around us.

We can then be consciously aware of the collective shadow and not fall prey to it and take responsibility to address the denial of important issues and a lack of individual and collective initiative, the courage of bearing our darkness brings relief to others, as telling the truth is the most desirable way to deal with a difficult past, rather than dismissing the atrocities and having the shadow grow blacker until it can no grow no more, and thus history repeats itself.

---

Facing the Collective Shadow – Carl Jung’s Warning to the World

Carl Jung warns us against the dangers of the collective shadow (the unknown dark side of society) and urges us to develop our personal shadow (the unknown dark side of our personality) to be consciously aware of the collective shadow and not fall prey to it. We must acknowledge our personal shadow and enter into long and difficult negotiations with it through shadow work.

---

Support Eternalised

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source

 

https://eternalisedofficial.com/2021/10/01/the-sh

The Hero’s Journey: Experiencing Death and Rebirth

The Hero’s Journey: Experiencing Death and Rebirth

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”

Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Joseph Campbell was influenced by Carl Jung’s analytical psychology and his extensive work in comparative mythology and religion covers many aspects of the human experience. In his best-known work The Hero with a Thousand Faces published in 1949, Campbell describes the archetypal hero’s journey or monomyth shared by the world, the hero being one who serves and sacrifices. He writes:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The Hero’s Journey is not just a mythological story, but is deeply embedded within the human condition. It tells the story of a person encountering a difficult life problem and their journey in resolving it through personal transformation. Sometimes the change is intentional (new relationships, marriage, a new job, etc), and the Hero is motivated to attempt and endure the process of change. Other times, the change is unintentional (trauma, injury, relationships breaking apart, etc), leaving the Hero shocked.

The hero journey provides a template for all change, intentional and unintentional. Patients who were introduced to the Hero’s Journey as a means of reconceptualising their disorder as a hero quest, rather than an external stressful task, shifted their attitude from passive to active, supporting them to become the “author of their own lives”. This has been clinically tested in a diverse range of issues, such as: anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, PTSD and psychosis.

The role of the therapist is to guide and support personal change, acting as a mentor. It allows clients to become client-heroes, assisting them to recognise where they are in their own process of change, how to navigate their own treatment journey, and author their own change story.

In many of the hero myths, the weakness of the hero is balanced by the appearance of strong “tutelary” figures. A central hero of Greek mythology is Achilles, the greatest of all the Greek warriors. As a boy, he was guided by the wise centaur Chiron, tutor of gods and heroes, who instructed him in the arts of medicine, music, riding and hunting.

“These godlike figures are in fact symbolic representatives of the whole psyche, the larger and more comprehensive identity that supplies the strength that the personal ego lacks. Their special role suggests that the essential function of the heroic myth is the development of the individual’s ego-consciousness – his awareness of his own strengths and weaknesses – in a manner that will equip him for the arduous tasks with which life confronts him.”

Man and His Symbols. Part II: Ancient Myths and Modern Man – Joseph L. Henderson

The significant life problem is a situation where the Hero’s existing knowledge and skills are no longer efficacious. In finding a solution, the Hero is required to leave his familiar, known world, and venture into the unknown.

Significant life problems forces us to change, however, many of us are reluctant to do so as we do not want to sacrifice our comfort. Ignoring these matters forms unconscious snags which give us a state of impoverishment in our personality and inhibit the growth of the good qualities that lie dormant in our psyche, making our shadow blacker and denser. We lose control of our life and become puppets of existence. As Stoic philosopher Seneca writes:

“Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.”

Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, CVII

It is as if one keeps living but is dragged by chains or swimming against the river currents. This is a characteristic attitude of the neurotic, an artificial barrier invented by oneself which causes one to suffer from internal conflict, in order to avoid facing difficult life choices.

Campbell tells us that Heroic myths provide the individual with “inspiration for aspiration”. Myths have the ability to link the everyday to the eternal, to give meaning to the mundane.

Introduction to the Phases of the Hero’s Journey

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell identified that a Hero’s Journey occurs in three sequential phases: separation, initiation, and the return. These are further divided into 17 substages. However, we will be using the more popular and modern adaption by Christopher Vogler, detailed in his work “The Writer’s Journey”, which is inspired by Campbell. He proposes a Twelve Stage Hero’s Journey.

