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WORK: A COMPLETE GUIDE

This complete Shadow Work Guide reveals Carl Jung's interpretation of the Shadow,
including powerful shadow work exercises and insights to discovering your darker,
hidden ​half.

SHADOW WORK: CONNECTING AND INTEGRATING

WITH YOUR SUPPRESSED SELF
Overview: This in-depth guide dissects the complete Shadow Work process,

guiding you through an exhaustive list of shadow work exercises, techniques, and

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other related information for you to implement shadow work into your life almost

immediately.

Table of Contents

● Introduction To Shadow Work

● Deepening One's Understanding of Oneself With Shadow Work
○ First Way: Distancing Oneself – William Luijpen’s Subjectivity and
Freedom
■ Shadow Work Exercise: Distancing
○ Second Way: Understanding One’s Self With The Help Of Others:
Freudian Psychoanalysis
■ Shadow Work Exercise: Psychosexual Development Theory
○ Third way: Analyzing oneself – Karen Horney’s Self-Analysis
■ Shadow Work Exercise: Horney’s Psychoanalytic Theory
○ Fourth Way: Jungian Dream Analysis
■ Shadow Work Exercise: Dream Analysis
● Improving Social Awareness Through Shadow Work
○ Detaching From Public Opinion: Kierkegaard’s Individual vs. Crowd
○ Detaching From One’s Environment: B.F. Skinner’s Determinism
■ Shadow Work Exercise: B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
○ Defying External Factors – Victor Frankl’s Will to Meaning
■ Man’s Search for Meaning
● Harnessing Spiritual Powers With Shadow Work
○ Harnessing the Power of Mind: Meditation
○ Harnessing the Power of the Earth: Healing Crystals
○ Harnessing the Power of Energies: Chakra Healing
○ Harnessing the Power of the Universe: Om
● Final Word

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INTRODUCTION TO SHADOW WORK

The shadow plays a significant role in our everyday lives, influencing our

decision-making process by manifesting tendencies that we repress or even

resent.

Shadows influence us and when we are unaware of them, they only become

blacker and denser. The thicker they become, the more uncontrollable they may

be.
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Even worse, the problem is that the shadow can take over, it can use the driver’s

seat and control our lives. It does so in a manner that we don’t even know about.

Even so, we have also witnessed that these shadows are not necessarily

negative. Rather, they are often misinterpreted and misused due to either our lack

of knowledge about it or biased perspectives against it.

Contrary to misguided notions, these shadows can even become resources of

renewed power and vitality. They can be aspects of ourselves that we never really

knew about and might actually help us. It’s all possible through the process of

shadow work.

In order to do so, it is important to recognize them so that we can integrate them

as parts of our personality.

In this Shadow Work Guide, we will continue the quest of understanding our

shadows by discussing practical ways of using shadow work, and the remarkable

effects it has on our consciousness.

It is important for us to look into these methods in order to fully utilize the shadow

to our advantage. By discussing them, we shed light to the various ways of

shadow work.

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This series will discuss 3 main aspects in our lives in which the shadow can be

dealt with through shadow work. It will give a brief description of each method, but

not extensively discuss them in order to maintain the brevity of the article.

The main topics will be the individual, social, and spiritual aspects of our lives,

and how to deal with our shadows. By doing a holistic approach, we become

more fulfilled in our journey of self-understanding.

Join us in this quest for fulfilment and mastery of one’s ​sense of self​.

DEEPENING ONE’S UNDERSTANDING OF ONESELF

THROUGH SHADOW WORK
We have seen that the shadow is merely an idea of the self. By perceiving it as a

perception of ourselves, we get to understand that it doesn’t necessarily control

us.

However, people nowadays, being distracted by the social media and the nature

of the technological life itself, it is difficult to keep track of one’s individuality.

People are easily swayed by their phones just as much as they are used to

getting what they want in an instant.

While useful and seemingly harmless, these technological developments have

undeniably shaped the way we live our lives. Instant gratification makes people

busy and bored at the same time.

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As a result, patience is not anymore, a virtue. It has been replaced by productivity

and efficiency. And so, waiting in line becomes less and less relevant while

ordering online becomes more necessary.

Making use of these technologies aren’t necessarily wrong. But whether we like it

or not, they shape the way we perceive life, and see little to no value on patience.

Patience brings solitude. It is in the most routinely common idle moments in life

that we get to have time for ourselves. Waiting in line, queuing in traffic, and

sitting at the departure area gives us time to think and reflect.

Thus, in order to deepen our understanding of ourselves, it is necessary to see

the value of these instances and how we can make use of them.

In this section of the guide, we will do a quick discussion of some ways that the

individual can immediately start applying shadow work into one's life.

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FIRST WAY: DISTANCING ONESELF FROM THE

SHADOW WILLIAM LUIJPEN’S SUBJECTIVITY AND
FREEDOM

One of the first ways that we will explore in this quest for ​integrating the shadow is

William Luijpen’s Subjectivity and Freedom.

Luijpen is a renowned philosopher, particularly on the subject of phenomenology

which basically talks the study of the world from man’s viewpoint or experience.

He was a catholic priest who contributed greatly to the study and propagation of
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Existentialism or the philosophical study of understanding man’s meaning and

existence.

We won’t be discussing the entirety of phenomenology and existentialism. We

also won’t be discussing even the whole article of Luijpen. Rather, what we will be

doing is to discuss a specific idea from his writings that can be applied to shadow

work.

Luijpen wrote an essay called Subjectivity and Freedom. In this essay, he

discussed the very notion of man’s existence, consciousness, being, and

autonomy. Now these four terms will be crucial because they will form part of the

basis why this method can become a practical way.

SHADOW WORK EXERCISE: DISTANCING

Man is free. This is one of the central ideas that the article discusses. By being

free, it doesn’t mean that we are in a state of absolute freedom. Our work binds

us just as our physical existence constricts us.

Meaning, when we talk about man’s freedom and autonomy, we are not

necessarily talking about external freedom. Rather, this kind of freedom is internal

and is in the mind.

The first condition in this method of distancing is autonomy.

