the ancient Greeks produced a golden age of achievement in almost every domain of life. They are remembered as exceptional and sophisticated, but we forget there are also crazy barbarians. You see, the Greeks, like most of our Pagan ancestors, walked around in perpetual religious rapture that was primal and wild beyond our imaginations. For instance, the god Ares would possess heroes in war, inspiring superhuman performances. Lovers were raptured by Aphrodite and lust, and love dianis led initiates to the brink of madness and divinity. The Muse Sayang through poets. Socrates was animated by a Damon, and the Oracle of Delphi was the mouthpiece of Apollo. Genius was not something a man was, it was something that possessed man, and the whole Greek civilization was constantly possessed by different gods in tragic and ecstatic celebrations. This was ancient paganism: an inspired and intimate relationship with deities, and honestly, it might be healthier for man's psyche than anything that came afterwards. We think of paganism today as

some primitive explanation for the forces of nature, but I'd argue it was a more advanced understanding of the forces within man. The key point here is that to the Greek, the forces within man were held as divine rather than sinful. There was none of the mod repression and cognitive dissonance. Even for the philosophers, there was a lived experience of myth. Physicality and religion were meshed into one. Each instinct, each inspiration, was a god moving through their bodies. And Hades, they sure were free and vital because of it. It was only with the advent of Platonism and then Christianity that the natural man became evil, the demon became a demon, and man was taught to hate himself. The glory of Earth was replaced with the glory of Heaven. This denial of nature and repression of biological instincts has created a great disease within mankind. Friedrich Nietzsche shouted about this disease of life denial from the rooftops, while Carl Jung, following in his footsteps, colored in the problem with more detail. Now I'm

not here to rip on Christianity. In fact, my name is Christian, and although I follow a more esoteric version of Christ, I still love a lot of that religion. I'm only here to remind you of what was lost from the ancient world and what still lives in your Shadow, and that is paganism. Carl Jung was a prolific psychologist of the 20th century. His whole aim was to help create psychological wholeness in individuals, and this was done by integrating what he called The Shadow. The shadow is the unconscious part of the self. It is created when instincts and drives are repressed, when parts of our natures are denied, and our talents remain untapped. This mass of unrealized potential and energy, when unintegrated, rules our lives from the darkness. And the interesting thing about this Shadow is that most of us aren't even aware of it. And the forces that lurk within it is the product of lifelong repression and denial. For instance, maybe your primal wildness was frowned upon by your parents, so you

suppressed it perhaps your ambition and and competitiveness was deemed bad by those it threatened your creativity sexual vitality and raw expression were never encouraged people spent years indoctrinating you to act certain ways you have abandoned parts of yourself that didn't feel accepted and most of all you have spent your whole life ruled by hidden fears and inhibitions that keep you small this is why you feel stifled conflicted and maybe at War within the unaccepted parts of you do not just disappear they Retreat to the unconscious mind and dictate Your Existence quote until you make the unconscious conscious it will dictate your life and you will call it fate Carl Young becoming more conscious and integrating the shadow is the only path to wholeness and flourishing but it should be noted doing Shadow work can be dangerous it unleashes the Deep Powers within the psyche and biolog ology and this can destroy individuals and communities just as much as it liberates that is why most religions and societies have imposed such rigid moral laws man

couldn't be trusted to commune with the gods anymore. But as the prophet n proclaimed, it is time to move Beyond Good and Evil. This does not mean to go out and kill people and become a deranged hedonist, or even to renounce Christianity. It means going Beyond Broken Social inventions, facing the dark parts of your psyche, and creating the most vital expression of you possible. This is difficult but necessary to do; otherwise, it will be absolutely catastrophic in the end. Because as of now, the shadow is winning. Just call to mind the image of millions of young men eating frozen meals in dark rooms, jerking off to porn, and playing Call of Duty video games all night. I've been there myself. Our biological instincts are denied by society and woefully unrefined. Most men are stunted, repressed, and disillusioned with life. They live in fantasy worlds because they have no Outlets. We feed them Aderall and anti-depressants to make them fit into our broken ways. Addiction, loneliness, suicide, depression, anxiety, and obesity.

