Shadow Work for Dummies IV
The lyrics of the popular 1927 song, “Me and My Shadow” tell the story of a lonely guy. As night is falling, he walks down the avenue, watching lovers pass by. He is alone, with only his shadow to tell his troubles to.
The song must strike a chord with people because it has remained one of the most popular of songs in the American Songbook for nearly one hundred years. It has been recorded by nearly every popular artist, dozens and dozens of times and has been featured in countless movies and television shows.
Shadows are very powerful symbols that go back to humankind’s earliest history. Shadows can represent darkness, sadness, obscurity, deceit, and mystery. They often invoke a negative image.
Criminals and those with deep shame, “live in the shadows.” The gloom of a dark shadow can hide malevolent things. Americans of a certain age might remember a vampire-based soap opera called, “Dark Shadows.”
But positive shadow images and metaphors exist as well: a shadow can be a protective cloak in which to hide; the shadow is a cool shade in which to rest. In the Bible, Psalm 91:1 says, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Our own personal shadow can be a friend. We have (like the guy in the song) a companion who faithfully mirrors our every movement, who goes where we go and who never leaves us.
Many cultures equate the blackness of the shadow-realm as a place of incubation: the dark, embracing, nurturing womb wherein life grows and develops. In “Finding True Refuge,” Tara Brach quotes Valerie Kaur, “What if these times are not the darkness of the tomb, but they are the darkness of the womb?”
Without exception, the shadow is inseparable from all of existence. Everything has a shadow. We see the Earth’s shadow when it blocks the sunlight, on the moon’s face during a lunar eclipse. And we see the moon’s shadow when it crosses the Earth’s path during a solar eclipse, temporarily obscuring the sun’s light.
Paradoxically, shadows cannot exist without light. And even more ironically, the brighter the light the deeper the shadow.
"Where there is much light, the shadow is deep." - Goethe
The shadow is an unavoidable part of anything, and it is inescapably attached to us. We cannot outrun our shadow.
So, how do we deal with the shadow of ourselves when it looms large, blocking out all light and seemingly unmoving forever? In the end, the only alternative is to embrace the shadow.
Easier said than done, of course. But first we need to define, what exactly is my/your/our shadow?
On a personal level – psychologically, metaphorically, metaphysically, and spiritually, the shadow is the unexpressed self – that part of us that we keep hidden. Indeed, secrecy, obscurity is one of the most profound aspects of the shadow-image. On a Universal scale, the shadow can be seen as a part of the “collective unconscious.” Here lies Carl Jung's four main archetypes: persona, the shadow, anima/animus, and the self.
At its most basic, the face that we show the world is the “light” side of us if you will. It is “in the light” obviously because it is what people see. It is what we see when we think about ourselves. It’s the side of the moon that faces the Earth.
But the shadow that we might often prefer to ignore, hides close nearby, just out of sight, but we sense it is there as well. The dark side of the moon.
Looming large or shrunken small (as shadows tend to do, depending on the light and time of day) in the psychological and spiritual facets of our existence, it (eventually) will make its presence known.
In Jung’s, “Memories, Dreams and Reflections” he recounts a dream he had wherein he encountered his shadow-self:
I had my hands cupped around a tiny light which threatened to go out at any moment. Everything depended on my keeping this little light alive. Suddenly I had the feeling that something was coming up behind me. I looked back, and saw a gigantic black figure following me. But at the same moment I was conscious, in spite of my terror, that I must keep my little light going through night and wind, regardless of all dangers.
When I awoke I realized at once that the figure was a “specter of the Brocken,” my own shadow on the swirling mists, brought into being by the little light I was carrying. I knew, too, that this little light was my consciousness, the only light I have. My own understanding is the sole treasure I possess, and the greatest.
Though infinitely small and fragile in comparison with the powers of darkness, it is still a light, my only light. This dream was a great illumination for me.
Now I knew that No. 1 was the bearer of the light, and that No. 2 followed him like a shadow.
Notice that the shadow in Jung's dream was, brought into being by the little light I was carrying. The shadow came because of the light!
“Me and my shadow” can be characterized as a joint effort – a process of discovering, uncovering, and recovering who we truly are.
The goal of shadow work is to become a fully realized human being: physical and spiritual; body and soul. The purpose is not to eliminate the shadow, but to embrace it! To incorporate and integrate our shadow-self and make it a part of our conscious, deliberate, waking self.
There are aspects of the shadow which need to be dissolved into the void, for they no longer serve us and are causing us (and others) harm. There are other features which can be transmuted into deeply powerful character assets. If we are to become whole, fully realized human beings we can and must do this difficult “shadow work.”
Here's to an amazing journey of discovering and dancing with, our shadow.
Bon dimanche,
John
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