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By understanding that man is autonomous (at least in so far as he is able to come

up with conscious and rational decisions) we realize that it is part of our nature to

make decisions and choices in life.

For instance, when you decide whether or not you will lend money to your friend

who needs it but you know can’t pay you back, you realize that you are engaging

in a rational decision-making process which involves morality.

When you think about it, this concept of autonomy extends to the point that

inaction is action. If you see trash in front of you and decided to disregard it, of

course that reflects your decision as an individual.

This autonomy of man enables him to be accountable for his actions, given that

he has the freedom to decide what to do and how to react.

The second condition in this method of distancing is reason.

Since man is equipped with the capability of reason (given that he is mentally

sane, of course) it automatically follows that he has the capacity to identify what is

right from what is wrong.

As in my previous example, reason defines the gap between man and animals.

When dogs are taken for a walk and goes out of the house, it is strange that they

have this urge to defecate the moment they are out.

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If we leave them be (yes, some dog owners deliberately do this), they will simply

discharge on the first lawn they see or even in the street itself. However, as the

dog owner, it is our responsibility to pickup that trash and dispose it accordingly.

In this example we can see that because man is imbued with reason, he has the

responsibility to make choices which are correct and rational. If man cannot make

those choices, he is no different from animals.

The popular comic/movie Spiderman tells us a lot about man’s autonomy and

freedom. The scene where Peter Parker decided to let the criminal go in order to

get even with the organizers speaks volumes of our daily experiences wherein we

let bad people get away.

As we all know, the very criminal that Peter Parker decided to let go was the man

who killed his uncle. Thus, we have the famous phrase that “with great power

comes great responsibility”.

The same holds true for man’s autonomy and rationality – because we are free

and with reason, we must be able to make moral and conscious decisions and be

held accountable for it.

While this is the usual ideal scenario, we realize that this is not automatically the

case. The existence of the shadow, for instance, can possibly hinder us to make

the best or right choices in life.

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Despite the fact that we are equipped with both reason and freedom, we still end

up making wrong choices due to the imbalanced and unattended perceptions that

we have of ourselves and of others.

In this case, we ask, what then does distancing contribute to the whole problem?

In order to answer the question, I will be referring to a direct quote from Luijpen’s

article.

“On the affective level existence also has both positive and negative aspects.

Existence on the affective level—which Heidegger calls “mood” or “tonality”—is

both a “finding oneself to be well” and a “finding oneself not to be well”: the world

is both a “home” and “alien to home.”

“The subject’s consent to reality is never unreserved; he can never fully say yes to

any reality. Neither money nor sex, science nor power, health nor the

Revolution—in a word, nothing fully satisfies man.”

“The subject’s affective yes to the world includes also an affective no. All fullness

of being-man is equiprimordially emptiness, all satisfaction is infected with

dissatisfaction, all peace, rest and happiness contain conflict, unrest, and

unhappiness. The “yes” within existence excludes absolute “nausea” (Sartre); the

“no” makes absolute consent impossible. The world is my home in which I long for

a better fatherland.” (William Luijpen, Subjectivity and Freedom)

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These directly quoted paragraphs speak volumes about the finitude of human

existence. But more importantly, it talks about the idea that the shadow is an

inescapable part of man’s existence in this world.

So, to truly answer the question, we ask – is man really bounded by this

experience mentioned above? Or can man break-free from these bonds in order

to decide for himself?

In our previous article, we already presumed that this can be possible. By noticing

our shadow traits and recognizing them, we get to consciously decide whether or

not to integrate them.

However, the groundwork for the very possibility of this point is yet to be laid. How

can we say that man’s consciousness is enough for him to deal with the shadows

or perform shadow work?

Isn’t it the case that consciousness alone is not enough that’s why we constantly

have unrecognized shadows in the first place?

This is the part where Luijpen’s idea plays a crucial role in understanding man’s

consciousness. I quote:

“The negativity involved in the subject’s affirmation of and consent to himself and

to reality is sometimes called “distance”: the subject distances himself from

unreserved affirmation and consent.” (William Luijpen, Subjectivity and Freedom)

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While some philosophers understood that to be and to live necessarily means that

we are in the world and is constantly engaged on it, it doesn’t mean that we’re

inevitably tied to it.

Meaning to say, when an individual encounters a situation that creates a shadow,

it doesn’t automatically mean that the shadow will have an imprint on him.

This is precisely because individuals are free and rational – they are conscious.

But the aspect that allows them to detach from the world is their capability for

distancing.

This notion of distancing from one's shadow is the very foundation of what allows

man to re-examine and evaluate what is happening to him.

Without distancing, a lot of things may happen to us to a point that we simply let

life see its way.

When there is distancing, people have this capability to further evaluate

themselves by placing their consciousness at a distance. If we were to simply

illustrate it, it would look like this:

As we can see in this simple conceptual illustration, the arrows represent the

in-between distances.
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By this method, we see that the self can be different from the world. The problem,

however, is that the self is tied to the shadow and to consciousness.

That is why when we let the shadow take over, it takes over the self, the

consciousness, and how the individual appears and reacts to the world.

This can be solved by what we refer to as “stepping-back”. By doing a simple

back step, we get to see things at a distance, and allow us to have a chance to

re-evaluate things in ourselves and lives as well.

To put into context, the value of stepping back is appreciated when we are about

to make big decisions in our lives.

Your boyfriend for 5 years suddenly proposed. And so, you are taken aback, and

re-evaluate at that spur of the moment. This evaluation will decide which action or

course you take.

If you didn’t realize your shadow, you would have decided right away without all

factors accounted for – like giving your shallow yes because you have a tendency

of being submissive.

But if you did the step back method, you would pause, think, and critically assess

the situation.

“Am I ready for this?”

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You ask the perennial question of humanity as if anyone is ever fully ready for

everything.

In this simple example, we can see that the value of stepping back is not only to

temporarily detach from the world (or how we perceive it), rather it also talks

about how we can detach from ourselves.

In which case, stepping back actually allows us to manifest the idea of the

previous section wherein we have to treat shadows as merely ideas of the self

and let consciousness become the driver.