are rising to epidemic levels, increasing every year, and this is not just a problem for boys. So many of our people in the west are walking shadows, living unrealized lives of comfort and conformity. Yeah, we have less violence, but people are now at war inside themselves. Each individual pays a hefty cost to appear civilized. So I asked the question, how can we return to our natures and integrate the shadow that modern society creates? Quote, destroying the passions and cravings merely as a preventative measure against their stupidity today, this itself strikes us as merely another acute form of stupidity. We no longer admire dentists who pluck out teeth so that they will not hurt anymore. And that brings us to part three, integrating the shadow. Shadow work is about being honest with yourself and creating healthy space for your instincts to breathe. But honesty takes power. The more personal power and strength you accumulate, the more honest and free you can be. I realized that quite starkly last week when a couple of beautiful

women were grinding all over me at a concert. There's a part of my psyche that wants to be lost in the ravishment of lust and love. It's funny, my parents might be watching this, but it's true. We all have it. The ancient Greeks personified this force as Aphrodite or Eros, and she was full of divine energy and danger. This shadowy power gripped me, but it didn't feel dirty like masturbating in a dark room. It felt vitalizing and embodied, so I let it loose. I danced with otherworldly energy, and it felt psychedelic. There were voices in my head the whole time that said, Don't grab her that way, What will other people think, You are too much, etc. Those are the voices of social conditioning, and I was like [ __ ] that. I'm free, and I choose to let Aphrodite sing, and the girls loved it. I felt more alive than ever, and then I left and I found new women to dance with. I don't highlight this to brag, but to recognize.

there are latent forces in our psyche as powerful as Gods. those shadowy forces can only be integrated when we build enough power to meet them. only with power can we be honest and free. guess what for many years there I envied the guys that danced with hot girls and threw them all around. I resented women for not choosing me. I told myself I don't want that and that lust is wrong. basically I made excuses and blamed others. all of those feelings of resentment desire and jealousy were signs that I needed to do Shadow work AKA I needed to become more powerful honest and free. so I did. I learned to dance. I developed courage and confidence in many areas of my life. I sat with the darkness of heartbreak and loss and suffering. I shed my skin over and over again and grew into a more mature man. and guess what people sense this integration. the only reason girls dance with me is because they feel my freedom. they trust me and I trust myself. and perhaps Aphrodite trusted me as well.

because she deigned to reveal herself for just a moment, and that moment of ecstatic expansion was unlike anything I've ever experienced. There's a reason that deities in the old tales only reveal themselves to heroes. Heroes are the ones who do the work, who can hold the energy, and that's what shadow work is about - doing the work so you can build the power to meet yourself. Let me repeat that: shadow work is about building the power so you can meet yourself. It is only increases in power that allow you to express the true potential hidden inside. This is what almost every psychologist and YouTuber is missing. Yes, shadow work does involve self-awareness, hugely awareness of the denied parts and repressed aspects of your psyche, but sitting in therapy talking about your demons is not shadow work. Mastering your demons into a powerful expression of authenticity is the end goal of integrating. Your shadow is not conceptual or he at all, it is simply to realize what your biology and nature are trying to produce, namely the most unique

and powerful expression of you possible to do. Shadow work is to participate in that part. Four Reviving masculinity. We were once wild barbarians confronting the dangers of nature hunting and War on a daily basis. Death and loss and pain were a constant reality that we had to face. Leaders rose to power based off their strength of arms and force of personality. For almost all of human history, men were warriors first and foremost. It is what developed their masculinity. Today, society tells us those traits are bad and not important anymore. Because of this, masculine qualities have been stunted and retreated to the shadow. This is why most men lack a backbone. They lack a masculine edge. They are nice guys, and that's okay because being nice is has trained into them since birth. But they are no longer dangerous, vigorous, or formidable. They're out of touch with their biological nature and are unconsciously punished for it by women and the whole world. Again, my argument is Shadow work is not done in your head, especially masculine Shadow work. It is

