Integrating the Shadow: Embracing the Monster Within

Integrating the shadow involves acknowledging and integrating the aggressive and vengeful aspects of one's personality for personal growth and self-control.

### Jordan Peterson: Embracing the Monster Within and the Archetypal Hero's Myth
* 👹 Peterson explains the concept of the shadow, which represents the **repressed or hidden aspects of one's personality**, often stemming from **societal conditioning or fear**.
* 🎭 The persona, or the social mask one wears to be accepted, can lead to inner conflict when it **suppresses the shadow**.
* 😠 Resentment can serve as a gateway to understanding the shadow, as it reveals **feelings of immaturity or unexpressed boundaries**.
* ♂ Integrating the shadow involves acknowledging and embracing one's **capacity for darkness, such as aggression**, without acting destructively.
* 🔥 Repressed shadow energy can be a source of **creativity, discipline, and the courage to confront challenges**.
* 🏆 The archetypal hero's myth symbolizes the journey of **facing the unknown or dark aspects of oneself** to find what is **most needed but least wanted**.
* 🕊 True morality, according to Peterson, is not mere harmlessness but the ability to be **dangerous and civilized**, aiming for a peace that comes from **mutual respect**.

so the first thing about integrating your shadow you need to know what it is. Here's Jordan Peterson explaining a few details on the shadow. The first thing you have to understand with regards to trying to come to terms with the conception of the shadow is to understand the idea of persona. And persona is the you that you present when you want people to accept and like you. Often like, let's say that you go to a party and you're trying to impress the people that are there, and you're trying to get them to like you. And so you maybe get jabbed out a little bit, and you laugh, and you know you go along with everyone so that they like you. And then you go home and you're bitterly resentful about the way that you were put down at this party. And that's gonna make all sorts of aggressive, I wish I could have said, it's gonna make all sorts of aggressive and vengeful thoughts sort of flash through your imagination. Well, the first part of the problem is that

you were too much persona, right? You sacrificed yourself in some sense at the party so that people would like you. And in the second part, you're refusing to admit to the existence of those elements of you that would have actually protected you from doing that. So let's say you go home and you're all bitter and resentful, and you have fantasies of revenge. I mean, that reveals to you the shadow part of you that's aggressive. And the thing is, you actually need that because if you would have integrated that more successfully into your personality when you went to the party, you wouldn't have had to let people put you down to get them to like you. You know, instead of having a face like this, which says, I'll take anything that's coming my way, you have a face and a stance that's more determined and assertive. And if you manifest that properly, people aren't going to mess with you to begin with. But you know, you may have already adopted a morality that says, Well, I have

to be likable, and I shouldn't do anything that causes any conflict, and I shouldn't ever, you know, hurt anybody's feelings, and so you just present yourself as a punching bag, and you think that that makes you a good person, but it doesn't, and there's no integration of the shadow in that situation, so you see that at the end of the movie, you know, when I mentioned this, when Simba climbs up the rock to take control of it, all the female lionesses bear their teeth, and he roars, it's like that aggressiveness is integrated into him, and so resentment is a really good emotion for making contact with the shadow side because if you're resentful about something, it basically reveals two things. It either means that you're immature and you should stop whining and get on with things, you know, someone's asked this often happens with adolescents who are asked, say, by their mother to clean up their room. They're all resentful about it. It's like shut up and clean up your room, you know.

it's not that much to ask or so that can be a gateway into the observation of your own immaturity. Or it's possible that you're resentful because people really have been poking at you too much and taking and taking shot cheap shots at you and oppressing you. But what that means is that you've got some things to say that you haven't been willing to say or don't know how to say right. You can't stand up for yourself properly, and in order to do that, you have to grow some teeth and be willing to use them. And again, that's something that might violate your morality because you might say, well, I shouldn't be able to bite people. And the thing is, yes, you should be able to bite people hard. And if you're able to bite them, then generally you don't have to, but they need to know that you can because otherwise, especially people who are badly socialized, they'll just keep encroaching on you and encroaching on you and encroaching on you and encroaching on

you until you you put up a wall like someone who's really well put together won't do that. You know, because they're sophisticated. But if you run into people who only have boundaries because other people impose them on them and you won't do it, you're going to be the bullied one in the office, for example. You're not going to get a raise. People aren't going to credit you with your own work. Other people are going to take credit for it, you know, and you're going to go home angry because you're doing your best and you're trying to get along with everyone and nothing ever goes your way. Well, it's because you're a pushover and you think that's good because you confuse harmlessness with with with morality. It's it's a bad. It's not right just because you can't do any damage doesn't mean you're moral. It just means you're you don't have the capability for mayhem and that makes you a pushover. I mean the yogis stuff is very very dark, you know.

