From a young age, I was always fascinated by the work and writings of Carl Jung. One of the main aspects of his work and understanding of personality was not run away from or suppress any “negativity” we find within ourselves but rather bring it to light so that it can be integrated and healed.
He was a believer in working with what he called the “Shadow” aspect of our self. And the bringing to light of this aspect was a necessary part of the individuation process so that we can evolve into the “Self” – or the ideal self.So, many people don’t want to look at the Shadow aspect. They avoid and run away from the darkness. Most people don’t bring their conscious awareness to their unconscious mind, and their lives grow as a reflection of this. They want everything to be sunshine, rainbows, unicorns, and puppies – but that is not the path of the spiritual journey and personal development. We have been told to “Resist not evil.”
The conscious mind is only a small part of the whole. Much bigger is the unconscious mind which controls and regulates the body, keeps the heart beating and does all the jobs to keep you healthy and well. The unconscious mind can be likened to a vast warehouse of old memories, beliefs, attitudes and experiences which contain every aspect of your life. Childhood memories and trauma are stored there too.
And so, most people’s lives run on autopilot by the very virtue of the many beliefs and attitudes which they picked up as young children. We then live accordingly to habitual patterns which have been created.
So, we need to look into ourselves and in a way reprogram ourselves by shining a light in the darkness to see what’s really there suppressed or buried within us.