By doing this method of shad wwork, we detach from our image of ourselves and

enter the higher level of consciousness.

And so, we ask, from this higher level, the same questions but with greater clarity

and understanding.

When things happen in our lives so fast (just like that salesperson in the

supermarket who sells seemingly essential stuff like a 16-in-1 blender), people

with clear judgments aren’t easily persuaded.

They know that they have tendencies and the compelling script of the salesperson

can easily lead to that unnecessary card swipe.

They know that their emotions can take over and justify their actions with logic.

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That is why they step back, evaluate, see their shadows from a distance.

As one of the many ways to perform shadow work and understand our shadows,

it is important to take note of this existential method for allows us to question the

meaning not only of the world but also of our own existence.

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SECOND WAY: UNDERSTANDING ONE’S SHADOW

SELF WITH THE HELP OF OTHERS: FREUDIAN
PSYCHOANALYSIS

In this second shadow work method, we will explore more about our shadows

using the Freudian phases of development.

As a quick introduction, Sigmund Freud is the father of Psychology. His main

theory revolves around the ideas of psychoanalysis, psychosexual development,

and more famously – the id, ​ego​, and superego.

Despite criticisms, his ideas played a central role in the development of the

majority of theories in psychology.

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Freud spearheaded this idea of the conscious and unconscious states – both of

which has opened the path for digging deeper into human psychology.

As Psychology progressed, these ideas of Freud became cornerstones from

which other famous psychologists built their theory with.

In this section, we will selectively discuss Freud’s theory. We will explore how

shadows develop and are treated using the Freudian stages of development.

By examining his famous psychosexual development theory, we can see how our

past experiences might have subconsciously affected our growth

SHADOW WORK EXERCISE: PSYCHOSEXUAL

DEVELOPMENT THEORY
Freud, perhaps, is the, if not most, famous psychologist largely due to his sexually

inclined theory. Previously seen as radical, growing intrigue, belief, and

acceptance in these controversial topics continues to catapult his legacy beyond

his death.

One particular theory that sparks this intrigue is the psychosexual development

theory which mainly focuses on the phases of childhood.

These phases are explained involving a sexually inclined approach even to the

point that it presents the Oedipus Complex.

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Such an idea usually highlights the intrigue in Freud’s psychology, making him

less

But before we delve into that intrigue, it would be fairer to him if we begin with his

core principles – pleasure and reality.

Freud tells us that we have a natural tendency towards the pleasure principle. As

humans, we aspire for happiness and pleasure. This is part of our being human.

On a bit of a side note, this idea is one of the primordial questions in man’s

existence. What makes man truly happy?

If we were to go back to the pre-historic times, we would see that humans tried to

aspire for survival because a certain level of happiness was to be achieved for

surviving.

As man became more literate and was able to begin civilizations and recording of

history, this question remained but with different answers.

The Greeks aspired for virtue and self-actualization while the Catholics longed to

be one with God.

Modern thought brought by Descartes relinquished all other ideas of happiness

and led to the ultimate idea that we know of – the ability to pursue life as we see it

fit.

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This idea served as an umbrella which takes in our concept of happiness.

But for Freudian psychology, happiness meant pleasure. As children, we grow up

to seek pleasure usually from our parents, particularly with our mother who fed us

with breastmilk.

But Freud also notes that while the chief good that man seeks is happiness, he

cannot over-pursue it for it will cause displeasure.

While we’d always love to have a bite of that Krispy Kreme donut, we know that

eating a donut a day, keeps diabetes (not away lol).

In the same way, the same example applies. Spending too much time with a

person can eat up both your time and make you stagnant. Resting and relaxing

can be perceived as happiness but too much of such can lead to laziness.

And so, Freud theorized that it is not only the pleasure principle but also the

reality principle​ that we have to take note of.

Having the reality principle, people will balance off their inner desires for sex and

aggression (biases of Freud in his theory). People will not just randomly take

advantage of someone even if that is their definition of happiness.

In other words, the reality principle points at social rules and norms which are set

to limit our idea and pursuit of happiness.

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Going back to our shadow, these two main ideas are strongly relevant in dealing

with them because if we were to have a better understanding of shadow work, we

have to see how it affects us and how society perceives it.

As a shadow is growing, it is possible that these are repressed notions of

happiness which manifests itself in unusual manners.

With the help of being able to see them, we are better able to manage them. But

how should we see them using the Freudian lens?

In the Freudian theory, we develop what we call as neurosis/neuroses. In an

attempt to balance the pleasure and reality principle, the human mind may

sometimes make faulty negotiations which will lead to repressions.

By having to regulate ourselves in an unbalanced manner, we develop a certain

neurosis which can trigger negative responses in a person.

But how do these neuroses come about? Freud tells us that we need to examine

our childhood in order to asses if there were any events which have led to us

being imbalanced in one way or another.

From his lens, this is where the psychosexual theory becomes relevant. Freud

suggests certain phases in the human experience which contributes to this overall

trend.

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First, the oral phase. As we are born into this world, our expression of pleasure

manifests in the act of looking for basic sustenance. And so, a baby cries as it

yearns for food through oral intake.

Thus, the way we commune with the world is through our mouth. Our feelings and

ideas are expressed through the mouth whether it be by eating or making sounds

which can signal the parent about something that we want.

Freud argues that if parents are not careful, this phase may later on develop

certain fixations such as smoking, nail-biting, over-eating, or even rejection of

dependency on food.

The second phase is the Anal phase. At ages 1-3 years old, the child is being

toilet-trained. As the child learns to do this on his/her own, control over the

environment without being dependent on others is achieved.

Gratification is realized through self-achievement by proper toilet training. By

recognizing through positive gestures, parents are encouraging children to

positive outcomes as well.

But if the child is not trained properly, this may cause problems – a dichotomy

between orderliness and messiness. Both are natural results of not being properly

trained given that the child is unable to distinguish the apt medium and opts for

the extreme.

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Moving on, the phallic stage is when the child begins to realize his/her sexual

orientation. By becoming more aware of his/her surroundings, children begin to

have this drive towards affection of the opposite parent.

