“The man who recognizes his shadow knows very well that he is not harmless” ~Carl Jung
What is our shadow? How do we recognize it and work with it?
I have been diving deep into this topic in my training as a Jungian Life Coach which blends Jungian psychology, eastern philosophy, and neuroscience. Shadow, persona, personal unconscious, the collective unconscious, archetypes, and synchronicity are some of the terms and concepts brought forth by the psychologist, Carl Jung. Shadow work is a big part of the coaching I offer and doing my own shadow work has opened up possibilities for me to show up in ways I did not think were possible before. It allows me to live a more creative and full life. The work is a lifelong process that I am eager to continue now that I am seeing the benefits.
Our shadow is what we see in others that triggers us but it does not necessarily mean what we see in the other person is what we are. It is what we don’t want to be perceived as so deeply that we create a persona or personality traits to push it away. We take on certain traits we believe to be accepted or labeled as positive and what we push away or don’t want to be perceived as is now hidden in our shadow or unconscious. This conditioning happens when we are very young as a survival mechanism to fit in with our culture or family.
For example, a child with a mother who is critical may create a persona as a perfectionist as a way to try and survive the criticism. Their shadow or someone who triggers them now may be someone who is messy, always late or doesn’t pay attention to detail. Realizing this is not to place blame on the mother but to recognize how we may have been unconsciously conditioned through our own perception as we were developing and our caregivers were doing the best they knew how within their own conditioning and personal unconscious.
To integrate the shadow is to work with the triggers around that and realize how creating that persona was natural and necessary at the time yet how that is now limiting our ability to fully show up in the world and be free to act out of our true self rather than our limited persona.
Our early life is naturally and appropriately spent creating a persona to fit in and survive and our later life is when we have the opportunity to go through an individuation process and integrate our shadows to live creatively and as our true selves. Individuation is the process of looking inward and integrating our shadows rather than looking outward and living from our personas as we did in our earlier life. Bringing the unconscious to the conscious is allowing us to now step into our most creative lives and live out of unlimited possibilities.
Our shadow lies in our unconscious. It isn’t necessarily a "dark" part of our personality, but a part that we push away or don't want to be identified with, and not necessarily on a conscious level. It can be "light" qualities as well. For example, pushing away showing up confidently because that was somehow criticized or made to feel not safe or ok as a child. Someone who may trigger you then is someone who shows up unapologetically and has no problem showcasing themselves.
What could be possible if we were no longer afraid to be judged as “unapologetic” or “someone who likes to be the center of attention”? What could we create? The possibilities could be infinite once we accept all aspects of ourselves and no longer fear the judgment of others of ourselves.
There are processes to integrate the shadow and the first step is to bring awareness/consciousness to what our shadows may be. Working with a guide or coach is necessary for that mirror or reflection as we are unable to fully see what lies in our own unconscious without that.
What I will dive into next time are 3 ways to work with your shadow to integrate all aspects of yourself to open up unlimited possibilities and a new way of being for yourself so stay tuned!
Until then, be well,
Cindy
Cindy Schmidt, a Certified Master Jungian Life Coach, Relationship Coach Specialist, and Dream Coach Specialist blends her training in Women's Health Physical Therapy, Yoga, Reiki, and as a Certified Mindfulness Teacher with her unique coaching approach to empower you to transform and grow on a deep level. Contact her to learn more about her group and one-on-one offerings.
Schedule a Free 30-minute Clarity Consultation here
cindy@wildnewway.com 970-985-2416 www.wildnewway.com