It seems like in current society we are excessively
concerned with our self-image. But, even though we might think we’ve figured
ourselves out, is this really the case? Or are we just showing the world - and ourselves
- a mere reflection who we truly are? Could it be that we are repressing certain
parts of ourselves and that below the surface there hides a monster that might awaken someday? First of all, thank you Joe for you PayPal
donation. And thank you Edward, Sai Sai, and Alexander
for supporting me on Patreon. I appreciate very it much and it helps me
to continue this project. Now, let’s dive in. No matter where we go: we constantly define
and redefine who we really are, and at the same time we judge other people’s behaviors. In society we are expected to behave in certain
ways that are socially acceptable. How many codes of conduct and systems of
ethics do we have as a society, in workplaces

at home, in nightlife, in a restaurant, at
dinner parties, et cetera? The consequence is that we wear a number of
masks. These are sets of behaviors as well as beliefs
about ourselves and how we relate to the world. Such a mask is called the persona; which is
where the word ‘person’ comes from. A problem with the persona is that many people
present themselves in certain ways, while keeping many undesirable traits hidden in
the dark places of their minds. This happens consciously as well as unconsciously. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung called these
dark places the shadow. What’s so tragic about the shadow is that
many people don’t really know that they have it. Especially those with a very strong attachment
to their persona, who believe that they are their persona and that there possibly cannot
be something else about them lurking in the dark. Yes, they might experience some thoughts and
desires that are quite inconvenient, so they

quickly repress them. But they more they do, the larger and uglier
the shadow becomes. I quote Jung: Unfortunately, there can 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. End quote. An example of this are the abuse scandals
within religious or spiritual communities. Certain positions, like those of a priest,
monk, holy man, and so on, often require behavior that is contra-natural to their own, along
with the social expectation that they behave in certain ways that are, you know, ‘holy’. Many walk this path successfully, but there
are some who haven’t been able to integrate their undesirable traits. After a while, these bubbles of repressed desires
start to burst, and the shadow that they’ve repressed for years or even decades comes
to the surface.

And not in a friendly way. People with dense shadows are often extremely
judgemental. They repress their flaws, and are often quick
to judge others for exactly those flaws. In reality, they see in others what they try
to hide themselves. By projecting our own darkness onto others,
we at least don’t have to look into the abyss of our own minds. But the mere agitation of seeing our own dark
sides in other people is a sign that we might have work to do. Even though we ought to behave as decent citizens,
that smile at the neighbours, go to work, abide by societal rules; somewhere deep inside,
there lurks an immense capacity for evil. World War II is a great example of how innocent,
regular people can turn into bloodthirsty killers. Because of a series of unfortunate events,
a monster arose from the German collective unconsciousness and mustered its forces. Its malice awakened other shadows all over
the world that has led to one of the largest

massacres in the history of mankind. As Jung stated: The change of character brought about by
the uprush of collective forces is amazing. A gentle and reasonable being can be transformed
into a maniac or a savage beast. One is always inclined to lay the blame on
external circumstances, but nothing could explode in us if it had not been there. End quote. We still have trouble comprehending this today;
probably because we have difficulties accepting our dark side, and rather see the horrific
crimes committed as an evil that isn’t human. In some religions, they blame outside forces
like spirits or the devil. But if the war breaks out tomorrow: are you
certain that you won’t become a monster? War is an extreme example, I know. So, let’s get a bit closer to home. If you think of yourself as a good, or even
great person, maybe even some sort of a sage; a person that can teach others how to live,
who radiates goodness, who’s always there

for their loved ones, gives money away to
charities, is celebrated by his or her environment for being such a wonderful person: have you
ever entertained the possibility that below the surface you might actually be an enormous
jerk? That behind the mask, there’s an ugliness
that you’ve been hiding for so long, and you’re not even aware of it? Or perhaps you are, but you refuse to see
it? Could that be the reason that it seems to
take so much effort to be that fantastic person - day in and day out - and the more you try,
the more internal conflict you seem to feel? Could it be that the priest is actually a
control freak? That the billionaire philanthropist is only
doing it for the fame? And that your favorite spiritual guru is only
in it for the money? Whatever we pursue, and the reasons we tell
people why we pursue what we pursue, we most likely have hidden intentions that we don’t
want to look at, and if they come to the surface

we’ll immediately push them back down. The Germans call these intentions ‘hintergedanken’. Philosopher Alan Watts spoke about this often. I quote: A hintergedanken is a thought way, way, way in the back of your mind. Something that you know deep down but can’t admit. End quote. The thing is that by being aware of our hintergedanken, we see that there’s something inside us that we do not show to the world, but heavily influences our actions. Also, by looking close at certain strong judgements about other people, we might identify the exact things we keep hidden in the shadow. Carl Jung believed that if we become aware of our shadow, and find a way to integrate it in our personality, we’re less likely to lose control over it. Carl Jung calls this process ‘individuation’, which is the reconciliation of all aspects of our personality, including the darker ones, so we become who we truly are.

Thus, to mitigate our dark side, we shouldn’t
repress it. What we should do is making the unconscious
conscious. The shadow doesn’t always contain negative
things. During the years, you may have repressed certain
aspects of yourself like creativity or sexual interests that society sees as taboo; things
that can be addressed only if we acknowledge them. When we’re brave enough to shed light onto
the darkness and look beyond the persona that we present to the world everyday, we
can begin to work with the shadow and even benefit from its power and see the beauty
in our imperfections. As psychologist Marion Woodman said, night
is as precious as is day. Thank you for watching.

The Shadow | Why We’re More Evil Than We Think

The Shadow | Why We’re More Evil Than We Think

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