This is the controversial stage where Freud presents the idea of Oedipus/Electra

Complex. As boys desire to replace the father, young girls also compete for the

father’s affection.

As children begin to identify with their common sex parent, this naturally resolves

the issue. However, if they fail to resonate with their parent, it can cause a whole

lot of sexual dysfunction during adulthood.

The next stage is the latency stage. By 6-12 years old, children begin to play with

other children. At this stage, the sexual libido is present but not on a specific part

of the body.

Children during these stages manifest their energies through pursuits of things

that they want to do. They become more concerned with relationships between

them.

Lastly, the genital stage occurs from ages 12+. As they become more aware of

their sexuality, the focus is restored on the libido. This manifests in their puberty

stage.

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On both last stages, Freud notes that there are no adulthood fixations caused by

such.

So far, we have seen an attempt to give a compact summary of Freud’s

psychosexual theory. But how is this related to one’s shadow?

In Freud’s psychological theory, we can see that he places great emphasis on

how children are raised from ages 0-6 years old. As mentioned above, possible

adult fixations result from these stages.

What this tells us is that problems we encounter during childhood can have a big

impact to our personality. This is because during the time that we were

experiencing them, we don’t quite have a grasp of the world.

Freud also shows that embedded in our personality is the idea that we are sexual

beings. Having these essential sexual drives makes manifest in the actions that

we do as children.

Thus, if we look back to Freudian theory, we can see that the shadows that we

have are most likely a result of childhood fixations that were left unaddressed

For instance, if we are humans with the tendency to smoke, it might have very

well been the case that during childhood, we weren’t fed properly. Thus, our

mouths constantly look for the same sensation that was supposedly afforded to

us.
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In the same way, the anal stage also shows that as children we should have been

taught to do the toilet alone and be praised for it.

But nowadays, some parents just use the diaper due to the convenience that it

provides. When parents do such, they cannot train children properly to do potty

training.

Practically, this will have an effect in the child as they lacked the sense of control

and praise that was denied to them. As adults, they may become overly organized

given that they were lacking such before or completely the other way around.

Lastly, we see that the phallic stage talks about the sexual orientation of children.

In failing to become a proper role model to them, they can be prone to sexual

dysfunction.

What this means is that they may have problems associating with their own sex or

associating with the other sex. Since as children, they were denied this feeling of

security, they might look for a father figure from their partner, a presence that they

lacked before.

If we try to take into account Freud’s arguments in relation to our concept of

shadows, we will see that shadows form not only because of our own choices.

In the previous article, we have attributed shadows as natural consequences of

things we resent or reject.

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But from a Freudian standpoint, we can see that a lot of those things that we

resent are not truly our choices.

Rather, they are natural consequences of some fixations or neuroses that were

left unaddressed during childhood.

Thus, the failure to address these basic functions of the body can manifest into

psychological neuroses.

These neuroses can have an effect on the decisions we make, eventually forming

our shadows.

But in the same way, we can also say that even when we parents were able to

resolve these issues correctly, shadows still occur.

Consider for instance the phallic stage. Freud tells us that we need to integrate

and associate with the common sex parent. As a girl, one can associate with the

mother who exemplifies what being a woman is. (at least from the child’s

standpoint)

As a result, it is to be expected then that children will pursue womanly things

given the influence of their mother.

In the same way, a lack of a father figure for male boys can result to a female

preference. As a writer, I’ve known people who have experienced such.

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Given the strong maternal experience in their family, his childhood preferences

were strongly altered. I used to remember seeing him playing with bras instead of

cars during childhood.

I’m not claiming that this eventually led him to prefer men as life partners. But

eventually, it did happen. Although we cannot fully conclude that this was a result

of problems during childhood, we can at least theorize that there is a correlation.

In this case, whether little boy prefers cars or bras, he definitely considers the

opposite as inapt.

From there, a shadow is built, even when the child is yet to reach the peak of his

autonomy and reason.

What does this tell us about our shadows and shadow work?

First – that they are most likely heavily influenced by our psychological

upbringing.

In this theory, we can see that ​shadow archetypes are made even without our

own volition.

The psychological upbringing of an individual can strongly influence how he or

she perceives the world – whether it be a dangerous or safe place to live in.

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Much of these shadows are things that we can really do nothing about during

these phases for it is up to our parents to choose which shadows to allow.

Which brings us to the question of – how do we actually deal with them if they are

made right from the beginning?

Come to think of it, if your own shadows right now are results of choices you didn’t

make, would it even be possible for us to identify them alone?

Perhaps, this is the reason why some people continue to live with their shadows

and fail to identify them. Because individuals obtained these ideas of themselves

during childhood, it would be difficult for them to bring it to the table.

And so, individuals grow up with fixations, as Freud tells us.

This brings us to the second point of why Freudian theory is very much relevant to

the case of shadow work.

While he was famous for this psychosexual theory, another thing that made him

legendary was his psychoanalysis method.

As a founder of psychoanalysis, Freud invented and utilized this method to treat

patients with neurosis or fixations due to bad childhood experiences.

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In psychoanalysis, repressed emotions and ideas of the self are made conscious

to the subject. This aims to have a cathartic effect, healing and relieving them

from their faulty ideas. Today, it is being used to treat depression and anxiety.

Freud suggests that we use psychoanalysis with the help of a trained

professional.

Using their expertise, psychologists can employ a series of tests which can be

interpreted following a scientific method.

These tests are aimed to help us understand more about ourselves, repressions,

and tendencies as individuals.

With their help, we are better able to have a grasp of reality and our own minds.

But are we really required to go to psychologists to know more about our

shadows? Do we require a presupposed “expert” to tell us how to perform shadow

work? The next theory that we’re going to discuss suggests otherwise.

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THIRD WAY: ANALYZING ONE'S SHADOW KAREN

HORNEY’S SELF-ANALYSIS

While the second way talked about Freudian method of psychoanalysis, this third

shadow work method will explore a different approach from a neo-Freudian

theorist named Karen Horney.

As a brief introduction, Karen Horney is one of the most famous psychologists in

human history whose theories have form part of their fundamental methodologies.