it's very dark because his notion of what constitutes a moral human being is much different from the typical view. He really thinks you get that horrible side of yourself integrated so it's up there where you can use it because otherwise you're you're dangerous. You can't say no to people and you'll go along with the crowd. And then if the crowd does something particularly pathological, which it's liable to do, you won't be able to resist it. You won't have the strength of character. And so then you'll fall prey to crowd pathology. And it'll be because you're too agreeable with a, you know, with a shadow, resentful side that the crowd and its murderous intent is going to act out. So, he covers a few things there and basically says you need to become more or less a monster with self-control and morals, right? It reminds me of when he talks about the bible verse that says blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. He says correctly that the greek word we

translate into meek, which is praus actually has a fuller definition. This word does not mean weakness of any sort, but actually refers to exercising strength under control, demonstrating power without undue harshness. Is what you are when you have a sword and you know how to use it, and are courageous enough to do so if necessary, but you keep it sheathed unless it's necessary to use it. That's the example Peterson likes to give. You're basically, um, a monster or can become one at the drop of the hat, but you keep that part of your psyche holstered mostly because you're properly integrated. So I want to give you a few things Jung said on the subject before the next Peterson clip where he goes deeper into the idea of integrating the shadow. Carl Jung said, The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real.

this act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge. Unfortunately, there could be no doubt that man is on the whole less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. 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, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected. And finally, if you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He's become a serious problem to himself, and he is now unable to say that they do this or that they are wrong and they must be fought against. Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his

own shadow. He has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic unsolved social problems of our day. Now here's Peterson again. I don't haven't read anyone I regard as deeper than Jung. He's terrifying, truly terrifying. But but here's one of the things that differentiates him from the typical self-help person. I really love this that he believes that the pathway to completion as a human being is through the is through the embodiment of the monster, embodiment of the monster. That's the discovery of the shadow, you see. So Jung didn't believe that you could be a good person until you realized your capacity for evil. I don't mean acted it out in the world but understand that it's possible. Well, not only understand it but then to bring it under your control, you see, because there's a big difference between someone who's naive and is a good person. They're naive. They're a good person because they can't not be. They're like a

domesticated house cat. There's nothing. They don't even have the capacity to be bad. So, there's no morality in that. The morality comes when you're a monster and you can control it. And that's the union encounter with the shadow. So, Jung said, for example, that the roots of the shadow go all the way down to hell. And what he meant by that is that, well, you can think about it literally, you think about it metaphorically. We'll just think about it metaphorically. It's like, if you start to understand who you are, then you understand the Nazis. And who wants to understand the Nazis, you know? I can understand sex criminals. I can understand them, right? Right. I can understand Nazis. And the reason for that is because I can see that as an aspect of myself, truly. But one of the things that's so interesting is terrifying to realize that, which is why it's terrifying to realize the shadow, which is why people don't do it. It's no wonder they don't do it, you know?

it's it's a horrible thing to realize that you're human. And what being human means. Like angel, like Christ to Satan. That's the human being. And you might say, Well, those aren't real. It's like, okay, well, they're figments of the imagination that the human race constructed to describe themselves. Fine. Does that make it less frightening? I don't think so. So, and it's it's not. It doesn't make it any less frightening if you take those two extremes seriously. And you might say, Well, who's going to take the Christ extreme seriously? It's no problem, man. Dispense with it. You try getting rid of the other side. See how you do with that. So, Jung's idea that you find so compelling was essentially that one has to understand their potential for horrific behavior. That it almost exists in all of us. That it's a facet of just the human experience. Well, look. I know partly why you're so popular. It's because you're a monster. I mean, look. I watched what you did to the Kardashians on your, on your, uh.