The very first stage of the Hero’s Journey is the Ordinary World, referring to one’s familiar life: daily routine, the stresses and joys of work, family and social connections. A common characteristic is a growing awareness that something is not quite right, life is somehow lacking. For instance, an employee may be aware that the enjoyment of his work has been diminishing for some time, but the demands of their day-to-day or concerns about finding an alternative job lead them to an increasingly stressful situation and so they cling to their Ordinary World.

First Phase of the Hero’s Journey: Separation

The separation phase of the Hero’s Journey begins with the second stage, the Call to Adventure, disrupting the comfort of the Hero’s Ordinary World and presenting him with a quest that must be undertaken.

Unintentional calls may include the discovery of an infidelity, the death of a loved one, the diagnosis of an illness, etc., while intentional calls include seeking a new career, moving cities, the arrival of a first child, etc. The Call to Adventure separates the person from the aspects of their previous life and causes anxiety. Many are overwhelmed and believe that their problem is beyond their capabilities leading to the third stage, Refusal. This is a very common and important stage that communicates the risks involved in the Journey ahead.

However, remaining in the Refusal stage will lead to a deterioration in one’s life and relationships. One finds himself with little or no motivation, highlighting the ineffectiveness of one’s coping strategies. This unfamiliar situation causes stress as one is unable to deal with the life problem. At this crucial turning point, the Hero desperately needs guidance, leading to the fourth stage: Meeting the Mentor.

The Mentor is the archetypal wise old man. It is his role to assist the Hero’s progress to the realisation that personal change is a necessity for the resolution of his problem, giving him practical training, wise advice or self-confidence in order to overcome the initial fears, allowing him to move from inaction to action.

These tutelary figures do not necessarily have to be physical ones, they can also be your favourite philosopher, public figure, family member or any other person you look up to as your ideal-self.

Second Phase of the Hero’s Journey: Initiation

When the Hero is committed to change, we enter the second phase of the Hero’s Journey: Initiation, and the fifth stage: Crossing the First Threshold.

The Hero now leaves the safe haven of the “Ordinary World” and enters the “Special World”, an unfamiliar place where one confronts his “dragon”, his worst fear, event, person, situation or memory long avoided. As trials become more difficult, the Hero hones his skills and gains experience. However, as the trials increase in complexity, the demands placed on the Hero lead to higher levels of anxiety, and his first confrontation with the dragon is likely to fail. Without help, he may consider giving up.

In the sixth stage: Tests, Allies, and Enemies, the Hero explores the Special World and encounters tests and enemies. Here he must seek Allies, friendly forces who support change attempts and decrease the Hero’s isolation. A common barrier here is the fear of asking for help, for being seen as less than capable or for possibly being rejected. Ironically, vulnerability becomes a key skill in resiliency, rather than a sign of weakness. Stage seven is the Approach to the Innermost Cave, where one must make his final preparations before descending into the unknown.

When the Hero is ready, he faces the eighth stage: The Supreme Ordeal. It is the greatest challenge yet, the moment when all looks lost for the Hero, many feel like they are “back at square one”. Fortunately, Allies have witnessed this major setback and are present to assist the Hero.

Over a period of time, the repeated confrontation with the dragon leads to the growing realisation that what was once believed to be impossible is now possible. After facing the unknown and defeating the dragon, the Hero experiences a psychological death and rebirth. The death of an old aspect of one’s self and the birth of a new and more capable self. The Hero gains insights receiving this as his Reward (the ninth stage). But the journey is not over yet.

Third Phase of the Hero’s Journey: The Return

Now begins the third phase: The Return. In the tenth stage: The Road Back, The Hero must hold his reward and make his way back to the Ordinary World, but on the way he will be confronted with more enemies and dragons. However, the Hero knows that there’s no way back and is motivated to keep going.

