The Shadow Self

I read an interesting article on integrating the shadow self.

A key idea is that certain parts of ourselves are buried in our subconscious. They are not part of our self-image. We reject them because we don’t like them or to own them costs us too much. So we put them in an invisible bag and drag them around with us our whole life.

Integrate the Shadow Self

If you want to be healthy, you need to learn what the traits are of your shadow self. You integrate them, but finding them and accepting them as part of you - accept without judgment.1

Suppose that you find that you are jealous. The article recommends that you imagine what a jealous person would speak like in a situation. Then you actually imagine yourself speaking that way in that situation.

Finding the Shadow Self

A great way to identify these hidden traits is to notice what angers or irritates you in others. What creates an emotional reaction can be an indicator that there is some part of you wanting to get out.

Virtue Needs Light

In pursuing virtue, we are not building a mask or a facade. We want to understand the hidden parts of personality. Looking at what causes an emotional reaction2 is a great way at getting to that shadow self. Accepting that this is the way you are is critical. Bring the trait to the conscious level. Own it. It’s OK that this is where you are at in your spiritual journey.

What Do We Do About It?

Once we see and accept, what’s next? Do we…

  1. Integrate it by giving a voice to this part of our personality?
  2. Detach ourselves?
  3. Ask forgiveness and pray for change?
  4. Strengthen the opposite?

Integration or Transformation

I think seeing the jealous spirit in us and accepting that it is there is healthy. I don’t think imagining how we would act if we were freely jealous is the right approach. Our goal is not to learn to give it a voice. Our goal is to see it and then learn to give tools for the opposing good spirit within us to take over. Let’s imagine what a generous spirit would say in that situation that normally stirs jealousy. With reps, we give strength to that spirit.

Welcome to the Battle Field

Jungian psychology imagines sub-personalities, some of these traits may represent a unconscious sub-personality that can take over at times. In fact, the article even references situations where they are called ghosts or spirits within us.

We are in a war with vice-driven spirits. They are real. They are in us. But they are to be identified (because they are hidden) and then we are to strengthen their weak opposite through prayer, fasting and the daily pursuit of virtue.

  1. asf ↩︎

  2. I remember a pastor once claimed from the pulpit - “Find what makes you angry at church, that’s your calling.” I think that’s a terrible approach. That’s better used to point to problems within you, and you shouldn’t be trying to work in that area while you are angry about it. If you want to understand calling - I like what the executive pastor at the church told me years later. “I can’t stop thinking about this. My conscience obliges me to pursue it!” ↩︎