jenner on your comedy show man, you did this whole gargoyle thing. Yeah, you remember, you laugh. Yeah, see, you can even laugh about that. I mean, it was horrifying to behold. You were crouched up on the back of this chair like a... it's horrifying to do. Oh yeah, I couldn't believe you did it. Well, the problem with doing it is, this is gonna sound up, but while I'm doing it, I'm not thinking I'm doing a comedy sketch. This is what's up about it. While I'm crouched there, I'm thinking like a demon. So, it was very funny to watch you do that, and I wondered how far you would let yourself get into it. But I think part of the reason that you're appealing to people, if you don't mind me, my me saying this, you know, I'm not trying to be forward particularly, but I thought about it a lot, is that you're a tough guy and you tell the truth. But it's both of those together, that's what's doing it.

because you know people don't look at you and they and think like holier-than-thou preacher. That isn't what they think. They think tough guy who's trying to figure things out. Like, right on, that's good. That's a good. You're a good figure for the times because this whole war against the fellow centrism, you know, need calls forward people who are like you, if we're lucky. And those are guys who have this warrior end. Because, you know, you're a fighter. So, and you, if you're going to be a fighter, you have to want to win. And you have to want to hurt people. I mean, not for the sake of hurting them. That's what makes you different than an evil person. But you have to have that capacity. You have to develop that. And you know, that's the step on the way to enlightenment, weirdly enough. Because that isn't what people think. So, we hear a similar message to his previous clip here, but I really appreciate the additional explanation and new examples he gives of a person who has integrated their shadow.

in this case, Joe Rogan helps solidify what that monster is in our shadow. It's aggression, sometimes courage, sometimes rage, hate, strengths of various forms that have been repressed, shoved deep into our unconscious mind. Maybe because our parents discouraged that kind of behavior, or our teachers at school, or maybe it was our friends or society as a whole. Whatever the case, Peterson shows us that in the same way the knight journeys deep into the cave or forest to fight the dragon and get the gold and the girl, we must journey into the abyss of our unconscious, face the monster in the shadow, and integrate it. There's gold in the shadow because a lot of that aggression, boldness, anger, and hate that we repress can be used in a healthy way. In fact, Peterson goes into depth on that exactly here and more as well in this next clip from a conversation with Robert Greene. I know that I personally have, as I said, I definitely have a shadow side. I'm very aggressive and extremely competitive, and I have a lot of anger.

so a lot of that those experiences in my youth made me very angry, but the way i kind of integrated my show. I'm not saying this is a model, but the way i integrated it was through my books, yeah. So i kind of that anger kind of seeps through the material that i write, and i find i can only write when i have that kind of anger, but i don't rant, i don't yell, and kind of put people down. I kind of channel it into something productive and something creative. And so yeah, i definitely do that when i'm lecturing, you know, and people have commented, you know, some of the people who've criticized me that i'm an angry person, and which isn't true, but it's definitely that anger, that capacity for anger definitely is something that gives you force, and it can push, and anger definitely. So, so i have a friend, he's a really good friend of mine, and i've known him since i was in college, and he's a tough guy, i mean

he grew up in a uh under rather poverty-stricken circumstances in northern alberta. Really on a frontier piece of land like it had only been broken 50 years before by his father who was a longshoreman and the next military guy. Good guy his father but this guy grew up and he is tough. He worked in lead smelters and he wandered around western canada. He was my roommate when i went to college and is still a good friend of mine. And he ended up working with like delinquents. He went into social work oddly enough. And he ended up working with some of the worst delinquents in in canada. And he's a really good guy and he likes to help people get better but he isn't naive at all. And then part of the reason that he was good at working with delinquents was because there were no tricks they could get up to that he couldn't see right through. And that was partly because he had a real integrated shadow. I mean i'll give

you an example of him. So, one day I was living in this town called Grand Prairie, and it was at the height of the oil boom. So, it was a rough town, and there were lots of rough bars and lots of young men in there with plenty of money, and plenty they come in for, you know, three days after being out minus 40 weather working on the oil rigs, and they were ready to party, man. We had a party one night in this kind of frat house that I went to college in, and about, oh, way too many people showed up, and some of them were real troublemakers. And one, we had a table that was pretty full of beer bottles and vodka bottles and so forth, and one guy just went over, like, tore the leg off and knocked the table over. And then a bunch of us got together and chased them all out. And this friend of mine, he said, Oh, they'll be back. And so he went upstairs and he put on some steel-toed cowboy boots. It was just like a bloody west, and he came

