Shadow Work : Mining the Inner Gold of the Unconscious Self
“Any repair of our fractured world must start with individuals who have the insight and courage to own their own Shadow. Nothing ‘out there’ will help if the interior projecting mechanism of humankind is operating strongly. The tendency to see one’s Shadow “out there” in one’s neighbor or in another race or culture is the most dangerous aspect of the modern psyche…It is not the monsters of the world who make such chaos but the collective Shadow to which every one of us has contributed.”
-Robert Johnson, Jungian Analyst
The Shadow is that part of ourselves that we hide away so nobody else can see. Sometimes we’re so good at it that we even forget it exists, in which case it is called psychological repression (Freud) or splitting (Jung). Although we all have different parts of the Self that may even be at odds with each other sometimes, in severe forms alter personalities can form splinter psyches that have amnesiac barriers between them, such as in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (previously called Multiple Personality Disorder).
The personal Shadow forms as societal or parental pressures make some parts of ourselves off-limits, bad, ill-mannered, unreasonable. Over time, these disowned, dismembered, and disassociated parts can become powerful unconscious motivators.
Treatment emphasis from a Depth and Jungian Psychological Perspective involves engaging with all parts of the Self as nonpathological. Often, the various parts formed for protection of the divine innocent Soul of the child in overwhelming circumstances. The “splitting off” of terrifying events into the unconscious allowed the child to function at the time, with the repressed contents hidden away in the Shadow for later reprocessing if circumstances change.
Opening up dialogue with the different parts of Self is facilitated by attentiveness to body sensations, mindful awareness techniques, and Active Imagination. We do not want to eliminate the parts: they are there for a powerful reason! As we learn about our different parts we develop humility and love towards ourselves for what we went through, embracing the resourcefulness and strength these previously disowned parts still hold. Once integrated into consciousness, we have access to these same resources and strengths for life energy, or in Jungian terms, we repair the creative libidinal flow. This process is what is meant by the “hidden gold” within the unconscious!
