“The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.” — Carl G. Jung
We live in a world with countless challenges, concerns and duties. From the moment we decide to look inside ourselves, looking for a meaning, a place of peace or a deep understanding of what we really are, another “problem” arises: we discover that we have within us forces, tendencies, feelings and emotions that are completely antagonistic. among themselves, but that pulsate and manifest themselves… often without our own knowledge.
How to integrate totally opposite polarities that live and pulsate within us? How to understand and admit that at certain times we make decisions and express ourselves in very different ways?
First, we must strive to direct our attention to our inner world. Within us is an entire universe of dimensions as vast as the physical universe we inhabit.
This may seem incredible — or terrifying! — at first, because we don't want to admit that there are things inside us that we don't know. This may even seem like an insult, as it is equivalent to saying that we do not “own” ourselves.
As we observe ourselves with the help of therapy, meditation and the practice of silent observation of our own inner world, we find elevated, altruistic feelings... alongside others that are totally petty and selfish!
Before feeling impacted by this evidence, it is necessary to remember that our internal world houses an essential part that integrates our being, called SHADOW.
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is incorporated into the individual's conscious life, the darker and denser it is.” — Carl G. Jung
In this shadow are all the contents that, throughout life, have been denied, repressed or remain completely unknown to us. We often project these traits onto others — it takes maturity to accept a part that isn't "pretty" or "good" inside of us. This causes many problems, because, by adopting this procedure, we do not work with these contents and we cannot understand and deal with emotions. The more we deny something, the more we push what we don't like away from us, the easier it is to lose control of much of our psychic life—and that ends up influencing our behavior.
There is a well-known story from the Native American peoples: an elder of the tribe taught a young man about life with the following story: “There are two wolves that fight inside you. One of them is angry, arrogant, sad, lying, lazy. The other is loving, generous, peace-loving, courageous, humble. The young man asks: Which one wins the fight? And the sage answers: the one you feed. "
But there is another version of this story in which the wise old man replies: “They both win if you feed them right. If only the wolf of light receives food, the other will be resentful and voracious, filled with hatred and jealousy, and will fight the wolf of light without rest. But if I feed them both right, they will live side by side in harmony and peace. There will be no more battle; and when there is peace, there is wisdom. The purpose of life is to respect that balance—when you put an end to the battle, you are free.”
Buddhists address this issue when they speak of the “middle way”, a path of conduct that welcomes both the purely human and the divine side.
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The shadow, when observed and welcomed as part of us, brings countless benefits: spontaneity, creativity, deep emotions and numerous insights, essential for our full development as human beings. This is the great key to dealing positively with this aspect: accepting its existence, understanding the feelings it brings, making it as clear as possible; and then letting it go, giving space to positive thoughts and attitudes that the shadow warns us must be developed.
