THE LIGHT IN THE SHADOW

Luke Jones

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being,” writes Psychiatrist Carl Jung in his 1963 autobiography Memories, Dreams, Reflections. We live in a world motivated by the ego and its perception of control. Jung was not the first person to theorize this and surely will not be the last. This need for control is arguably the greatest obstacle one encounters on the journey of self-actualization, and it is not a path many take willingly. The obstacle of all obstacles lies not in the external world but in the internal cosmos of our psyche. The question then arises- why would an individual purposely put themselves under a microscope and take an inventory of their character? What benefits lie in introspection and overcoming obstacles other than pain, shame, and guilt? The answer is that despite the lengths of aversion, the ego will go to avoid feeling out of control, and facing and being present with obstacles allows for unparalleled improvement of character and self-actualization.

Being present allows for the true self to be revealed. Philosopher Jiddu Khrisnamarit discusses in his 1969 book Freedom From the Known that most individuals struggle to be present due to fear. He further theorizes that, for most people, every emotion, from ‘hate’ and ‘anger’ even extending to ‘love,’ is motivated by a deep-seated fear of release (Krishnamurti). But unlike other gurus, Khrisnamaruti encourages his readers not to take his word for it but to meditate on and discover the truth for themselves. Krishnamurti states, “There is no guide, no teacher, no authority. There is only youyour relationship with others and with the world - there is nothing else” (Krishnamurti 8). Krishnamurti preaches a philosophy that contradicts most, if not all, of what society teaches us. He tells us to discard everything we know and base our truth solely upon our individual experiences. To fully live in the present, according to Krisnamaruti, one must know themselves and lay the past to rest. But to accomplish that, one must release fear. He writes, “Most of us are frightened of dying because we don’t know what it means to live. We don’t know how to live, therefore we don’t know how to die. As long as we are frightened of life we shall be frightened of death” (Krishnamurti 62). If fear is the only thing holding us back from being present and embodying our true selves, how does one release fear?

Developing awareness of the shadow self through shadow work improves one’s character. Under the ego lies a self that yearns to be found, writes Robert Greene, author of the 2019 book The Laws of Human Nature. The rational self is bubbling beneath the surface, yearning to come out and help us in times of tribulation (Greene 39). But to access this rational self, one must do shadow work to become aware of one’s downfalls. Greene furthers his point by equivocating our emotional mind to a horse, and our rational mind to its rider, saying, “This horse has tremendous energy and power, but without a rider, it cannot be guided; it is wild” (Greene 40).

Shadow work is the best way to tame that metaphorical horse and is essential to learning how to ride it to its fullest potential. According to Jung, shadow work is the process of being present with not only one’s conscious mind but one’s subconscious as well. The Pursuit of Wonder, a content creator on YouTube, discusses in his video “Becoming Your True

Self - The Psychology of Carl Jung” that “...a considerable portion of who we are...and the reasons we do the things we do...persist within a realm we don’t actively understand or have access to” (Pursuit of Wonder). Shadow work is essentially making space for the parts of oneself that one labels as ‘dark’ or ‘negative’ and observing them instead of judging them. The narrator of Pursuit of Wonder elaborates that the only way to access this part of the psyche is to tap into it and integrate it into one’s awareness (Pursuit of Wonder). For most people, this is terrifying. Why would one actively channel the parts of themselves they consider dark, submitting to their immoral thoughts? Despite what one may think, the more awareness one brings to their ‘shadow self,’ the less control the shadow has over an individual. That is why Eternalized, another video creator on YouTube, in a video titled “Owning Your Own Shadow: The Dark Side of the Psyche,” equivocates shadow work to “the psychological equivalent of the labors of Hercules” (Eternalized). Shadow work is not for the light-hearted. But if one wants to improve their character, one must push through the storm of the ego and confront their dark side to better it. Self-actualization is a necessary aspect of taming the subconscious mind.

As Jung theorizes in his 1961 autobiography Memories, Dreams, Reflections, facing obstacles allows one to become a beacon of hope in an indifferent world. One’s greatest enemy is not an external foe one must cut down with a slash of their blade, but their ego. When an individual refuses to become aware of their downfalls, most often, those downfalls project themselves into the individual’s life as hatred of the self and others. As YouTube creator Externalized concludes in the abovementioned video, “When we do not assimilate what we despise, we project it” (Eternalized). The avoidance of the true self will lead to self-destruction. Unless one approaches and learns from obstacles that arise in their life, patterns of self-harm will continue to repeat until the individual learns from them or passes on. Taking an honest inventory of the self is the only way to overcome these obstacles. As Tatiana Denning writes in her

2020 Epoch Times article “The Gift of Hardship,” “Hardships give our best chance to improve our character. There are just so many good things to be gained, and so many bad things to be discarded” (Denning 4). Though life may consistently provide obstacles that present growth opportunities, we are ultimately the ones who have the power to decide where our life goes and what we stand for. One can only begin fully living life when one releases fear.

Works Cited

Denning, Tatiana. “The Gift of Hardship.” The Epoch Times, Oct 07, 2020. https://ezproxy.scottsdalecc.edu/ login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.scottsdalecc. edu/newspapers/gifthardship/docview/2449507720/ se-2?accountid=227 Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.

Eternalized. “The Shadow - Carl Jung’s Warning to the World - YouTube.” YouTube, Eternalized, 1 Oct. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhzBo0dZNpY.

Greene, Robert. The Laws of Human Nature. Penguin Books, 2019.

1875-1961., Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Pantheon Books, 1963.

1895-1986., Krishnamurti, Jiddu. Freedom from the Known. Harper One an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2010.

Pursuit of Wonder. “Becoming Your True Self - the Psychology of Carl Jung - YouTube.” YouTube, Pursuit of Wonder, 22 Apr. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRDy4M5jI-g

–Indigenous Proverbs