marching down the stairs, and just as he entered the living room, there was a big knock on the front door. It was these hooligans coming back to cause grief, and he just didn't break stride. He opened the door, he pulled open the door, and there was a guy standing there ready to fight. And he kicked him underneath the chin with his steel-toed cowboy boot, knocked him right over the front porch. And you know, the battle was on, but that was exactly what he was like, you know. And he had his shadow was integrated, you could he's a great roommate, he reciprocated everything. I always knew if I bought groceries one week, he'd buy it the next. Like he was a straight shooter, you could trust him, but he was not naive, man. And that made him able to deal with delinquents and to help them. So that's part of that integration of that shadow, yeah. Um, I go very deeply into the shadow in a chapter in my last book, The Laws of Human Nature.

and i try and talk about how one integrates the shadow because it's not it's not an easy answer for that you know people are kind of perplexed well i have this dark side and i explain a lot of where it comes from and how a lot of your aggressive impulses like the room of two-year-olds that you were talking about you have that as well i'm talking to the people that have greek my readers you have that aggressiveness when you were young and it got socialized out of you and then it got it kind of got repressed and it's like a lost self that lives inside of you and is screaming to come out how do you integrate it and so the main thing is you have to be aware that you have this shadow side you have you can't run away from it you have to acknowledge that it exists you almost have to embrace it a good parent too does everything he or she can not to repress that like what you want to do with children is you want to

like you want them to be forceful. You want them to have some power. You want them to integrate that capacity for aggression into, let's say, lucid conversation. You want them to be able to stand up for themselves in family discussions. If you just punish them for being aggressive, let's say for talking back or something like that, you don't guide that into more sophisticated development. You see this in schools too. Now imagine that this is obviously a thought experiment, but imagine you're chasing a cat with a broom. Well, the cat's going to run from the broom, but if you corner the cat with the broom, it will attack you even though it's just a cat. Well, the reason for that is that fear will facilitate either freezing or escape, right? But sometimes fear isn't the right response, and anger will suppress fear. And so, one of the tools that we have at our disposal psychologically is anger as an antidote to the terror that would otherwise freeze you. And you can integrate that, you know, that's

you know if you have some justifiable moral outrage, let's say something really annoys you, or deeply violates your sense of moral propriety. I don't mean trivial things. Then the fact of that forceful response can motivate you to do things well, for lecture, but certainly to write. It takes a lot of energy to write, man. You need all those sources of energy if you're going to be able to do it. Just even to turn it on yourself, to discipline yourself. You know, it's like I had to grab myself by the scruff of the neck when I was a young guy, to sit down, sit down, goddamn it, and write, you know. And there's a force that's necessary, especially if you're open, because you're all over the place if you're creative, to get yourself to sit down and focus. Yes, that's right, yeah. And um, you know, some of that anger, you know, I think Jung talks about this, is that that dark side contains a lot of energy. It contains a lot of power.

those two-year-olds are kicking and screaming, that's all this kind of force behind it. And when you sort of are ashamed of it, and you push that down, you're kind of getting rid of an incredible well of energy that you can use for your creativity, for your work, etc. You can take that energy, like you say, and create discipline out of it, do something creative out of it, support some cause that you really believe in, you know. So that shadow side, when you deny it, only negative things will happen. And it is extremely important for people to first recognize it in themselves, you know. And it's very hard for a lot of people to do that. Well, I found, like I said earlier, one of the best ways in there is resentment. You watch yourself like, well, because if you're resentful, you know you're feeling like you're being victimized and mistreated. It's like, okay, well, you might maybe you are. Okay. And you think there's no anger in

that resentment you're not looking hard enough. If you watch your fantasies, for example, if you're resentful and you watch the fantasies that flip through your imagination, like you might not want to attend to them because they can be so brutal, right? But that the fat because if someone is oppressing you genuinely and you're not standing up for yourself, then there'll be these compensatory fantasies, yeah. So one day I'll tell you a story about that. So one day I was, I've been renovating my house and it took a long time and the neighbors, this house was a complete derelict and it was a semi-detached, like really a derelict. It hadn't been touched since like 1927, had gas fittings in the upper floor needed to be completely gutted and so we gutted it. And my daughter got sick at exactly the same time, really sick. And so it was, it was stressful and difficult and the neighbors just, they called the city on us, they, they did everything they could.