In the eleventh stage: The Resurrection, the weary Hero must experience a second psychological death, experiencing a resurrection with the attributes of his ordinary self in addition to the new insights from the journey and characters he has met along the road of life. He moves from dependence to responsibility, from silence to finding his voice. The Hero has increased resilience and has learned how to regulate fear, sadness and other emotions that arise when taking action.

He is now purified from the land of the dead and can return home, leading to the twelfth and final stage: Return with the Elixir. The elixir is the final Reward earned on the Hero’s Journey. It is something for the Hero to share with others, or something with the power to heal: wisdom, love or simply the experience of surviving the Special World. The Hero comes back to his Ordinary World with a new self, having faced terrible dangers and possibly death, but now looks forward to the start of a new life.

This is not just a one-time linear path, but in fact a lifelong cyclical process.

“Over and over again, you are called to the realm of adventure, you are called to new horizons. Each time, there is the same problem, do I dare? And then if you do dare, the dangers are there, and the help also, and the fulfilment or the fiasco.”

Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation

This awareness to see life as a Hero’s Journey allows the chaos and challenges of life to have both some sequence and purpose. It gives us a beautiful framework for dealing with life’s problems. An unwanted event can be viewed as a Call to Adventure, difficult life events as confronting one’s dragon. When one completes these, one receives a reward, transforming into a new self, with an elixir to share the experience of one’s Special World with others.

The Hero’s Journey is:

“The quest to find the inward thing that you basically are.”

Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Follow Your Bliss

One of Campbell’s most frequently repeated phrase is to “Follow your bliss”:

“If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”

Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

To follow one’s bliss is not simply doing what one likes to do and certainly not what one is simply told. It is to search deeply within oneself and identifying that pursuit or burning need which one is truly passionate about, giving oneself absolutely to it, and the rest will follow.

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation

This feeling of rapture or bliss is associated to the Hero’s Journey that we face on a daily basis in this life, he writes:

“The experience of eternity right here and now is the function of life. Eternity isn’t some later time. Eternity isn’t even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of the here and now that all thinking in temporal terms cuts off… the experience of eternity right here and now, in all things, whether thought of as good or as evil. Heaven is not the place to have the experience; here is the place to have the experience. When you realise that eternity is right here now, that it is within your possibility to experience the eternity of your own truth and being, then you grasp the following: That which you are was never born and will never die.”

Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation

---

The Hero’s Journey – Experiencing Death and Rebirth

In his best-known work The Hero with a Thousand Faces published in 1949, Joseph Campbell describes the archetypal Hero’s Journey or “monomyth” shared by the world.

---

Support Eternalised

-----------------------------------------------------------

Source

https://eternalisedofficial.com/2021/10/29/the-hero-journey/

Introduction to Carl Jung – Individuation, the Persona, the Shadow and the Self

Introduction to Carl Jung – Individuation, the Persona, the Shadow and the Self

Get a FREE membership video! Subscribe to our Newsletter.

The following is a transcript of this video.

“Individuation means becoming a single, homogeneous being, and, in so far as ‘individuality’ embraces our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness, it also implies becoming one’s own self. We could therefore translate individuation as… ‘self-realization.’” (Collected Works of C.G. Jung: Volume 7, Carl Jung )

In this second video in our mini-series on the ideas of Carl Jung we are going to  examine the individuation process, a process Jung believed to be essential for a healthy functioning personality. Such an examination will lead us to explore some of the parts of the personality that Jung viewed as particularly important,  namely the persona, the shadow, the anima and animus, and the self. Before we go into more detail on the individuation process we will begin with a brief overview of the relevant content from our first video on Jung.

Jung conceived of the psyche, or one’s total personality, as composed of  a conscious and unconscious realm. The unconscious realm he split into  the personal unconscious and  the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious  is largely composed of repressed elements from one’s personal history, while the  collective unconscious is composed of instincts and archetypes which are common to all human beings. Archetypes  can be viewed as evolved cognitive structures which influence emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

Archetypes provide structure to different parts of the psyche and the psyche functions optimally when there exists a harmonious balance between these parts. Unfortunately, according to Jung, few people function in an optimal manner. Rather most suffer from imbalances where some parts of their personality suffer  from inflation, or over-expression in consciousness, while other parts suffer from  deflation or underdevelopment whereby they lack proper expression in consciousness. Imbalances, Jung believed, often lead to the development of neuroses and a lack of vitality in life.

