Integrating Your Shadow

By paperbackwriter · Dec 10, 2018 · 545 · 7
  1. Hey Foxx you might be able to help with this one.
    Im very late to this Jungian concept. Forgive me if I am either misinformed or very sketchy on the exact meaning of it.
    But Ive decided that better late than never. And that it is crucial to improving my mental health. I want to integrate my shadow.
    So first of all I need to find out what traits represent my shadow. I was advised by some youtube clips that you will find your shadow by the judgements you make of others. The things you hate in others. (this may need further clarification)
    Also your shadow is what you unconsciously hide from others, you don't want certain aspects of yourself , visible to others or even yourself.
    So for me I might hate dogmatic confidence in others for instance. For example I hate comedians who are successful, who represent a different political perspective to mine. Maybe it is time to admit that I want to be successful and confident. That it is nothing to be ashamed of. That you can be a good Christian and still be rich and confident and successful. there is a part of me that is stuck in the paradigm" better I stay poor and appear humble, even I don't feel humble :) )
    I have a successful sibling who did the same job as me. But I quit due to stress and he continued and enjoyed considerable success and a good reputation. Time to admit that part of me is actually envious of that. And the fact I don't like his dogmatic style of conversation is perhaps indicative that I want to be just as dogmatic? Part of me is very disappointed I didn't become successful and confident. And time has almost run out to become that.
    Am I confusing ?
    Foxxx likes this.

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  1. jim onion
    I haven't fully integrated my shadow, and I don't fully understand the Jungian concept of the shadow myself. It's very complex.

    But I do think that becoming aware of your own projections is a key part of it, which is essentially what I think you mean when you talk about paying attention to the judgments you make of others. *Why* are you making those judgments? What do those judgments say about *you*?

    I think a good place to start would be with this video, and others by Jordan Peterson. Just look up "Jordan Peterson Jungian shadow" on YouTube. He has a much better understanding of it than I do. He's actually read Jung; I'm still yet to do so.



    I've always liked using the Arago spot as a metaphor. Sometimes the brightest part of the shadow is the center. Good projects bad. Light creates darkness. For hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of years, the fire was our center. It lured enemies as much as it kept them at bay. Light gave them a place to hide by being the place that they couldn't.

    Perhaps experiment with thinking of your psyche in this way. Do not let fear or chaos or danger or uncertainty prevent you from reaching the light at the core. Know that all that darkness *is* you, because the light is you, and the light creates the darkness. Face it. Explore it. Conquer it.
    jim onion, Dec 10, 2018
  2. paperbackwriter
    Thanks Foxx. I need to read more carefully the part about Arago which I never heard of before. Ive seen most videos on Jordan Peterson and the shadow. He's quite severe sometimes on any behaviour that is remotely self-pitying I found anyway. But his explanations are always above average.
    Foxx have you ever been tempted to go to a Jungian psychotherapist? guess they are too expensive eh
    paperbackwriter, Dec 10, 2018
      Foxxx likes this.
  3. jim onion
    I agree with his position on self-pitying behavior, but perhaps his approach could be less severe and more accessible as a result. Since about 2017 when he got in the political spotlight he's lost a lot of his good humor and became a lot more serious, which can be off putting for some people.

    I do see a therapist but he's more behavioral. I've also been tempted to see a psychotherapist but they're not easy to find, and even if you do, the two of you might not "click". Also, most therapists use a combination of methods so it might be difficult to find one who's exclusively of the psychotherapy school.

    EDIT: And the Arago spot metaphor is one I'm still working on myself so don't pay it too much attention. Just worry about Jordan Peterson's "Jungian shadow" videos. You're right that his ability to explain things with clarity is incredible. He's a professor at UofT for a reason I guess.
    jim onion, Dec 11, 2018
  4. paperbackwriter
    He's a professor at UofT for a reason I guess.
    I thought professors were deliberately obtuse to make people feel dumb for not understanding them
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
      Foxxx likes this.
  5. paperbackwriter
    Anyway, I think with the right therapist, this shadow work is just what I need, and perhaps what a lot of other people do too
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
      Foxxx likes this.
  6. jim onion
    Lol, he's one of the rare ones. What you're describing is an aspect of our educational system falling apart here in the west.
    jim onion, Dec 11, 2018
      paperbackwriter likes this.
  7. paperbackwriter
    I am ashamed of my inarticulate/monotone/mumbling way of speaking. That's why I avoid speaking and social situations and Im envious of people who speak well. My criticism of them might be something like "oh how shallow, how superficial those arrogant extroverts" which obviously says everything about me instead.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
      Foxxx likes this.
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