Horney’s work was radical for she even was one of the first female students who

were allowed to pursue being a physician. She was also even part of the

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Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, and of course was closely

relevant to Sigmund Freud.

In this section, we will have brief exploration on Horney’s psychoanalytic theory.

By using her theory, we will dig deeper into the shadows and understand more

about how we can deal with them using Horney’s method of self-analysis.

SHADOW WORK EXERCISE: HORNEY’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

As mentioned in the previous series, one of the many ways to unravel and

integrate our shadows is by way of self-analysis - one of the principles of shadow

work.

Briefly defined, self-analysis is a shadow work exercise that involves performing

personal psychotherapy wherein the individual is both the analyst and patient.

This idea is largely based on Horney’s ​Psychoanalytic Social Theory wherein she

talks about how the human person develops his/her psyche. As a quick summary,

we will be talking of a few concepts in her theory.

Horney’s theory begins with the perception that a human person is like an acorn

whose potentiality is to grow into an oak tree. If proper conditions are met, an

acorn, while fragile, can grow into an oak tree.

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However, this also means that the acorn is susceptible to unfavorable conditions.

For instance, the acorn itself might be damaged, or the conditions from which it

thrives are too harsh for growth.

These conditions do not permit the acorn to grow into an oak tree.

Just like the acorn, human beings have the potentiality to ​achieve

self-actualization. As each person is free and rational, with own talents and

preferences developed overtime, he/she may flourish.

But certain experiences in life deny some or even most people to become the

best version of themselves.

A ​traumatic childhood experience of simply being treated unfairly by family

members can lead a person to become selfish.

A child that is unloved will find it difficult to give love for one cannot give what

he/she doesn’t have.

For Horney, these unfavorable conditions develop certain problems during

childhood for a child will be unable to process them.

More likely than not, it will contribute to certain neurotic trends which can hinder

one’s growth. By failing to see that security from one’s parents, a child may

develop certain basic anxieties that which will tarnish the way he/she perceives

life.
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So, in order to understand more about Horney’s theory, we will briefly talk about

two things: Neurotic Trends and Neurotic Needs.

As a context, neurotic trends and needs arise as a response of the individual to

basic anxieties. Such anxieties are a result of a troubled childhood, with

unresolved issues as mentioned above.

Compared to Freud, these anxieties do not stem from one’s internal urges and

drives. Horney’s theory, although psychoanalytic, has a social factor into it.

For Horney, similar in the example of the acorn, social factors are essential in the

development of the individual. The younger the child is, the more prone he/she

becomes with these social factors.

Thus, when children are not given proper attention and guidance, they may feel

that the world is an unsafe place.

An example that I can give is when we see children who are playing. One

common misconception about children is that when they are behaved when they

are not playful.

From a psychological standpoint, the nature of children is to interact and to play

with others. Yet, some children remain silent as if they were adults. The common

misconception there is that some parents think that it is a good thing.

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Rather, in reality, this occurrence signifies that the child is bothered and views the

world as an unsafe place. Thus, possibly, the child may lack the self-confidence to

engage with other children.

The same example also applies when the child asks permission from parents.

Parents who have raised their children well are constantly reassuring their child

that “it is okay, you may proceed.” Thus, the constant asking of permission.

The failure to know and value these instances may lead the child to conclude that

the world is an unsafe place, creating that basic anxiety within him/her. With that

basic anxiety, children are prone to develop certain neurotics.

Given these neurotics, Horney talks about two main aspects: the neurotic needs

and neurotic trends.

Neurotic needs are common problems of individuals which they commonly deal

with a multitude of strategies.

Neurotics, however, repeat the same strategy over and over again despite is

ineffectiveness. Much like the shadow, the same problems recur overtime.

First, some have the neurotic need for affection and approval. Lack in this level

may lead an individual to try and please everyone else.

Second, the neurotic need for a powerful partner may be a result or lead to a state

of low self-confidence or giving too much value for love.

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Third, restricting one’s self within narrow boarders is a neurotic need. While this

can be perfectly normal just as all other needs, this may be a result to viewing

one’s abilities as inferior or underestimating them.

Fourth, there is a neurotic need for power, which affects one’s self image and

avoids to be perceived as weak.

Fifth, another neurotic need is to exploit others. Some people fear of being

exploited so they do it to others before it is done unto them.

Sixth, over-aspiring for social recognition and needs is an example of a neurotic

need. No matter how good it sounds, over-competitiveness can result to one

always being wanted or perceived as important.

Seventh, some people have this neurotic need for self-admiration. This constantly

requires that their self-esteem be fed.

Eight, the neurotic need for ambition and self-development may lead to

over-perfectionism.

Ninth, the neurotic need for self-sufficiency and independence can make one

have this strong need to distance from others.

Lastly, tenth, the neurotic need for perfection can leave a person wanting nothing

less.

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We won’t be discussing them in detail but these brief introductions can somehow

give us an idea of how shadows are present in us using Horney’s lens.

Because of certain neuroticisms, we choose and react in a specific way.

Tendencies as a result of childhood trauma can result to our own shadows.

Following the same principle used in Freud, we can see here that shadows are

formed even outside our own volition. But how do individuals react using Horney’s

theory?

Horney suggests that there are three main neurotic trends: Moving away from

other people, moving against other people, and moving towards other people.

In a neurotic level, these natural defenses can become problematic. They become

core tendencies of individuals.

First, moving towards other people may sound good, but doing it in an excess can

lead to social problems of dependency, with neurotic needs of affection, a

powerful partner, and narrower limits.

As an example, we can see this in a case of teenagers who grew up lacking the

attention that they needed. As they become bonded with other teenagers, they

may have the tendency of being too dependent on a partner even when both are

merely teenagers.

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In their own teenage relationship, the dependent partner will demand too much

from the other which naturally causes a breakdown.

From here on, shadows can be formed as a result of how the troubled teenager

sees other people. He/she may even further doubt if the world can ever be a safe

place despite moving towards it.

Even when interacting is good, the demands created by these neuroticisms can

be too much for the other, especially when he/she is not ready.

In the same way, moving against other people can be seen in rebellious actions.

