Carl Gustav Jung (26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies. Jung worked as a research scientist at the famous Burghölzli hospital, under Eugen Bleuler. During this time, he came to the attention of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. The two men conducted a lengthy correspondence and collaborated, for a while, on a joint vision of human psychology.
Freud saw the younger Jung as the heir he had been seeking to take forward his "new science" of psychoanalysis and to this end secured his appointment as president of his newly founded International Psychoanalytical Association. Jung's research and personal vision, however, made it impossible for him to follow his older colleague's doctrine and a schism became inevitable. This division was personally painful for Jung and resulted in the establishment of Jung's analytical psychology as a comprehensive system separate from psychoanalysis.
Among the central concepts of analytical psychology is individuation—the lifelong psychological process of differentiation of the self out of each individual's conscious and unconscious elements. Jung considered it to be the main task of human development. He created some of the best known psychological concepts, including synchronicity, archetypal phenomena, the collective unconscious, the psychological complex and extraversion and introversion.
In this video, we explore Carl Jung's concept of the shadow and how to integrate it into our personality to attain wholeness.
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Music by CO.AG Music and Alexander Nakaradanull
This after-school presentation was written and recorded by Eternalized.
Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist Carl Gustav Jung is the founder of analytical psychology,
and revolutionized the field with his in-depth exploration of the unconscious.
Through his confrontation with the unconscious, he explored the dark side of human nature,
while many denied it and focused solely on the light side. It is a fact that we all go
through dark times, as we're gradually assaulted and overcome by the trials and tribulations of
life. Jung writes,
It is high time we realized that it is pointless to praise the light and preach it
if nobody can see it. It is much more needful to teach people the art of seeing.
It is becoming increasingly more common to display only the pleasant parts and highlights of our
This one-sidedness creates an artificial view of life in which our dark side is buried and
considered taboo in society. And as we see other people with their seemingly amazing lives,
we become even more resentful and disappointed with ourselves. We see our behaviour as socially
unacceptable and try to conceal our emotions and contradict our real self. This forms the persona,
a false social mask that makes us appear more likable to others to the detriment of our mental
stability, and which ends up negatively affecting our whole life. We unconsciously let other people
live our life for us, and we become inauthentic, mere numbers in the crowd. It is impossible to
progress towards self-realization if we are presenting ourselves as someone different to
When we realize that we have been living a lie, the false mask shatters and we come
face-to-face with the emptiness of ourself, which may result in an existential crisis.
Authenticity opens the path towards self-realization. With a radically honest view
of life, we can progress towards psychic wholeness by acknowledging our dark side
that most people cannot bear to look at. We mustn't repress our darkness but rather confront
it. Nobody is perfect, and taking responsibility to acknowledge this can bring relief to others
and a feeling that they are not alone. Jung writes
and no ascent. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the
darkness conscious. The persona, as well as all our defects, insecurities, repressions,
and memories long avoided, feed and form our shadow, the unknown dark side of our personality.
The shadow is everything which one has no wish to be. It follows us around all our life,
both literally and metaphorically. We may try to ignore it consciously,
but it will always form a part of our unconscious personality. It is not some detached thing that
can be avoided. It is a part of you. To go against the shadow means to go against yourself.
We are all capable of good and evil. That is the only reality.
It is important to know how much good we can do and what crimes we are capable of,
and knowing this, choose not to do evil. That is the true moral position.
The shadow is commonly mistaken as an enemy or evil entity. However, it is really exactly like
any human being, who sometimes resists or sometimes gives love, whatever the situation
requires. The shadow becomes hostile only when it is ignored or misunderstood.
A frequent nightmare consists in being chased or confronted by a scary monster or shadowy figure,
but when one confronts the figure and questions it, it starts to take on an
To honour and accept our shadow is a profound spiritual discipline.
The shadow of an aggressive person contains tenderness, relatedness, and sincerity,
while the shadow of a shy person would be assertive, responsible, and confident.
It has a compensatory role and represents everything that we lack.
The shadow contains pure gold as psychological insight, waiting to be integrated into our
personality. This inner gold is all our potential and ideal self, which we all look up to in life
and strive to become. And for that reason, the shadow is our ally in the journey of life.
The less we acknowledge our shadow, the more it is liable to burst forth suddenly in a moment of
unawareness. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's
conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. In the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
Jekyll tries to repress his dark side, but instead ends up giving life to his shadow,
Hyde, who takes control over him as an autonomous personality, and performs evil acts against his
The dissociation takes on the form of a physical change, rather than, as in reality,
an inner psychic state. It must be us who integrates our shadow, and not the other way
around. We talk about being able to control ourselves, but self-control is a rare and
remarkable virtue. The result of ignoring our shadow is psychological projection,
where we unconsciously attribute our own unacceptable thoughts and feelings to other
people. Projection is always easier than assimilation. By pointing our finger to other
people, we reduce the discomfort and anxiety about ourselves, and avoid taking responsibility
to admit that we are in the wrong. Our world takes on an illusory existence, and what is
being spun is a cocoon, which in the end will completely envelop us. This can also negatively
affect the relationships we have with our friends or loved ones, which we often take
for granted. We do not value what we have until we lose it, and once we do, the whole
world takes on a dark appearance, and we fall into a depression, filled with sadness, self-hatred,
and regret. Projection can also appear collectively when people think it is they who are wrong,
and they who must be fought against. The tendency to see one's shadow out there in
a specific person or a group of people is the most dangerous aspect of the modern psyche.
The collective shadow ultimately leads to war, economic chaos, strikes, racial intolerance,
and more. The scariest part is that people are entirely unaware of being immersed in it.
Our good qualities remain dormant until we acknowledge the existence of our personal
shadow. All our energy lies in our shadow, and ignoring it makes us feel lifeless,
exhausted, and lazy. A confrontation with one's shadow fills one up with energy and stamina,
which we can use for our daily tasks and work. This can be done through shadow work,
the practice which includes self-awareness, watching one's emotional reactions,
being radically honest, and paying attention to one's dreams.
The paradox of human existence is that to experience the light and true happiness,
we must descend into the dark. The true source of light is that which endures
and continues to burn in the depths of the darkness. The figure of the wounded healer
is one who's at home in the darkness of suffering, and finds light and recovery,
a sort of creative depression which is the cry of the soul for growth. We should not try to cure it,
because it cures us. We should experience what it means, what it has to teach, and what its purpose
is. This shamanic figure has learned to cure himself and find the gold in his shadow,
and bring the wisdom to his people. We stop fearing the darkness once we know the phoenix
in us will rise from the ashes, for only that which can destroy itself is truly alive.
By becoming our authentic self and integrating our dark side, we can also become consciously
aware of the collective shadow and not fall prey to it. This allows us to positively influence
other people to do the same, improve our lives and the lives of those around us.
People often asked Jung, will we make it? Referring to the cataclysm of our time,
he always replied, if enough people will do their inner work. Jung provides us with ways to explore
the unconscious and achieve a better understanding of ourselves, the world, and other people.
He tells us that we must have a dark side if we are to be whole. By denying the darkness,
we are denying half of ourselves. The place where light and dark begin to touch is the most
profound experience we can have in life. It is the union of opposites that gives rise to the self,
the totality of our personality, and the main goal of human psychological development.
The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.
If you're interested in learning more about the works of Jung, head over to my channel Eternalized,
where I have explained these concepts more in depth. Thank you for watching.
