one thing is sure a great change of our psychological attitude is imminent that is certain why because we need more we need more psychology we need more understanding of human nature because the only real danger that exists is man himself he is the great danger and we are pitifully unaware of it we know nothing of man far too little his P should be studied because we are the origin of all coming evil have you ever felt like something inside you is holding you back sabotaging your own actions what if I told you there's a hidden side of your personality lurking in the shadows influencing your every thought this hidden side is what Carl Jung calls the Shadow the shadow is a part of our unconscious mind that contains all the aspects of ourselves we reject or deny including repressed desires instincts weaknesses and parts of our personality these hidden traits influence our behavior and emotions in ways we often fail to realize but what is the shadow really how can we recognize it and most importantly how can we control it the Shadow the dark side of the human psyche a modern spirituality production enjoy watching Yung tells us in his collection of Works psychology and religion 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 there is always a chance to correct it furthermore it is constantly in contact with other interests so it is continually subject to modification but if it is repressed and isolated from Consciousness it is never corrected Carl Yung introduced the concept of the shadow in psychology as a fundamental part of the personal unconscious the shadow contains the inferiorities that everyone possesses but prefers not to acknowledge it is shaped by social norms per personal experiences and repression from a young age we learn which behaviors thoughts and emotions are unacceptable to our family and Society pushing these traits into our unconscious mind for example a child told that anger is unacceptable might repress their anger making it part of their Shadow while the shadow is often perceived as negative it can also be positive it holds various qualities strengths and potentials which if left unexplored Le leave us in a state of Personality impoverishment creating unconscious blockages that inhibit growth and the embodiment of these good qualities which lie dormant in our psyche understanding that everyone carries a shadow helps us recognize the profound impact it has on our lives now to provide you with an accurate description of the different types of Shadows and how they influence us we must start by understanding Carl yung's concept of the psyche the eego is supposed to be the representative of the real person and as I say for instance in the case where B knows of a but a doesn't know of B yeah in that case one would say the ego is more on the side of C yeah because the ego has a more complete knowledge and a is a uh a split of personality you see when I say self then you must think of I myself because that is only your empirical self and that is covered by the term ego ego yeah but when it is matter of the self then it is matter of a personality that is more complete than the ego because the ego is only consist of what you are conscious of yes yes Yung therefore presents a distinction between the self and the ego the ego represents our conscious identity while the self is a more comprehensive and comp complete representation of our entire personality including both conscious and unconscious elements now that was a very serious thing to me because what else then you see and I hated that fellow and that was the the only man I could have killed you know if I had met him once at the dark corner I would have shown her something of what I could do did you often have violent thoughts about people when you were young no not exactly only when they got mad well then I beat them up and did you often get mad not so often but then for good you were you were very strong and big I imagine yes I was pretty strong and you know Reed in the country with those peasant boes was a rough kind of life and and I I I would would have been capable of of of of violence I know I was a bit afraid of it so I I rather try to avoid the critical situations because I didn't trust myself once I was attacked by uh about seven boys and I got mad and I took one and just Swang him around with his legs you know and and and beat down four of them and then Dev were satisfied Jung reflects on his own capacity for violence during his youth acknowledging his intense emotions and physical abilities but also his fear of losing control which led him to avoid situations that could provoke violent Behavior this was his shadow now that we understand the basic concept of the Shadow let us delve deeper into yung's model of the psyche I wonder if you would uh mind telling us a little bit about how you uh construe this term persona well this is a a practical concept we need in elucidating people's relation um I noticed uh with my uh patients particularly with uh people that are in uh in public life that they have a certain way of uh presenting themselves so the Persona is partially uh the result of the demands Society has and on the other side it is a a compromise with what one likes to be or with was or as one likes to appear uh so the Persona is a certain certain complicated system of behavior which is partially dictated by society and partially dictated by the expectations or the wishes uh when n one child yes in yung's model of the psyche there are various personified structures that interact with one another within our inner world two of these the Persona and the anima animus are relational the Persona relates to the external World while the anima animus relates to the internal world the ego which is primarily rooted in the body can be understood as the executive part of the personality existing alongside the shadow together the ego and the shadow are Central to our identity the anima is the feminine aspect present in the unconscious of men representing the inner feminine side and influencing their interactions with women and their emotional life its counterpart the Animus is the masculine aspect present in the unconscious of women representing the inner masculine side and influencing their interactions with men as well as their assertiveness and reasoning now that we have introduced yung's model of the psyche let us move on to an in-depth analysis of the Shadow specifically Yung identifies two types of Shadows the personal Shadow and the collective Shadow first let us take a closer look at the personal Shadow this represents the Dark Side of our personality what a person does not wish to be or does not recognize about themselves it includes attributes and qualities of the ego that are little known or unknown often perceived as weaknesses socially unacceptable traits or even as evil in the collection of yung's Works volume 9 part 2 ion Carl Jung States a closer examination of the dark characteristics that is the inferiorities constituting the shadow reveals that they have an emotional nature a certain autonomy and consequently an obsessive