Demand for power, admiration, prestige and the like can lead to exploitation of

others.

Oftentimes, people who conclude that the world is an unsafe place may have the

neurotic reaction of overly protecting themselves first.

This may result to manipulating the feelings and reactions of other people – and

thus the classic representation of domestic violence.

Lastly, moving away from people can be a neurotic trend, given that individuals

experiencing these symptoms strive too much to become self-sufficient and

perfectionists.

This naturally sets them apart from others, in more of a negative way given that

they don’t really trust or cooperate well.

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People who display such can become dictators in their own households,

distancing themselves even from family members.

All these neurotic trends and needs has a complex interplay with each other,

resulting into unrecognized shadows along the way.

Before we know it, we are already distancing from people we love or being

overfamiliar with people we know. These are tendencies which form part in our

decision-making process, ultimately leading us to problems that we are unaware

of.

So how do we actually deal with them?

While Freud suggests ​psychoanalysis with a therapist​, it is often cited in his

anecdotes that “the chief person that I am concerned with is myself.” Freud

admitted in constantly undergoing himself in the same process of psychoanalysis.

He analyzed himself, his dreams, his tendencies, and his behavior, which led

some to theorize that this was perhaps the reason why he remained unhappy.

In line with this notion, Horney suggests that we engage in self-analysis.

The method of self-analysis dates back to the idea of the ancient Greeks,

particularly the inscription associated to Socrates – ​Know Thyself.​

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In this classic story, the oracle of Delphi proclaimed that no one was wiser than

Socrates. In search of understanding this wisdom, Socrates began his endless

inquisitions of people of different statures during his time.

In the end, it can be concluded that Socrates was indeed the wisest for he was

the only one who had the courage to admit that he was not.

From Horney’s perspective, self-analysis can be likened to this notion of knowing

thyself. By engaging in a constant conversation and awareness with one’s

consciousness, a person is able to have a better grasp on his shadows.

The more that we try to wrestle these shadows, the wiser we become, given that

we obtain greater understanding of ourselves. In the same way, as we move

forward, we also realize that what we understand about it is very much limited and

dynamic, exposing our own ignorance even about ourselves.

It is clear from here on that both Freud and Horney agree that a person must

undergo psychoanalysis. The difference between them lies in how the method is

executed. Freud proposes that it should be done with the help of a trained

professional.

In Horney’s perspective, doing psychoanalysis with a trained professional may not

be the best option. Horney tells us that while the psychologist is trained, it takes

months, years (if not, a lifetime) for another person to understand us.

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But we, as individuals, are constantly connected to ourselves – that which we

intimately and deeply know about.

In relation to shadow work, this can be shown in moments wherein we already

know our tendencies and we continue to allow them to take control.

A self-righteous person, for instance, may quickly judge a person coming from a

different culture. While presumably problematic, this self-righteous person already

knows this tendency and still continues to do it.

While the shadow can be at play here, we also cannot deny that the individual

himself has stronger access to the shadow.

As the shadow manifests this self-righteousness through projection on other

people, it hopes to reconcile and integrate with the individual. The problem is that

not all individuals recognize these signals for they don’t even know that they have

shadows! And without knowing the existence of one’s shadow, how does one

perform shadow work?

In other words, the shadow, as it works itself, doesn’t really need a therapist.

Rather, it needs awareness and acknowledgement from the individual himself so

that it can be integrated to one’s consciousness.

It is, however, not an easy path. Doing self-analysis can be quite challenging

given that even the mere fact of facing one’s shadows is already a big task.
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Should it have been easy, people would have already controlled their shadows

most of the time.

But as we know it, most of us are not even aware of these shadows.

To add further, when we become aware of them, it even makes things more

challenging for we cannot handle them. Thus we repress or suppress these

shadows further.

For instance, in the movie the great Gatsby, we can see that J. Gatsby, a dirt-poor

individual only had his dreams with him. Following this desire for greatness, he

eventually became a mystery millionaire. Despite such, the repressed traits due to

his past constantly manifest in him – like his lack of Oxfordian manners.

In the movie he continued to suppress and repress them as if they never existed,

for he himself was not ready to face them.

The question then is that – in doing self-analysis and shadow work, can we even

handle it?

Horney believes that yes, we will be able to do so. She tells us that when we

become aware of our repressed traits or shadows, while we become problematic

and fearful about it, it doesn’t necessarily follow that we can’t deal with them.

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Rather, the mere fact that they surface means that we can deal with them. Just as

the shadows project itself on how we view others, its communication mechanism

is asking us to recognize instead of repress them.

For Horney, much can be gained by doing this method of self-analysis. Just as

when we learn how to ride a bike on our own instead of someone teaching us,

self- analysis can bring more self-confidence and mastery.

For Horney, doing self-analysis will bear more fruits for us and will restore us back

to the path of growth, from acorn to oak tree.

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FOURTH WAY: JUNGIAN DREAM ANALYSIS

In the previous ways we have seen a common method that was applied –

self-introspection.

When an individual examines his consciousness and how it operates, one is able

to introspect, leading to self-knowledge.

As we distanciate ourselves from ourselves, we get to have a gap as presented in

the first way.

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Given this gap, we gain access to certain childhood problems which can be

portrayed from both Freudian and Horneyian lens.

While Freud believed in the psychosexual theory as the main basis, Horney

presents the perspective from a psychosocial sense.

Their difference in method also manifests as Freud believes this unresolved

trauma can be resolved with the help of a trained professional while Horney

shows that it can be done alone.

In all these methods, it points to understanding oneself and one’s shadows, any of

which can help contribute the way we perceive our lives.

In this last shadow work exercise, we will explore another perspective from Carl

Jung, the man who coined the term “shadows” himself.

SHADOW WORK EXERCISE: DREAM ANALYSIS

So what are dreams?

Most of the time, we usually don’t mind them.

When we dream of something, we have the tendency to think that “oh maybe

that’s just something irrelevant” or “maybe that’s because I saw that pizza ad

yesterday.”

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But what are they really? Can we simply dismiss dreams as wishy washy

thoughts in our mind? Or do they actually say something about us?

