Facing Our Dark Side - The Shadow
The Mechanics of Our Hidden Selves
Like plants, so men also grow, some in the light, others in the shadows. There are many who need the shadows and not the light.” Carl Jung, The Red Book.
What if I told you there is a whole another self living inside you, repressed and shunned by among those we live, hidden away from the world - and from yourself? This sentence might sound a bit crazy, yet it is even more daunting, and frighteningly true. I stumbled upon the concept of Carl Jung’s ‘Shadow’ among the lectures of Dr. Jordan Peterson, and it struck a chord deep within. Ofcourse both of these personalities are be highly controversial, but their explanation of this one concept is, to say it, extraordinarily genius. I am no ‘expert’ in Jungian Analysis or Explanations, but rather a very curious learner, just like you. This is a condensation of what makes the ‘Shadow’ such an interesting, and relevant concept. Without any further ado, let’s jump right in.
What is The Shadow?
The first question upon hearing the word ‘Shadow’ might be, “A shadow made by what?” In answering this, first comes the concept of ‘Persona’.
Persona in Latin, means a ‘Mask’.
Right from birth, we humans are socialized and taught how to live and act in a society. According to the mass fabric of ‘culture’, our acceptable behaviours are rewarded, encouraged while unacceptable behaviours and impulses are punished. These may include our weaknesses, faults in our character, or simply some traits that feel threatening to people around us. Gradually, due to socialization, we develop a mask that we put in front of people, formed by a mixture of societal expectations and partly, our own selves. Soon we ourselves adopt the expectations of the society around us, and hide unacceptable traits behind the ‘mask’. These hidden traits are then repressed, unakcnowledged; yet, not sealed away. The hidden ‘self’ then manifests itself, consciously - through intentional mastery, or unconsciously - through habituated actions, sudden emotional outbursts or physical ailments.
This Shadow, hence exists in all of us; to deny it’s existence is akin to saying one is of no substance at all - because it is only when something substantial obstructs light that a shadow is formed.
Why Is It Relevant?
“Verily I have laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good because they had no claws” - Friedrich Nietzsche
“Teen shoots up school, 12 dead, 30+ injured” “Man kills family over argument, hangs himself later”
This is what we come across as everyday news, Horrible Crimes. We live in peaceful times, but that has seldom led to safety. We continue to preach goodness with no idea of what that is, much less of how to instill it in a person. Since childhood we are taught to be agreeable, unprotesting and incapable to decide for ourselves. When these are stopped being rewarded, and later taken advantage of, we become resentful for our inability to retaliate sensibly. We feel bitter and because we do not know what to do once the negative emotions come forth, we spread that all around us. For bitterness is resentful helplessness, and is also, the first sign of weakness. Paradoxically, the Great and Successful people of our Age, those who we hold as ideals and those who prosper in various fields- their personalities present a different story. They are a complete whole. Along with their virtues, impactful people contain a certain darkness empowering their actions - be it a leader who commands awe and respect from his/her competition, a negotiator who holds on to his stakes, or someone who gets the work done by his sheer presence. They have access to their full potential as a result of intregating their Shadow.
Shadow Work
Jordan Peterson has a beautiful explanation about the force of the Shadow. “Goodness,” he says, “is not the inability for danger. That is Weakness. Being Harmless does not mean being good. Even a rabbit is good, but that is because he cannot ‘not be’ that way. Morality is the capacity for danger, but in conscious control. You should be a monster. This doesn’t mean you cause harm, but that you have the potential for harm and refuse to behave harmfully; that you have the potential for danger, but choose to behave as a good person.” It’s similar to what one is trained as martial artist. A martial arts student must develop the ability to fight and injure, but not use it to fight for the sake of it. Uncontrolled Strength that Harms can only be countered by a Controlled Force that Protects.
Just as a martial arts master attains a serene calm and yet is powerful, the master of the Shadow has his hidden parts fall into proper place.
Realising the Shadow within us has much to do with realising our capacity for Evil. It means understanding that the people who committed crimes such as theft, murder, sexual assault, etc. and atrocities such as genocide, war crimes - were nothing different from us in humanity. Within them were similar primal instincts, a similar darkness that lies within us, even perhaps the same emotional outbursts we all feel at times. What seperates them from us is the fact that they made the choice of Evil. While wrestling for dominance against their own pathology, they lost metaphorically, and literally, their control. Comparing the layman with such sinister examples might seem a bit too extreme, but acknowledgement of our dark side is like viewing ourselves in a better light. “I could’ve been a way worse person, aren’t I glad of myself?” we might think. It’s like shining a light on your own self, you see yourself in all your darkness and light; because there is no Light without the Shadow.
