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Shadow (psychology)
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Shadow (psychology)
In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the
unconscious mind which is mysterious and often disagreeable to the conscious
mind, but which is also relatively close to the conscious mind. It may be
(in part) one's link to animal life, which is superseded during early
childhood by the conscious mind; afterwards it comes to contain thoughts
that are repressed by the conscious mind. According to Jung, the shadow is
instinctive and irrational, but is not necessarily evil even when it might
appear to be so. It can be both ruthless in conflict and empathetic in
friendship. It is important as a source of hunches, for understanding of
one's own more inexplicable actions and attitudes (and of others'
reactions), and for learning how to accept and integrate the more
problematic or troubling aspects of one's personality. (For example, see The
Emperor's New Clothes.)
Appearance
The shadow may appear in dreams and visions in various forms, often as a
feared or despised person or being, and may act either as an adversary or as
a servant. It typically has the same apparent gender as one's persona. It is
possible that it might appear with dark features to a person of any race,
since it represents a distant and indiscriminate aspect of the mind. The
shadow's appearance and role depend greatly on the living experience of the
individual, because the shadow develops in the individual's mind rather than
simply being inherited in the collective unconscious.
Interactions with the shadow in dreams may shed light on one's state of
mind. A conversation with the shadow may indicate that one is concerned with
conflicting desires or intentions. Identification with a despised figure may
mean that one has an unacknowledged difference from the character; a
difference which could point to a rejection of the illuminating qualities of
ego-consciousness. These examples refer to just two of many possible roles
that the shadow may adopt, and are not general guides to interpretation.
Also, it can be difficult to identify characters in dreams, so that a
character who seems at first to be a shadow might represent some other
complex instead.
Jung also made the suggestion of there being more than one layer making up
the shadow. The top layers contain the meaningful flow and manifestations of
direct personal experiences. These are made unconscious in the individual by
such things as; the change of attention from one thing to another, simple
forgetfulness, or a repression. Underneath these idiosyncratic layers,
however, are the archetypes which form the psychic contents of all human
experiences. Jung described this deeper layer as "a psychic activity which
goes on independently of the conscious mind and is not dependent even on the
upper layers of the unconscious - untouched, and perhaps untouchable - by
personal experience" (Campbell, 1971). This bottom layer of the shadow is
also what Jung referred to as the collective unconscious.
According to Jung, the shadow sometimes overwhelms a person's actions, for
example, when the conscious mind is shocked, confused, or paralyzed by
indecision.
Shadow work
Working with the Jungian shadow to engender individuation has come to be
known as shadow-work.
Further reading
* Abrams, Jeremiah, and Connie Zweig. Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power
of the Dark Side of Human Nature. Tarcher?Penguin, 1990.
* Abrams, Jeremiah. The Shadow in America. Nataraj. 1995
* Campbell, Joseph, ed. The Portable Jung, Translated by R.F.C. Hull, New
York: Penguin Books, 1971.
* Johnson, Robert A., Owning Your Own Shadow : Understanding the Dark Side
of the Psyche, 128 pages, Harper San Francisco, 1993, ISBN 0-06-250754-0
* Johnson, Robert A., Inner Work : Using Dreams and Creative Imagination for
Personal Growth and Integration, 241 pages, Harper San Francisco, 1989, ISBN
0-06-250431-2
* Neumann, Erich. Depth Psychology and a New Ethic Shambhala; Reprint
edition (1990). ISBN 0-87773-571-9.
* Vandebrake, Mark. "Children of the Mist: Dwarfs in German Mythology, Fairy
Tales, and Folk Legends" 135 pages. A work that interprets dwarf depictions
throughout German history as shadow symbols.
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