Is it possible that we get to understand more about our shadow archetypes by

looking into these dreams?

For starters, it is scientifically proven that each night, we do have ​dreams

occurring. Even when we don’t really remember anything the moment we wake

up, they were there.

The scientific proof behind this is brain image scanning. In Japan, researchers

have found ways to access the images present in one’s dream as they fall asleep.

Using this method, researchers, doctors, and psychologists have gained more

understanding about our dreams.

But even when we know that they exist, what do these random images really

mean? If they even mean something, can they make sense?

The first point in this question is the idea of randomness. Are dreams really simply

random ideas? Or can they be manifestations of our repressions?

Following Freud’s psychosocial theory, he tells us that dreams are a way to

reconcile with our childhood milestones that we were unable to meet.

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For instance, problems during the phallic stage can manifest itself in dream state,

hoping that the conscious mind will reconcile with the unconscious issues.

By showing our consciousness these ideas, it hopes to make us aware of our

inner issues.

Thus, Freud believed that the things we see in our dreams are symbolisms that

are unique for us. Each person has his/her own issues in life in which should they

repress it, they become stored in the unconscious.

Eventually, these stored ideas of the self, memories, or traits, will make itself

manifest through dreams. Thus, through it, we might have a chance of hitting

milestones in the development of our psyche, eventually dealing with our

neurosis.

While Jung was practically a student of Freud, they eventually had to split ways

because Jung pursued something more than this individualistic and psychosexual

theory of Freud. Jung believed that dreams contain more than our repressed

sexual desires for the driving force in man is not only the libido.

Freud wanted to create an integrated interpretation using his psychosexual

theory, thus, making his theory unified.

Jung, on the other hand, thought that dreams gave us access to something

beyond ourselves – the collective unconscious. He believed that Freud’s

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understanding of dreams and its symbols is too limited. He thought that symbols

of one’s dreams are not limited to personal interpretation.

Simply put, the collective unconscious is the holistic compilation of all the

symbols, ideas, signs, and concepts in humankind. These symbols are

experienced in everyday life, even when they are not necessarily registered in the

consciousness of individuals.

A deeper insight into the human mind and consciousness will lead us to this

understanding that everything we empirically sense in this world becomes

converted to data that is registered in our mind.

However, not all of these data are consciously stored. Rather, some of them are

absorbed but not really consciously focused given the limited nature of the way

humans dedicate their attention. These data can be stored in the ​personal

unconscious. Thus, the theory that the conscious mind only accounts for the small

amount of the data that we actually absorb every day.

In the movie Focus by Will Smith and Margot Robbie, we can see this classic

example of psychological priming. As BD Wong (the rich gambler) was in the

Superbowl game, Will Smith and his team was priming him by constantly showing

him the number 55 in subconscious/unconscious ways. They even played

Symphony of the devil which had “woo-woos”(chinese for 55) in its lyrics.

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Eventually they made a bet with BD Wong to pick a football player from a pool of

almost 100 players. Wong eventually picked number 55 and was guessed by

Margot Robbie.

Now it seems impossible but such things are happening to us and are registering

in our minds.

While we perceive from an observer’s perspective that there are far too many

numbers for one number (55) to be picked, what we fail to see is that it was the

same for Wong. The sea of players made it difficult for Wong to pick a player,

especially when his rational consciousness was trying to make sense of the

number to be selected.

As he picked a number, he was trying to make sense of everything. He looked for

something familiar, which in this case was 55. Eventually, he resonated with the

number thinking that it was fate. In reality, it was his absorbed personal

unconscious that influenced this decision.

It doesn’t end there. As these symbols have universal meanings, they can be

linked to universal concepts as well. Thus, it taps on the ​collective unconscious.

In the same way, how we receive and interpret our dreams can also appear

random and irrelevant. However, if we try to dig deeper, we realize that it is not

entirely composed of elements from our own reality.

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For instance, it is very common that a lot of absurd things happen during dream

state. We are in unusual situations which are not necessarily something that we

have experienced or even watched in the movies.

Jung thought that dreams opened the doors to this collective unconscious.

Symbols from the collective unconscious are believed to be passed on not only by

unconscious registrations in the mind, but also through birth.

The evidence presented by Jung is the striking significance in mythological motifs

among different peoples, in a cross-cultural sense.

Meaning, Jung’s studies of different cultures has led him to conclude that despite

having different beliefs, common imagery and symbols existed.

The strongest proof presented for this belief is the mystical symbol of the

Mandala.

The mandala originally referred to a spiritual and ritual symbol of Buddhism and

Hinduism which represented perfection. It was often an artwork based on perfect

balance between squares and circles.

The significance of the mandala is that it was also present in western civilizations

such as the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. Both the Mayans and Aztecs utilized it

as a calendar of some sort.

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Eventually, the significance of the mandala has evolved from these ancient

concepts. Nowadays, the mandala symbol is used to represent perfection.

Jung believed that the mandala represented the self-archetype, an image which

symbolized wholeness.

This is supported even by one of the paintings of the legendary Leonardo

DaVinci. In the Virtruvian man sketch, a perfect circle is drawn from the navel of a

man by equally extending it. In the same way, the wing span of man is equally

proportionate with his height.

In this sketch, DaVinci outlined problems of his time about geometry, philosophy,

religion etc. By drawing the Virtruvian Man, he was able to outline how human

beings have the possibility for ​wholeness​ and perfection.

Even the idea of a square circle originated from the ancient times, an attempt to

re-create perfection. This was impossible due to the nature of ​pi which was

transcendental.

In any case, we can see that this imagery of the square circle is present in the

mandala, and even utilizes the same concept.

This, together with all other similarities in mythic concepts and universal signs, led

Jung to perceive that there indeed is something more and beyond.

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Because of this theory, some have regarded Jung as going beyond psychology to

parapsychology. Discussing metaphysical and spiritual links can be doubted by

thinkers and researchers, especially those in the hard sciences.

Despite such, his theory is only gaining more attraction as people find meaning in

this concept of collective unconscious.

People have resonated strongly with this idea of the collective unconscious, giving

them a wider perspective in understanding their dreams, archetypes, and

shadows.