to make it difficult, even though they were attached to us and wanted to sell their house, so we probably added like 25,000 to the value of their house because it was no longer attached to a derelict. And then just as we were finishing, my sister and her husband came to visit, and I was making tea for them, and I closed the cupboard so it clicked, and the neighbors banged on the wall. And then that night, I couldn't sleep, and I had this, I would really be pushed to my limit by these people, and I had these visions in my mind of burning the damn place down, and I thought, oh man, if you're starting to think about burning the place down, you should probably go say something. So I put on my parka and I went outside about six in the morning. I just waited for them to come out; they never did, but I went knocked over on the door and I said, I was making tea for my sister last night, and I closed the cupboard, you didn't have to bang on the wall.

because you heard my cupboard closing did you, and they said yeah. And I said, okay, look, if you bug me anymore, I'm going to cause you so much trouble you cannot possibly imagine it, yeah. And I meant it. It was like because I knew it was brewing in the back of my mind. I said, because I was done. It was like you want a war, you have no idea what you're getting into. And so they backed into the kitchen. And like two hours later, they came over and said, oh, you know, we're sorry, and we won't do it again. But like, I, what we did was the mistake. You talk about, we backtracked continually trying to please them, you know. And every time they complained, we did what they wanted because we assumed we were dealing with reasonable people. But we weren't. And yeah, the only way to stop them was with a show of force. It was like you want to be malevolent, you want to play that game, it's like okay, no problem. But you know, when things went more smoothly after that. And that's a good example.

of well paying attention to those fantasies because i thought i better like deal with this straightforwardly otherwise i'm likely to do something stupid right that's the other thing you've got to watch if that builds up inside you exactly yeah and a lot of times i look at people in in the public eye who get caught doing something really stupid like you say and their first thing will be well that wasn't me that did it i don't know what came over me that's not that's not who i am but that is exactly who you are that is the person who has been carrying this resentment and this kind of inner anger but not acting upon and then suddenly they do something really stupid like having an affair with the 21 year old or or you know they're just caught doing something yeah so one great way to dig into your shadow and figure out what's there is to ask yourself what do i resent sometimes we project things in our shadow things we resent about ourselves unto other people

so resentment in yourself can be very helpful to observe. Another question you can ask yourself is, What do I do or not do because I'm a good person? And maybe an answer is, I don't argue with the police when I get a ticket because I respect authority. Or, When someone puts me down, I bite my tongue because I'm patient and I want to turn the other cheek, so to speak, or be the bigger man. Now, maybe you do these things because you are good. Maybe you could tear that cop or bully a new one if you really wanted to. But then again, maybe it's actually just fear holding you back, not your virtue, and you're just justifying your cowardice with false morality, something that would fall under the category of Nietzsche's slave morality. Either way, it's a question worth asking. Alright, here's two more bits of insight into the shadow from Carl Jung before we get to my favorite Peterson clip about the shadow. He said, Taking it in its deepest sense, the shadow is the invisible sorian tale.

that man still drags behind him carefully amputated. It becomes the healing serpent of the mysteries. Only monkeys parade with it, and we carry our past with us to wit the primitive and inferior man with his desires and emotions. And it is only with an enormous effort that we can detach ourselves from this burden. If it comes to a neurosis, we invariably have to deal with a considerably intensified shadow. And if such a person wants to be cured, it is necessary to find a way in which his conscious personality and his shadow can live together. Now, here's that last clip. I promise. Let's start with the first point. The centrality of the archetypical hero's myth. What is the archetypical hero's myth? What makes it archetypical? And what is a hero? Could you elaborate on this? Well, imagine that you have a problem. And then imagine that you want a solution. And imagine that there is a particular solution to that particular problem. But then imagine that you have what you might describe as a bigger problem.

and that's not the problem. It's the fact that you have problems, because that's the real problem. The real problem is the fact that you have problems. And then you might say, Well, you don't want a solution to our problem. You want a solution to the fact that you have problems. And so it's a leap of abstraction, right? So then you might say, Well, is there a way of conceptualizing the set of all problems that's universal? And I think there is. I mean, that's what religious stories try to do. And they do it using dramatic means because the problem is so complex. So that's the meta problem. It's so complex that we don't really know how to formulate it. But that's what we're struggling towards. So it's like, well, what's the problem of life? Something like that. Well, you could say that the problem of life, and I outlined this quite carefully in 12 Rules for Life, the problem of life is this: we're finite and mortal. That's problem number one.