Working to bring about proper expression of the various archetypally structured elements of one’s personality by confronting contents of the unconscious and thus obtaining self-knowledge, is the purpose of the individuation process.  It is important to note that this process occurs spontaneously if unimpeded as contents of the unconscious naturally strive for outward expression in the world, or as Jung put it  “Everything in the unconscious seeks outward manifestation”.

However, the problem is that while natural, most people get stuck at various stages of the individuation process as they are unable to properly integrate into consciousness certain elements of the unconscious. How to promote such integration when it does not occur naturally was a question of deep concern for Jung.  Through his patient analysis, research, and personal experience he arrived at the idea that dreams provide the greatest opportunity to access the unconscious.
As he put it:

“Dreams are impartial, spontaneous products of the unconscious psyche, outside the control of the will. They are pure nature; they show us the unvarnished, natural truth, and are therefore fitted, as nothing else is, to give us back an attitude that accords with our basic human nature when our consciousness has strayed too far from its foundations and run into an impasse.” (The Collected Works of C.G. Jung: Volume 10, Carl Jung)

Jung put enormous emphasis on the therapeutic effects of dream analysis. By recording and analyzing one’s dreams, determining their meaning and relevancy, Jung thought one could integrate unconscious contents into consciousness.
It must be noted, however, that dream analysis is not a simple matter, due to the often confusing nature of dreams and the fact that quite frequently dreams express material which can be difficult to incorporate into consciousness.  The interpretation of dreams therefore must be seen as a skill acquired through practice, and improved with an understanding of some of the most important archetypes, archetypes which we will spend the remainder of the video looking at.

Before looking at some of the archetypes which suffer from underdevelopment and therefore may manifest themselves in dreams, it is important to first look at the persona. The word persona was used in Roman times to signify a mask worn by an actor. In an analogous manner, in Jungian psychology,  the persona represents the social mask that each of us “wear” in our interaction with other’s in society. Or to put it differently it represents the personality that we try to portray to others.
While the persona plays an important role in promoting social interaction and communal life, problems arise when people over-identify with their persona.  As Jung writes:

“Fundamentally the persona is nothing real: it is a compromise between the individual and society as to what a man should appear to be. He takes a name, earns a title, represents an office, he is this or that. In a certain sense all this is real, yet in relation to the essential individuality of the person concerned it is only a secondary reality, a product of compromise, in making which others often have a greater share than he. The persona is a semblance, a two-dimensional reality.” (Carl Jung)

Most people suffer from inflation of the persona, meaning that they over-identify with their “social mask” to the detriment of other important areas of the psyche.  In the course of the individuation process one must come to the realization that the persona is not the totality of their being, but rather only a small component of a much larger personality. Such a realization is achieved by diving into the unconscious and mining from it the rich and meaningful contents manifested by the archetypes.

The first stage in the exploration of the unconscious, according to Jung, is an encounter with one’s shadow archetype. Over the course of one’s life  certain personality traits elicit negative feedback and even punishment from others. This negative feedback creates anxiety  resulting in these traits being pushed away from awareness into the unconscious where they form the shadow – the “dark” side of one’s personality.

To become aware of and  integrate the shadow into  consciousness is often a difficult, and sometimes heroic endeavour. But failure to do so can create  chaos in one’s life. In the darkness of the unconscious the shadow is far from impotent, but instead influences emotions, thoughts, and behaviours, in a manner which is beyond conscious control. Often the shadow finds expression through projections, whereby instead of seeing the disagreeable elements of the shadow as residing within ourselves we project these traits onto to others.

Bringing elements  of the shadow into the light of consciousness is crucial if one is to correct some of these less desirable aspects of themselves. As Jung explains:

“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. . .But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected.” (The Essential Jung, Carl Jung and Anthony Storr)

The shadow, according to Jung, is not only composed of negative traits. Rather, in the process of over-identifying with the persona often people  reject personality traits not because they are harmful, but because they don’t fit with the dominant social attitudes of the day. Therefore, when integrating the shadow into consciousness, one is also exposed to positive traits and creative energies that can bring about a renewed sense of vitality to life.

