sserafim
they say it's darkest of all before the dawn
- Sep 13, 2023
- 9,012
According to Jung, we all have a shadow. How do you figure out your shadow self?
-
⚠️ UK Access Block Notice: Beginning July 1, 2025, this site will no longer be accessible from the United Kingdom. This is a voluntary decision made by the site's administrators. We were not forced or ordered to implement this block. If you're located in the UK, we recommend using a VPN to maintain access.
sserafim
they say it's darkest of all before the dawn
- Sep 13, 2023
- 9,012
Pluto
Cat Extremist
- Dec 27, 2020
- 5,251
I can only answer in the specific context of spiritual awakening.
Even people with relatively sheltered lives accumulate huge amounts of emotional baggage which is not properly processed since we are encouraged to repress it. There is a skill to dealing with emotion - basically, feeling it fully without distraction or opposition until it eventually passes naturally - which most adults do not know, let alone teach children. It starts with labelling certain emotions as undesirable, thus discouraging their expression.
During the awakening process, everything that has been repressed starts to come up in a raw form. The same skill applies; it has to be felt, though it's far from an easy process. There can be vast quantities of shame, sorrow, rage... all sorts of 'shadow material'. It's a far cry from any sale pitch about a spiritual path instantly rendering the past as nonexistent and enabling endless 'positive' feelings like peace, though there is certainly an enormous pay-off in going through this process.
As for how, there is no need to chase after shadow material as it will come to you. All that is needed is to stop trying to run from it through distraction or other forms of repression so it can be processed. There is a middle ground where we are not indulging in our victimhood stories, nor are we running away from what is coming up. The raw emotion needs to be felt fully and authentically, no matter how unpleasant it may seem.
Suzanne Chang and Angelo Dilullo are among those who regularly cover this topic.
Even people with relatively sheltered lives accumulate huge amounts of emotional baggage which is not properly processed since we are encouraged to repress it. There is a skill to dealing with emotion - basically, feeling it fully without distraction or opposition until it eventually passes naturally - which most adults do not know, let alone teach children. It starts with labelling certain emotions as undesirable, thus discouraging their expression.
During the awakening process, everything that has been repressed starts to come up in a raw form. The same skill applies; it has to be felt, though it's far from an easy process. There can be vast quantities of shame, sorrow, rage... all sorts of 'shadow material'. It's a far cry from any sale pitch about a spiritual path instantly rendering the past as nonexistent and enabling endless 'positive' feelings like peace, though there is certainly an enormous pay-off in going through this process.
As for how, there is no need to chase after shadow material as it will come to you. All that is needed is to stop trying to run from it through distraction or other forms of repression so it can be processed. There is a middle ground where we are not indulging in our victimhood stories, nor are we running away from what is coming up. The raw emotion needs to be felt fully and authentically, no matter how unpleasant it may seem.
Suzanne Chang and Angelo Dilullo are among those who regularly cover this topic.
Similar threads
Venting
My final few days.
- AnonIsTired
- Suicide Discussion
Suicide Discussion
tanshakti