so the first problem is that life is essentially tragic. It's little lost against infinity, yeah, and we lose. And not only do we lose, but we lose in a manner that produces a substantial amount of suffering, and sometimes an unbearable amount. So it's a big problem. So that's problem number one. Problem number two is that that's not the worst problem. The worst problem is that that's true, plus malevolence exists in the world. Evil exists in the world and makes that first problem even worse than it would have to be. And that's universally true for everyone all the time. That's archetypal. So when you formulate a situation archetypally, you speak about it in a manner that's eternally true. So there's lots of ways that you and I differ, but there's many ways that we're the same. And so that would be what constitutes our essential humanity, let's say, and what constitutes what makes us the same is that like you, I'm mortal and my life is finite.

my existence is characterized by suffering, and I have to contend with the fact of malevolence in the world. And it's, it's, it's the terribly destructive character, character of the natural world. It's the tyrannical element of the social world, and it's the adversarial element of myself and every other individual. So that's, that's the malevolent element, and so we're stuck with that, okay, fine, that's the archetypal formulation of the problem. You could say that's the mythic landscape, right? And it's something like good and evil in a world of chaos and order. I see this online and in the memes and kind of in the meme culture around you. I think what, what's happening essentially is that the hero's myth resonates so strongly with young men. It's kind of, it's, it's kind of happening too. It's a basic narrative. You descend into the underworld, you, you go where you at least want to look, yeah, because you rescue your father, yeah, yeah, because in

filth. It will be found right exactly and that which you most need is to be found where you least want to look. Yeah, it's the King Arthur, that's right. It's that's right. It's a theme of the Holy Grail, that's exactly right. Well, so there's a there's a little story that goes along with that. So King Arthur and his knights are all sitting around the round table, which implies that they're of equal stature, essentially. And they go off to look for the Holy Grail, which is the container of that which redeems. It's something like that, but of course who the hell knows where to look for the Holy Grail. So each of the knights decides to enter the forest at the point that looks darkest to him, right. And that's that's a hell of a story because first of all it shows that courage is the first requirement, right, because you look for what's darkest and you go in there. That's that's part of, you know, Jung developed that idea quite.

substantially with regards to his notion of the shadow, and it's also, I think it's also what makes this believable for people because, you know, the alternative is something like, well, you know, look for happiness, and everyone thinks, well, I'd rather be happy than miserable, and like, fair enough, you know, but there's nothing about that that has any nobility, and it's not believable, no one believes that because everyone knows that life is bounded by tragedy, and that malevolence abounds, everyone knows that. So, and you say, you know, so there's that terrible, there's that terrible dark dyad of tragedy and evil, and you wave the little flag of happiness in front of it, it's like, you know, no one believes that that will work, but then when you tell people, look, um, you're dark, you're a monster, you really are, and but that's actually useful because you cannot survive the world without being a monster, people think, oh well, that's interesting, I kind of suspected that I was a monster, and everyone's always said

that was bad. It is bad, obviously. But there's something that can be done about it, and that's something that we can be transmuted into something good without being inhibited. So you're saying to be good, I don't have to be a neutered tomcat to be good. I can be a monster, but I can be like a civilized monster. It's like, yeah, that's what you should aim at. You should be unbelievably dangerous. The more dangerous you are, the better. And then you should control that, because that's your doctrine on what constitutes morality, right? It's contained capacity from a level for mayhem for man. Absolutely, absolutely. It's well, and I learned this partly from Jung, but also partly from Nietzsche. And of course, Jung learned it partly from Nietzsche, because Nietzsche pointed out that most of what passes for morality is just obedient cowardice. So I'm an obedient coward. Well, no one wants to think that, so they say, well, no, I'm not an obedient coward. I'm, um, I'm um