“The shadow, when it is realized, is the source of renewal; the new and productive impulse cannot come from established values of the ego. When there is an impasse, and sterile time in our lives. . .we must look to the dark, hitherto unacceptable side which has been at our conscious disposal.” (Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature)

In addition to the shadow, another archetype which normally suffers from underdevelopment is a contra-sexual archetype termed the anima in males and the animus in females. While the persona is oriented outward, acting as a barrier protecting the ego from the external social world, in an analogous manner the  anima/animus is oriented inward, protecting the ego from the sometimes threatening and overwhelming contents which emerge from the dark inner depths of the unconscious:

“The natural function of the animus (as well as of in the anima) is to remain in place between individual consciousness and the collective unconscious; exactly as the persona is a sort of stratum between the ego-consciousness and the objects of the external world. The animus and the anima should function as a bridge, or a door, leading to the images of the collective unconscious, as the persona should be a sort of bridge into the world.” (Carl Jung)

An encounter with the anima/animus is manifested in one’s consciousness as a meeting, in dreams or visions, with a member of the opposite gender. Such a figure often arises during times of severe psychic disorientation, offering guidance as to how to remove any psychological barricades hindering the natural progression of the individuation process. Encountering such an archetype can therefore signify the coming of a deeply meaningful period in one’s life, defined by significant psychological transformations:

“The meeting with the anima/us represents a connection to the unconscious even deeper than that of the shadow. In the case of the shadow, it is a meeting with the disdained and rejected pieces of the total psyche, the inferior and unwanted qualities. In the meeting with the anima/us, it is a contact with levels of the psyche which has the potential to lead into the deepest and highest…reaches that the ego can attain.” (Jung’s Map of the Soul, Murray Stein)

After one encounters and integrates aspects of the anima/animus archetype into one’s ego, one gains access to enter into the deepest layer of the psyche, the archetype of wholeness – which  Jung called the self and viewed as the most important of all the archetypes. Proper expression of the Self is the goal of the individuation process.  As Jung put it:

“. . . the self is our life’s goal, for it is the completest expression of that fateful combination we call individuality. . .” (Carl Jung)

As the sun occupies the centre of the solar system, in an analogous manner the Self is the central archetype of the entire psyche.  The Self archetype acts as the unifying or organizing principle of the psyche and is oriented toward a union of the conscious and unconscious realms. Remembering from our first video on Jung that the centre of the field of consciousness is the ego,
Jung noted that:

“the more numerous and more significant the unconscious contents which are assimilated to the ego, the closer the approximation of the ego to the Self, even though this approximation must be a never-ending process.”(Carl Jung)

As one increasingly identifies with the self they will notice a greater sense of harmony both within themselves and with the world as a whole. In fact, Jung saw connection with the self as so important that at various times he described it as  “a treasure that would make [one] independent” and a  “link to the infinite”.

Jung came upon the existence of the self by exploring the universality of symbols such as the quaternity and  mandala, which in his words,  “occur not only in the dreams of modern people who have never heard of them, but are widely disseminated in the historical records of many peoples and many epochs.”

“A mandala”, said Jung “is the psychological expression of the totality of the self.” Not only do mandalas have an extremely  long history and repeatedly show up in the imagery of many religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, but Jung observed that with some of his patients mandalas spontaneously arose “during times of psychic disorientation or re-orientation.” Mandalas, and other “symbols of order”,  Jung believed to be compensatory symbols of wholeness which are manifested by the Self in times of crisis.