In terms of who controls whom, Shadows have a pretty simple formula - you manage it, or you become it’s puppet. There lies the importance of Shadow Work : Integrate Your Shadow into Your ‘Self’.
The Search
Here’s the great question - How do I find this Shadow?
Carl Jung answers, “That which we need the most will be found where we least want to look.”
Shadows might contain our weaknesses, shortcomings, faults in our character. Though initially they were suppressed due to socialization, the constant neglect and eventual ignorance leads to them being the lesser developed areas of our character. If we look in retrospect the moments “we weren’t ourselves” - uncharacteristic emotions, actions, words - we find a speck of our Shadow.
This process is frightening. Our thought patterns proceed in a different direction rather than that permitted by society. Being a social animal, we instinctually back out due the very primal fear of “being the outcast of the group”.
But looking into our own Shadows and mastering it is the responsibility of each individual - for he does not anymore drag himself nor his society towards uncontrolled darkness. They aren’t just our flaws, though. In some cases, even good qualities such as critical thinking, boldness, rationality and decisiveness might be deeply repressed. Shadows also are projected onto the world, so many times, the strong reaction that the thought of a person brings to us might lead to our own deficient traits.
Shadows are a source of tremendous energy. Anger, Hatred, Envy are some of very primal emotions with a biological base. Shutting them off with a lid is similar to closing a pressure cooker or an overflowing pipeline. If we can harness that immense energy, we can provide a force (Shadow) towards a meaningful pursuit (guided by our Persona). Integration of the Shadow is a biological and mental union.
This is seen almost everywhere in Pop-Culture. Harry Potter has it - he can talk to snakes, literally has a part of Evil inside him and also is a well-known anarchist famous for breaking Hogwarts rules. Yet would his character been more likeable if he didn’t have these traits? A lot of anime contain Protagonists who have a demon inside them - Naruto, Asta, Ichigo, you name it. The Demon within these characters is nothing but the metaphorical Shadow - One who comes out at their weakest moments, one whom they fail to control at first and end up causing a lot of damage, and eventually, who merges with their power and gives them a level-up. Do they kill the Shadow and obtain it’s power? No. Instead, in a battle with his own dark clone, Naruto wins by embracing him. Ichigo realises that his darkness was a part of himself that existed for his protection. We must invite the Shadow to conscious action with a warm embrace.
Integration
“The Tree that reaches Heaven must have it's roots down in Hell” - Nietzsche
One of the most common emotions repressed in our Shadows is Aggression. Innumerable people use Martial Arts, or a Combat Sport to integrate this part. Even Anger, for example, might be sublimated (transformed into a good force) as the force behind a writer’s words. Even Robert Greene and Jordan Peterson have confessed to this. Michael Jordan's intense work ethic was fueled by the fact that there might be someone else out there working harder than him. Those who have integrated their Shadows have become the best of the best in their own fields.
A practical way to integrate the shadow would be using the internal emotions to intensely perform our duties - stand up for ourselves firmly, speak with conviction, act with determination. Using that energy in our own lives is method for good results.
After reading about this concept, I started thinking about my own Shadow. I’m just at the tip of the iceberg, I’ve discovered something really interesting about myself. Ever since childhood, I have been aggressively competitive, and I’ve faced a lot of reactions because of that. Sadly, society now tends to look down on competitiveness as a sort of “toxic masculine egotistic trait” but competitive aggression in a primal environment would be one of the, if not the, most important things for survival. For me, it’s something that keeps my edge sharp. I use it to be disciplined and keep growing as a person, and I wouldn’t have the same drive without it.
Walking Together Hands Intertwined
“Of all Evil I deem you capable; Therefore I want Good from you.” - Nietzsche
Getting to know about our Shadows is only the first step in it’s Integration. To be in touch with the Evil that you can do, and then decisively be a force for Good would be the pinnacle of personal development. Erich Neumann, Carl Jung’s esteemed student, has said the following regards to this,
“The acceptance of the shadow involves a growth in depth into the ground of one’s own being…a new depth and rootedness and stability is born.” (Depth Psychology and A New Ethic)
I hope to have increased your fascination for the Shadow. By being more mindful of who we aren't, we welcome the possibilities of who we can be. This is the path that takes you from Darkness into the Light. Are you ready to look into the abyss within?
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