[ad_1]
Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others, because the world outside of you is only a reflection of the world inside of you. -Anonymous
I was drawn to Carl Jung’s teachings when he said, “What if I were one of the least of these?” He was reflecting on Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40: “As you did it to the least of these, you did it to me.” It was sobering. He made it clear to me how important it was to self-examine my thought life if I wanted to be healed and whole. If I didn’t, my shadow would follow me.
The shadow is a key psychological insight from the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung.
The shadow is the “dark side” of our personality because it consists primarily of primitive, negative human emotions and impulses such as anger, jealousy, greed, selfishness, lust, and the pursuit of power.
Everything we deny about ourselves—whatever we deem inferior, evil, or unacceptable—becomes part of the shadow.
The shadow archetype is the abandoned self.
This shadow self represents the parts of ourselves that we no longer consider to be our own, including both inherent negative and positive qualities.
Anything we do not acknowledge is relegated to our subconscious mind.
Jung discovered that the mind is composed of conscious and unconscious material. This “mind material” includes thoughts, feelings, images, attitudes, motives, judgments, and impulses.
Conscious material is what we know about ourselves. Subconscious material is all that we don’t know about ourselves. Generally speaking, there is more subconscious material hidden from us.
Dear Lord, please teach us to love you with all our hearts, to love others with compassion, and to love ourselves rightly. We pray that you will help us see the needs of those around us, especially the weakest among our brothers and sisters. May we be moved by compassion to serve and love them as we serve and love you. May our actions reflect your love and grace, and may we be a light to this world. Amen. ♡
Posts Become complete First appeared in Island Times.
[ad_2]
Source link