The individuation process which culminates in an identification with the self is, according to Jung, crucial for the development of a healthy functioning personality as well as the expression of the unique potential that exists within each of us. But along with these personal benefits, Jung thought the process of individuation was essential for the well-being of society.   Jung believed that conformist societies, composed mainly of people who  over-identify with their persona, are easy prey for the rise of oppressive governments. Therefore it is essential for any lasting positive societal change that increasing numbers of people, assisted by the  individuation process come to the realization that there is more to  their being then the social role dictated by the persona. A society increasingly composed of individuated individuals would not, according to Jung, succumb as easily to the rise of oppressive governments:

“…in so far as society is itself composed of de-individualized human beings, it is completely at the mercy of ruthless individualists. Let it band together into groups and organizations as much as it likes – it is just this banding together and the resultant extinction of the individual personality that makes it succumb so readily to a dictator. A million zeros joined together do not, unfortunately, add up to one.” (Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung)

Further Readings

A Primer of Jungian Psychology – Calvin Hall & Vernon Nordby

Boundaries of the Soul: The Practice of Jung’s Psychology – June Singer

Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue: Retrieving the Soul, Retrieving the Sacred – Michael Smith

Jung: A Very Short Introduction – Anthony Stevens

Jung’s Map of the Soul: An Introduction – Murray Stein

Man and His Symbols – Carl Jung

Meeting the Shadow – Connie Zweig & Jeremiah Abrams

Memories, Dreams, Reflections – Carl Jung

Academy of Ideas Membership

Become a member and gain access to exclusive member videos.

Become a Member

Further Readings

Related

Carl Jung’s Method of Self-Development – The Path of Individuation

“. . .when all is said and done, our own existence is an experiment of nature, an attempt at a new synthesis.”  Carl Jung, Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche While Carl Jung is best known for his ideas on the unconscious, be it his theory of the archetypes or his writings…

Introduction to Carl Jung – The Psyche, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

“Man has developed consciousness slowly and laboriously, in a process that took untold ages to reach the civilized state. And this evolution is far from complete, for large areas of the human mind are still shrouded in darkness.” (Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung) These words were written by Carl…

Carl Jung: What is the Individuation Process?

Far too many of us are oblivious to the dangers that some of our behavioural patterns pose to our long-term well-being. Instead of facing up to our problems, we either try and convince ourselves that our issues are trivial and so can be ignored, or we pretend that the problems…

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Source

https://academyofideas.com/2016/02/introduction-to-carl-jung-individuation-the-shadow-the-persona-and-the-self/

6 Things I Learned From Believe in Yourself by Joseph Murphy

6 Things I Learned From Believe in Yourself by Joseph Murphy

Summary: Dr. Joseph Murphy is an expert on the topic of the subconscious mind. In this podcast episode, I explore what several valuable ideas I took away from reading his book, Believe in Yourself.

Believe in Yourself is a shorter volume containing great wisdom. Dr. Joseph Murphy, one of the foremost experts on the New Thought movement and accessing your subconscious mind succinctly explains how to achieve spiritual health and external success.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I look at one of Murphy’s great works.

Podcast Highlights

• 00:14 – Believe in Yourself vs. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
• 00:40 – Feeling is the fountainhead of power
• 01:31 – Imagination control the conceptive realm
• 02:37 – Your concept of God determines your attitude towards life
• 03:47 – If you are in rapport with your subconscious mind, you unlock your genius zone
• 04:22 – What your subconscious mind accepts is reality in the outer world
• 05:24 – You are the master of the circumstances you find yourself in
• 06:26 – Concluding thoughts

Transcription:

Compared to The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Believe in Yourself is one of Dr. Joseph Murphy’s shorter works.

But every sentence contains valuable insights into spirituality and personal success. I have read this book from start to finish twice, and each time I’ve gotten something new from it.

There is no way for me to summarize the entirety of the wisdom contained within, but I did want to share with you what I learned from this book.

1. Feeling Is The Fountainhead Of Power

When personal development authors talk about goal-setting and visualization, they often add the phrase, “add emotion to it!”

I think Murphy is essentially saying the same thing here. He’s pointing out that feelings and emotions have power, and that we can learn to channel them into achieving and obtaining our desires.

If you’re setting goals that don’t motivate you, you’ll find it challenging to add feeling to them. But if you become obsessed with bringing about a result, you’ll naturally take actions and move in the direction of your wishes and longings.

You must become aware of what your true desires are. And the only way to make that happen is to build rapport with your subconscious mind (also see point #4 on this list).