or better possessive quality failure to acknowledge and address our shadow can lead to significant problems it is possible to be aware of one's Shadow and partially conscious of it meaning it is under some control of the ego however many people so completely reject the recognition of their shadow that the ego remains unaware of the Shadow's Behavior leaving it with no possibility of control under these conditions the shadow becomes autonomous and may Express itself in the form of irritability and cruelty and so the the psychical events are facts are realities and when you observe the stream of images Within You observe an aspect of the world of the world within because the psyche you know if you understand it as a phenomenon that takes place in socalled living bodies then it is a quality of matter as our body consists of matter we discovered that this matter has another aspect namely psychic aspect now let us examine the positive aspects that emerge from observing our shadow in Jung's book interviews and encounters we read when you observe the world you see people you see houses you see the sky you see tangible objects but when you look inside your yourself you see moving images a world of images generally known as fantasies and yet these fantasies are facts it is a fact that a man has a certain fantasy a fact so tangible that because of it another man may lose his life or a bridge may be built these houses were all fantasies everything you do here all the houses everything was a fantasy at first and fantasy has its own reality this must not be forgotten fantasy is not nothing of course it is not a tangible object but it is a fact Jung also emphasizes that the unconscious is not merely a repository of Forgotten or repressed thoughts instead it is an active and Powerful part of our psyche that significantly shapes our experiences and actions this helps us understand that our inner world is just as real and influential as the external world we see around us in his writings Yung highlights the importance of developing awareness of the shadow in Psychotherapy and of its projections in the individual's life while the shadow is generally perceived as negative it can also be positive in fact exploring our shadow grants us access to many positive qualities yung in this excerpt from the collection of his Works volume 9 part two states the first of these is the shadow that hidden repressed personality for the most part inferior and burdened with guilt who whose ultimate ramifications reach back into the realm of our animal ancestors and thus Encompass the whole historical aspect of the unconscious if up to now it has been believed that the human Shadow is the source of evil it can now be determined with closer investigation that the unconscious man that is his shadow not only consists of morally reprehensible Tendencies but also displays a number of good qualities such as normal instincts appropriate reactions realistic insights creative impulses and so on because man is not complete if he is not conscious of that aspect of things so a man is not complete when he lives in a world of statistical truth he must live in a world of this biological truth that is is biological that is not really statistics it is the expression of what he really is as what he feels himself these explanations highlight yung's views on the Shadow and the self emphasizing the importance of recognizing and integrating all aspects of our personality to achieve psychological wholeness one of yung's closest collaborators Marie Louise Von France writes in man and his symbols part three the process of individuation the realization of the Shadow the shadow is not necessarily always an opponent in fact it is exactly like any human being with whom one has to live sometimes giving in sometimes resisting sometimes showing love depending on what the situation requires the shadow becomes hostile only when it is ignored or misunderstood well the in Practical life they emerge but the personal Shadow is the personal shortcomings of uh things which every human being could be conscious of which is not archetypal and therefore not a mystery for instance such things as Greed for money or jealousy jealousy is one of main aspects of the Shadow or laziness sloppiness uh unrel atness sentimentality and whatnot inferiorities which everybody has but uh prefers not to know about Marie Louise Von France and Carl Yung stress that recognizing understanding and integrating the shadow a complex emotional and deeply personal part of our unconscious is essential for achieving psychological wholeness and self-awareness to better understand this let's visualize the shadow imagine your Shadow as a dark figure following you at first it seems intimidating but when you turn to face it you realize it's just a part of you that needs understanding and compassion we also encounter our shadow in dreams often as a person of the same sex as the dreamer this figure acts as a critique of our character from the unconscious an internal judge of our being that reprimands us often leaving us in embarrassed silence let us now explore or how to integrate the aspects of the Shadow into our lives through dream analysis for example by familiarizing ourselves with the contents of the unconscious this is called the process of Shadow realization also known as Shadow work here Begins the painful and lengthy task of self-education which requires engaging in long and difficult negotiations with the shadow a task that could be described as the psychological equivalent of the labors of Copus for those UNF familiar the myth of cyphus tells of a man condemned by the gods to Eternal punishment he was forced to push a massive Rock up a hill only to see it roll back down each time it reached the top trapping him in a cycle of endless suffering through Shadow work one can observe the shadow outwardly by monitoring emotional reactions and being radically honest in interactions with others and inwardly by exploring one's dreams in Carl Jung's collected works volume 13 alchemical studies Yung States one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious however this latter process is unpleasant and therefore unpopular with a deeper understanding of our identity it is now time to see the shadow in action understanding our shadow is crucial but it doesn't have to be a daunting task it can be a fascinating journey of self-discovery this allows us to become enlightened and reduces the Shadow's destructive potential not by Waging War on the darkness so to speak but by bringing Darkness to light and light to Darkness from yung's collected works volume 12 psychology and Alchemy we read There Is No Light without Shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection as frightening or dark as facing our shadow may be discovering the truth brings relief the discernment of Truth is the process of authenticity a meticulous excavation into the depths of our being to explore possibilities and limitations distortions and the Buried and often forgotten parts of ourselves and our abilities however most people are too