The term Shadow, used by C.G. Jung, tries to be more encompassing than the term Unconscious, spread by S. Freud. It refers to the unknown parts of our psyche, but also to the unknown parts of our spiritual world. Our world is dualistic in nature, everything in the universe has its opposite pair: light and shadow, day and night, up and down, hard and soft, masculine and feminine, earth and air, positive and negative, sweet and salty, man and woman, and so on our psychic and spiritual world is also formed by its luminous part and its dark part, which, although we do not see it, does not mean that it does not exist. This is the task of every human being: to go through earthly life in search of its own shadow, to bring it to light and to walk its own healing path. The personal shadow develops from childhood. Of course, we identify with certain aspects, such as generosity and kindness, and at the same time we despise the opposites which, in this case, will be selfishness and evil. In this way, our light and our shadow are being built simultaneously.
A known poet and activist Robert Bly, said that we spent the first twenty years of our lives filling a backpack with all kinds of experiences and experiences … and then we spent the rest of our lives trying to empty it. That is the work of recognizing one’s own shadow. To the extent that we refuse to empty the backpack … it will become heavier, and more dangerous, every attempt to open it. In other words, there is no alternative to meeting oneself. Either we are sincere in investigating our most hidden, suffering or painful aspects, or these aspects will seek to slip into the least opportune moments of our existence.
“Positive thinking is simply the philosophy of hypocrisy – to give it the right name. When you are feeling like crying, it teaches you to sing. You can manage if you try, but those repressed tears will come out at some point, in some situation. There is a limitation to repression. And the song that you were singing was absolutely meaningless; you were not feeling it, it was not born out of your heart.”
In this sense, a baby is one opportunity for the mother to recognize her shadow and evolve spiritually, to recognize ourselves, to focus on our axis, to ask fundamental questions and to stop lying by beginning a path of overcoming our flaws and start learning. The baby represents the teacher, the guide, thanks to his magnificent sensitivity and also thanks to his fusion state with the mother or maternal person. Being so pure and innocent, he does not even have the conscious decision to relegate to the shadows the aspects that every decent adult would despise. That is why he expresses without feeling any feeling that is not presentable in society. What we would like to forget or that which belongs to the past. The baby becomes a crystalline mirror of our most hidden aspects. That’s why a deep contact with a baby should be a time to make the most of it.
However, the term shadow encompasses everything (good or bad) that it was repressed; thus, if in our childhood, our light was also shut down in one why or another , i.e. skills or talents were not seen as such by the adults who raised us, we are prone to put aside (into our subconscious) those parts as well in order to feel safe, belong and be accepted in the family. When we admire something or someone it is a clue of a hidden talent, skill or personality treat that we possess but we have not yet accepted, revealed or consciously chosen to integrate within us.
On this note, it is important to work with one’s shadow self so that you heal, become whole to live a more authentic, fulfilling life and grow spiritually. It represents accepting yourself entirely and embracing the path to self love. Are you ready to dig deeper into your psyche and understand why you get triggered in some situations and how a part of yourself just wants to be acknowledged or accepted as it is?! Only after the acceptance comes, the process of loving and healing that aspect of your self can really start. If you feel ready, you can book a session with me here:
“Isabela is a very powerful and intuitive guide who has truly helped me in understanding the hidden aspects of my personality. Here comes in the shadow work! Doing regression therapy with her was beautiful because it helped me go back to experiences, I was holding in my body and truly release them. She is very authentic, real, joyful and beautiful guide into diving deeper into your own consciousness and healing the wounded aspects of the soul. I highly recommend her for spiritual counseling, shadow work and astrology readings!! She’s great at what she does and you know that you’re in good hands with this one! Much love and light!” Shadow work happy client, US
(Biography: “La maternidad y el encuentro con la propia sombra” by Laura Gutman)
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