2. Imagination Controls The Whole Conceptive Realm

Life in the digital age is frantic. Few people take time to think, reflect, and ask questions.

“Visualization? I have no time for that!”

But you must make time for it, because most people don’t. They aren’t thinking about the desired result, the end goal, what their hearts yearn for. Many have forgotten the power of imagination.

Disney came to be because it was first conceived in the mind of Walt Disney. There are endless examples of technological breakthroughs, attractions, movies, books, and other works that would not exist if they weren’t first conceived in someone’s mind.

If you want to control the conceptive realm, start imagining once again. If you don’t know where to start, daydream. Remember what it was like to be a child sitting in a classroom thinking about what else you wanted to be doing, or what you were going to do when you got home.

3. Your Concept Of God Determines Your Attitude Towards Life

Maveen Kaura and I spent an entire episode of Using Your Power discussing this concept. As of this writing, the episode has yet to be released, but it will be out soon.

“But I don’t believe in God,” you might say.

The surprising conclusion I came to was that whether you’re an agnostic, atheist or Christian, you believe in something. And that something is your god, whether it’s belief in self, belief in aliens, or belief in an autonomous divine being.

What I’m saying is that this statement is impossible to refute.

You could replace the word “God” with the word “you”, and it becomes “Your concept of you determines your attitude towards life.” You could replace the word “God” with “aliens”, and it becomes “Your concept of aliens determines your attitude towards life.”

Basically, your beliefs affect your attitude. So, if you want to change your attitude, you need to examine what you believe in, regardless of what it is.

4. A Genius Is A Man In Rapport With His Subconscious Mind

What this means is that if you are well-acquainted with your subconscious mind and its inherent power, you are a genius.

Knowing how to unlock its power, and accessing God (which could be equated with building a rapport with your subconscious mind) leads to fresh inspiration, ideas, and insights.

Murphy furnishes us with practical steps on how to tap into this capacity throughout the book. See points #1, 2, and 5 on this list for how this works.

5. According To The Image Impressed On The Subconscious Mind, So It Is On The Objective Screen Of Life

Again, what are you constantly thinking about? What are you regularly visualizing? What are you picturing in your mind’s eye? How are you using your imagination?

Whether you’re aware of it or not, there are thoughts and images you are always meditating on. And in this context, I mean things you’re repeating to yourself, not the act of meditating (which is beneficial).

And whether you’re aware of it or not, your life is slowly but surely becoming what you’re repeating in your mind.

Classic personal development writer, speaker, and author Earl Nightingale said:

We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.

Nightingale’s most significant discovery about life had to do with this statement. So, what images are you impressing on your subconscious mind? Your life will move in the direction of your thoughts.

6. You Are A Master Of Conditions

You are where you are because of actions taken and not taken.

This is a difficult idea for the mind to accept. Throughout our lives, most of us haven’t been taught to take responsibility for everything that’s happened. Instead, we play the blame game.

Taking full responsibility for who and where you are is empowering. Maybe we aren’t encouraged to do so because of this fact. If we all “woke up” and freed ourselves from “The Matrix”, we’d be dangerous – maybe not to people, but to the system of control we’re under.

You are a master of your conditions. But if you haven’t taken ownership over yourself, you haven’t mastered mastering your conditions yet.

The reason taking ownership is powerful is because it means you can change your circumstances. The moment you realize you can change your life situation is the moment you bestow yourself with the keys to life.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed my insights into another Joseph Murphy book.

The ideas I’ve shared with you here aren’t necessarily what the author intended, but through my own filters, these are the conclusions I’ve come to.

Ultimately, each of us are possessors of tremendous power. But many of us have also forgotten how to harness it. When we learn how to access our subconscious mind, it links us with God, the wellspring of all knowledge and wisdom.

Browse more book reviews

Thanks for reading! If you feel inclined to check out Believe in Yourself, you can go to Amazon US, where you can learn more about the book, and see what others have had to say about it. Should you choose to buy the book through the provided link, I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Source

https://musicentrepreneurhq.com/029-6-things-learned-believe-joseph-murphy/