lazy to deeply reflect even on the moral aspects of their behavior of which they are aware let alone to consider how the unconscious influences them now that we have addressed and understood the personal Shadow let us explore the collective Shadow the shadow can also consist of factors that originate from sources external to the individual's personal life in this case we encounter the collective Shadow the dark side or the unknown and lesser known aspects of a society and culture it consists of what opposes our shared and Collective values to better understand this let us take a closer look at the broader implications of the collective Shadow they of course great individual difference there are individuals are amazing knowledge of themselves of the things that go on in themselves but even those people wouldn't be capable of knowing what is going on in their ownes yeah for instance they are not conscious of the fact that while they live a conscious life all the time a Miss is played in your conscious a miss that extends over centuries yes namely archetypal ideas stream of archetypal ideas that goes on through one individual through the centuries yes you see it it it it it it is like a continuous stream and that comes into to the daylight in the great movements yeah say in political movements or in spiritual movements for instance in the time before Reformation people dreamed of the great change and that's the reason why such great Transformations could be predicted yeah somebody has been clever enough to see what there is going on in people's mind in the unconscious mind would be able to predict it for instance I have predicted the Nazi rising in Germany uh through the observation of my German patients yes they had dreams in which the whole thing was anticipated and with considerable as is the nature of all Shadow material both individual and Collective its existence and influence can be pervasive without being obvious the collective Shadow manifests outwardly in atrocities persecution physical suffering disease poverty malnutrition alcoholism crime the death of cultures and so on it can also manifest more inwardly within the complexities of individual psyches as self-hatred disdain for one's Heritage and culture depression and feelings of powerlessness a desire for Revenge so others might experience a share of one's pain and more the collective Shadow is what has historically been labeled as evil in the Christian tradition it would be the devil and someone possessed by the devil loses their human qualities and acquires a demonic nature for Yung our Primary Response to evil must be the pursuit of self- knowledge and wholeness which presupposes the assimilation of Shadow material the individual Yung states must ceaselessly know how much good they are capable of and what crimes they are capable of committing you know every society has Collective problems yes Collective convictions and so on yes now we are very much influenced by them when you belong to a certain political party a certain confession and and that can be a serious determinant of your behavior yeah now as a matter of personal conflict doesn't touch upon it it's it's no question it doesn't appear but the moment you transcend your personal sphere and come to your UNP personal determinance say to the question a political question or any other social question uh which really matters to you yeah then you are confronted with a collective problem and then you have Collective strs yeah when an issue becomes apparent within a particular society it can be defined as a shadow problem if there is evidence of denial projection and a lack of individual and Collective accountability therefore taking responsibility morally politically and spiritually is especially crucial the courage with which we confront and carry our Darkness frees others from having to carry it for us for example this can be seen in addressing the effects of massive historical suffering Wars genocides holocausts pervasive oppression and so on Whose effects continue to linger as human beings we have much to learn in this regard denial often tied to the desire to move on and leave the past behind seems to be the most common and usually the first reaction there have been and continue to be many attempts to address difficult and painful pasts through public apologies for supporting atrocities repentance reparations after Wars pilgrimages to sites of great suffering and so on but how can we confront the past in a way that enables deep and widespread integration of the Shadow within a population rather than merely symbolic gestures by leaders or policies remembering and speaking about what often feels unspeakable is inevitably a pain painful process for victims and perpetrators bystanders and Witnesses such a process can be considered successful or reasonably complete only once the pain outrage betrayal suffering and all other emotions have been expressed and heard and once responsibility has been taken it is nowadays we are not threatened by Elementary catastroph Cas there's no such thing as an HB that is all man's doing yeah we are the great danger psyche is great danger what if something goes wrong with the psyche yeah and so e it is demonstrated to us in our days what what the power the psyche is of man how important is to know something about it but we know nothing about it no nobody would would give credit to the idea that uh the psychical processes of the order man have any importance whatever telling the truth is both the most desirable and the most feasible way to address a difficult past a striking example of a terrible Mass psychosis embodied by the collective Shadow is Nazi Germany where individuals succumbed to a demonic nature through their personal Shadow they joined the Nazi party and committed acts far worse 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 crucial to resolve one's own internal conflicts the personal Shadow first to avoid unconsciously falling into the collective Shadow by doing so one can influence others positively benefiting society as a whole in summary we must first acknowledge our personal Shadow and engage in long and difficult negotiations with it being honest with ourselves and in our interactions with others observing our emotional reactions and exploring our dreams this prevents us from becoming passive victims of our shadow and unconscious projections allowing us to salvage the dormant positive qualities within us and improve both our lives and the lives of those around us the courage to carry our Darkness brings relief to others as telling the truth is the most desirable way to confront a difficult past ignoring atrocities only allows the shadow to grow until it can grow no further and history inevitably repeats itself and what do you think about yung's concept of the Shadow let us know in the comments section if you enjoyed this documentary I invite you to subscribe to the channel and leave a like also I highly recommend watching the documentary on synchronicities which will appear shortly in the meantime thank you for following us and see you soon