The Golden Shadow
I have been a psychotherapist long enough that working with the shadow self has become as normalized as the air we breathe. We all have an aspect to our subconscious that is the inner workings of how we operate in this world. This concept of the shadow self is usually referring to our dark side, the parts of us that we are ashamed of, disgusted by, and know are wrong. We very often have no desire to examine, discuss or bring attention to.
First coined by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, the shadow self holds all the parts that we deem “not okay for others to know about”. It is one of the 4 major archetypes that Jung believed in.
The 4 Archetypes being 1) The Persona 2) The Shadow 3) The Anima or Animus and 4) The Self. Anytime we are discussing Jungian Psychology it is very challenging to stay on course with the topic at hand because each point made has multiple further points within it. So for the topic of this writing… I am going to stick to the The SHADOW archetype and save the other 3 for another writing.
Now, where was I?
Yes, The Shadow self in all its ugly, shamefulness. The part which we keep hidden in fear that if someone knew our deepest darkest secrets, impulses, addictions, thoughts, emotions, behaviors, something awful and unbearable would happen. The only option is to keep this repressed back in the unconscious where no one, not even oneself, will know.
As I already mentioned, we are all hip to the Shadow Self, it is a term thrown around almost as frequently as narcissism (talk about ugly).
What is not mentioned, or well known, is that Carl Jung did not just teach on the dark side of the shadow but also the LIGHT SIDE!!! And this is where my fascination turns on with such intrigue and wonderment!!!!
Let me write that again, THE SHADOW SELF IS BOTH DARK AND LIGHT!!! Of course we have both, there can not be darkness without light. There can not be yin without yang.
Let’s blow up the LIGHTSIDE people! Jung referred to this as our GOLDEN SHADOW! Already it sounds dreamy, warm and inviting… So why are we keeping this hidden and locked up tight in the subconscious?
Simple, FEAR. It is the same fear as the dark side, the fear that says “if they find out about me I will not be able to handle it”. What lives in the Golden Shadow is our true potential, our Highest Self, our Spiritual beliefs, thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Our own creativity!!!! These are all the things we admire and envy in others, dream of being like, and are drawn to… all the while denying it within our own self!
This begs the question, what if we choose to step into our true potential, act on passions, create from our imaginations and shine our LIGHT from our Golden Side? What if we admit our spiritual beliefs, spark conversations around GOD, discuss mysticism, and show our own creativity. What if we take aim towards our own Spiritual beliefs, ideas, perceptions and desires!! What happens then?
Again, I have been doing this work long enough to know that when an individual steps into their own potential extreme beauty is found, extreme joy is experienced, and the path to self empowerment is discovered! The hard part is seeing yourself fully, expressing yourself fully and being vulnerable in yourself, FULLY!
There are many reasons for keeping our Golden Self hidden. For many people it is far more threatening to our sense of self to express, acknowledge, share our DIVINE LIGHT than it is to share our darkness. Perhaps, at one point as a child we were living from our light side (as children naturally do) and it was shamed by another (parents, sibling, teacher, friend) so we locked it up for safekeeping to never be shamed, rejected, ridiculed again. Or perhaps, it is just fear; fear of our own potential, talents, gifts, and the power that comes with living authentically.
Imagine a day, when the fear that holds you down no longer has power over you… when you step into your Highest Self is when fear has nothing left to grasp onto because the identity shifts from shadows to light. This takes self work, this takes courageous and brave actions to reclaim who you truly are, knowing the reward of these actions is PURE GOLD. Even more so, maybe it is rewarding enough to think of bringing this wiser self into the dark moments of life, perhaps the dark won’t be so dark.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” -Carl Jung