oh, I'm a good person because I don't break any rules. It's like, No, you're not. You're an obedient coward, and you're too afraid to break the rules. That doesn't make you good. It also accounts for why the dark hero, you know, the anti-hero, is so popular in cinematic representations, in particular, because people go and watch the mafia hitmen and guys like that, and there's a dark part of them that thinks, Wow, you know, those guys are really cool. You know, like movies like Quentin Tarantino's movies, you know, where the hitmen are wisecracking, and you know, they're tough, and they can handle everything, and you think, Well, these guys are psychopathic criminals. Why are people looking up to them? It's because, well, you're not moral if you're just harmless, and the question is, well, what's the antidote to being harmless? And that's the antidote to that is to open up that doorway into the shadow, and then you could become that, right? There's that gleeful

predatory victory. That's part of that, you know, that would be associated with, let's say, the attitude that I could have had to what happened with Channel Four. It's like, I won, look out, right? But no, that's not right because it's not good enough. It's better than losing by a lot because there's nothing in a loss that's admirable, but it's not the highest form of victory. And there's no reason not to go for the highest form of victory, and that's peace. Yeah, right? It's not predatory victory, it's peace because anyone with any sense who has any wisdom regards peace as the goal. And that isn't the peace that means that I'm so afraid of you that I'm not going to say anything. It's the peace that is, like, it's the peace of armed opponents who respect one another, right? That's real peace.

Guide To Integrating With Your Shadow - NEW Jordan Peterson Insights & Old + Carl Jung

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Understanding and Integrating the Shadow: A Guide

Jordan Peterson explains the concept of the shadow and its integration into the personality.

The persona, or the facade we present to others, can lead to resentment and the suppression of our aggressive tendencies, which are part of the shadow.

Resentment can indicate immaturity or a need to assert oneself, and integrating the aggressive side of the shadow is crucial for setting boundaries and gaining respect.

Embracing the Shadow: A Different Perspective on Morality

Jordan Peterson and Carl Jung both emphasize the importance of integrating the dark side of one's personality for moral development.

They argue that being aware of and controlling one's capacity for evil is crucial for true goodness.

Embracing the "monster" within, and acknowledging the shadow, is seen as a necessary step towards becoming a morally conscious individual.

The Human Experience and Embracing the Shadow

The human experience is described as a struggle between good and evil, as well as the integration of the "shadow" side.

Jordan Peterson's popularity is attributed to his tough and truthful approach to exploring the human psyche.

He emphasizes the importance of embracing one's capacity for aggression and anger in a productive and creative manner.

Peterson and Robert Greene both advocate for integrating the repressed qualities of the "shadow" for personal development and growth.

The Tough Upbringing and Integrated Shadow of a Social Worker

A man from northern Alberta grew up in poverty and worked tough jobs before becoming a social worker for delinquents.

His integrated shadow and tough persona allowed him to see through the tricks of the delinquents and help them effectively.

Integrating the shadow, acknowledging its existence, and embracing it is crucial for personal development, as it allows the integration of aggressive impulses into a more sophisticated and constructive behavior.

Harnessing the Power of Anger for Creativity and Discipline

Feelings of strong moral outrage and anger can provide the necessary energy and motivation for creative and disciplined work.

Denying or repressing this "shadow side" of anger can have negative consequences, but acknowledging and harnessing it can lead to productive and positive outcomes.

By recognizing resentment and its connection to feeling victimized, individuals can confront and channel their anger towards meaningful and constructive actions.

Confronting Resentment and the Shadow Self

Confronting resentment and inner anger is crucial in dealing with the shadow self, according to Carl Jung.

The concept of "slave morality," fear, and false morality can hold people back from confronting their shadow.

Carl Jung also emphasized the need to integrate the conscious personality with the shadow for healing and growth.

The fundamental problem of life is the combination of being finite and mortal, which leads to suffering.

Adding to this, the existence of malevolence in the world exacerbates this already tragic condition.

This archetypal formulation of the problem is a mythic landscape that resonates with people as it represents the struggle between good and evil in a chaotic world.

Embracing the Dark Side: The Belief in the Nobility of Embracing One's Inner Monster

The idea of pursuing happiness is not as believable as embracing the dark side, which is seen as necessary for survival in a world filled with tragedy and malevolence.

The concept of being a "civilized monster," embracing danger, and controlling it is presented as the true morality.

This belief in embracing the shadow and finding peace through embracing the dark side is seen as the highest form of victory.