done through becoming more powerful in life. It looks like letting loose in the wild, taking exciting risks, starting MMA classes, becoming strong, being more assertive and bold in how you interact, feeling those impulses towards aggression and glory, and channeling them into greater character strength and action. It's time to stop smothering yourself in sadness and pleasures and weak feelings, and go conquer life. Do hard [__] with other guys, challenge each other, compete, fight, and hell, maybe even cry together, and then celebrate like raving barbarians all night around the fire. That is what our ancestors have done forever up until us. Most modern men live in the shadows of repression because they are completely at odds with their natural biology, manhood, and Brotherhood circles, and this is the message most therapists completely [__] miss. Please send this to them. And if you want an experience like the one I just described, there's a link below to join my next men's Retreat. It's going to be a wild initiation. Part five five.

self-awareness. Most people start the discussion of Shadow work here, but I think this is faulty. True self-awareness is best earned when you are in alignment with your biology and your natural instincts. Or else, how could you really be honest with yourself? If you're a shell of a human, how can you make accurate assumptions? You must have real experiences of being alive, or else all your self-analysis is in vain. This is why power and powerful experiences come first in Shadow work. But now let's discuss some of the caveats and other guidelines for integration. First off, the quest for power does not look like becoming a macho man. It looks more like becoming a Savage gentleman who's in touch with his heart. And that's because it takes great gentleness and compassion to excavate the depths of who you are. And it's going to be painful. The painful experiences are what open you up, and they're highly valuable because of it. Courage comes in many forms, as I talk about in my book. Often, the most

courageous thing for men to do is let go when everything goes to [ __ ] to face yourself in your own darkness when your heart is breaking, and then rise heroically into life. That is what deepens your character and liberates repressed emotions. Your Shadow is full of repressed emotions, insecurities, dragons, and tender parts that will never become whole if you condemn them. As Carl Young said, condemnation is the opposite of understanding and leads to fractures in the psyche rather than wholeness. Loving awareness coupled with power is the great guide to truth. I know many men that appear manly on the outside, perhaps they're disciplined and goal-oriented or whatever, but they lack depth of heart and character. They think they are integrated, but they haven't even started. Two pieces of advice for those on this path: take the hard and scary actions that build power, and then refine yourself with others. Shadow work cannot be completed alone; you'll just become a dark mess or red-pilled egomaniac. Comrades and Brotherhood.

circles are essential to refine you and provide feedback, and also a large amount of my own shadow work happened in a committed relationship with a great woman. The eye can't see itself, as a saying goes. It's why we need brothers, and we need relationships beyond all those caveats I just mentioned. The main thing again is to just start being bold, being dangerous, and action-oriented. This is hard and uncomfortable, but it develops your character and masculine edge. This is so damn important. It's so important because you can only be honest with yourself when you have personal power and integrity. Also, women are attracted to you based off your edge of masculinity, and other men respect you for it. Is he a savage gentleman, an embodied badass? That is what everyone looks for unconsciously in a man, and it's what your shadow holds for you. The more I integrate the masculine traits, the more doors open to me, the more skills I acquire, and the more confident, relaxed, and free I become. Nature rewards developed masculinity, as does everyone's subconscious mind.

yet this is one of the most missing and repressed things in our society. If you want to become confident, be courageous. If you want to be free, be courageous. If you want to become more powerful and whole, start being courageous. Fear and inhibitions block people their whole lives. They create the boundaries around your Shadow. Most die without ever realizing the depths of potential hidden inside. Don't be one of them. Live your heroic Saga like the ancient Greek do. The shadow work of power and awareness and reveal the Glorious self hidden within the Divine Madness. Go slay your dragons, dance with gods, and become a totally liberated human being. That is Shadow work in the deepest sense. Hey, wisdom Warriors. So there's a lot of philosophy out there on the internet, but if you're ready to integrate these ideas and come into ecstatic embodiment, I invite you to our first men's retreat in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. There's a link in the description to apply and learn more. If you're not interested in having one of the best experiences of your life.

then you can just click here for a decent one and watch one of my favorite videos on and ancient Greece. I'll see you over there. Peace.

Why shadow work is about POWER - Carl Jung and Ancient Greek Paganism

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