The Shadow

Shadows have always been fascinating to me. As a child I would lay in bed at night, transforming the shapes from the light & dark patches reflected on my bedroom wall.

I remember being out of doors, watching the light change, paying attention to how the different shadows formed, depending upon the time of day. Playing in the shadows, while creating inner worlds from them.

“That girl is scared of her own shadow!” I remember hearing my grandmother say. Yet I cannot remember if it was me she was referring to. Now as an adult, the shadow, has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I had known for a time the “shadow” was an integral part of everyone. C Jung wrote about the shadow as archetype. The shadows exists in all of us. It is universal.

To fear the shadow is to suppress a part of one’s self all that influences what we do and what beliefs we hold true. Our actions are proof of this. When the shadow rears it’s head, hovering over our shoulder, one needs to make friends with it, in order to find out who that shadow personality is. Why is this important? Because the part of ourselves that we do not know, the part that stays in the darkness, has the greatest influence over our lives.

Fear, is paralyzing reinforcement of our negative behaviour patterns. Allowing this, is a foolproof way to sabotage ourselves. The only way we will fully understand who we are, is to become close to the dark part of ourselves. Do not let it steal your power & or control your reality. What we choose not to look at, becomes buried in the shadow. A dark place, beyond the looking glass, where we see a reversed image of who we think we are.

Rejecting that part of ourselves holds us back from our potential, from abundance, and from loving ourselves, henceforth leaving us in a place where we are not able to love others, nor to be loved. Any relationship you have in your life, will only be as good as the one you have with yourself. Without loving give and take in your life, you will be living a long way from a joyful life you are capable and deserving of.

If you do not see yourself as worthy, others will see you that way as well. If you feel mistreated, then you must be mistreating yourself somehow. Some say the shadow is a link between the conscious and the unconscious. Without an open flow between the two, one cannot dredge up the gifts hiding in the depths of your psyche. Lighten your shadow, allow it to become golden, step into the light where no fear exists and watch yourself blossom.

Sometimes things that happen in our lives we wish to attribute to external conditions. We can fool ourselves into thinking those thoughts, however, what goes on in the world has very little influence in these matters, if any. All that exists is a mirror of ourselves. When we project that shadow personality on the people and situations around us, instead of embracing it, we create misery for all.

In the shadow we have not only dark, shameful secrets, but also hidden treasure, the pearl of the oyster. One must dig deeper, to uncover the precious gift. This is a life’s work. Ideally, one would have done a lot of self analysis, before surmounting such a feat. Yet even then, one may never truly be prepared for the time when the shadow comes forth. Sometimes it is triggered by life events, or the context of the culture you find yourself living in.

That is the time to seize the opportunity to turn the darkened shadow into a golden one. Loving every part of ourselves good or bad, by getting in touch with your shadow. In doing so you can create a sort of alchemy, turning to gold, what had been seemingly forever lost.

“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.”
  ~ Dr. Carl Gustav Jung