In this quest to understand more about our dreams, Jung suggests that the

personal unconscious - the median between the conscious and collective

unconscious, is not only comprised of personal desires but are also influenced by

the archetype.

Our 12 ​jungian archetypes​, as we have found out in this website, are universal

frames of existence, roles and qualities that are rooted in the collective

unconscious.

This opens up a new possibility in shadow work, given that it allows us to pinpoint

that our shadows are born out of own choice and childhood trauma. This presents

the possibility that shadows themselves are the inevitable consequences of

having certain archetypes.

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For instance, having the ​hero archetype​, our psyche is programmed to favor

being a hero above all other archetypes. In this way, a person will perceive

courage as the highest virtue. In the same way, he will resent cowardice even

when such can be reasonable, depending on the context.(For instance, the great

strategist Sun Tzu suggests that when heavily outnumbered, one must flee)

However, Jung tells us that we can never have direct experiences with these

archetypes. Instead, they are inherent parts of us which emanates from the

natural evolution of the psyche just as that of the human race.

Thus, the way to understand more about the shadow is to take into consideration

these archetypes and how they influence our conscious responses.

Going back to Freud and Horney, the way to dig deeper is not only examining

childhood sexual milestones or social neurotic trends. In Jung’s theory, we can

see that understanding the shadow can be deepened by the collective

unconscious.

Through shadow work and by introspecting and evaluating the collective

unconscious, we get to have a more primordial understanding of our shadow.

In the act of constantly analyzing one’s dreams, he/she might be able to locate

that thin thread which connects them all. As we interpret what our psyche is telling

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us, we should not limit ourselves in the actual dream and the symbols we

assume.

Accounting for the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious can give

us an idea of our shadow by gaining a primordial and transcendental

understanding of it.

Much like the concepts of the mandala and the virtruvian man, the idea of the

collective unconscious is something that we cannot simply sideline due to the fact

of its consistency and universality.

Perhaps, in viewing our shadows from this perspective, we can know more about

the inherent tendencies of the forces that we repress within us.

IMPROVING SOCIAL AWARENESS THROUGH SHADOW

WORK
In the previous sections presented, the underlying common theme, of course, is

deepening the understanding of a person about himself/herself by using shadow

work.

We have utilized four ways to do this.

First, by way of distancing.

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Second, by using Freud’s psychosexual theory.

Third, by adding Horney’s psychosocial theory.

Fourth, Jung’s dream analysis opened up for the possibility of a transcendental

explanation of one’s shadows.

In all these 4 shadow work methods suggested in those previous articles, we can

see that it seeks to bring out the shadow from the unconscious mind to the

conscious mind.

The existential method of distancing sets up the stage in order to make shadows

manifest itself. After recognizing them, the individual has a chance to

acknowledge and integrate them into one’s personality.

But integration presupposes understanding. In order to fully fuse with the shadow,

it requires that we not only recognize but know them.

The reason behind this is the presumption that dealing with our shadows is a

life-long task.

When we do shadow work, it can have a magnanimous effect. However, as we

continually make choices in life, new shadows appear.

Given our knowledge from the previous section, we are better equipped in dealing

with this.

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However, this is not enough given that shadows are not only formed out of our

own choices. Why so?

One point that can be raised here is the question of freedom.

Are we truly free?

Consider for instance when you drop by at your usual McDonald’s. You come in

to the store, lining up, while thinking which meal to order.

By the time that it is your turn, you decided to pick their new offering with those

large coke and fries meal.

But the question is, when you did this, were you truly free?

Some might say yes. By choosing one meal over the other, or even the mere fact

that you decided to select McDonald’s as your destination is an expression of

freedom.

Yet others may say no. In choosing which meal to eat, you were limited by the

options presented right before you. In the same way, because you were hungry,

you might have decided to stop by at McDonald’s instead of going to a proper

restaurant or eating at home.

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Even if you weren’t hungry, the same criticism can be implied that as you passed

by, you saw the gigantic sign of McDonald’s, compelling your action towards the

consumption of such.

In other words, it is not enough to see our shadows, evaluate them, and integrate

them.

It being a constant task requires constant attention as well not only on ourselves

but also on the society that we live in.

That is why, in this section of shadow work, we will look deeper into the social

factors affecting the choices that we make, how it molds them, and how

awareness of it can improve our self-understanding.

DETACHING FROM PUBLIC OPINION: KIERKEGAARD’S

INDIVIDUAL VS. CROWD
In understanding the social dimension of shadows, the first perspective that we

are going to present comes from a philosophical one, still.

This is precisely because it can better explain man’s task – understanding the

meaning and value of his/her own life. Integrating with our shadows, after all, is

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only a task afforded to the man who is aware of the value of his/her own

existence.

The problem is that this value cannot be understood alone.

To propose that we can understand the value of our own life alone removes an

important aspect of our existence – sociality. Given that we necessarily live with

others, we cannot escape from this matrix and perceive ourselves from a vacuum.

In this case, how does the social aspect affect our life anyway?

As a quick introduction, Soren Aabye Kierkegaard is usually regarded as the

father of ​Existentialism​. This is so given that Kierkegaard is one of the modern

thinkers who have sparked the redirection of understanding.

Most thinkers during his time was too eager to understand the world. This

perhaps was an influence of Galileo’s shift from understanding God to

understanding the natural world.

His persecution, which was definitely unjust, has shifted the understanding of

people from the subjective (belief during his time) to the objective (the empirical

nature of the world).

This trend has resulted to creating a bias within the world – that objective truths

about how life should be lived existed.

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Kierkegaard’s constant introspection has led him to have a different viewpoint

about the world – one that was subjective by nature.

But how is the objective and subjective different?

Objectivity can be defined as a quality of a thing or an idea to be true and real

despite of the perception of individuals.

This means that objective truths remain constant no matter how other people may

choose to interpret them.

Subjectivity, on the other hand, refers to the perspective of the perceiver – the

individual himself.

In this case, subjective truths are very much springing from the perceiver, instead

of having a quality of its own.

Thus, when we say that the value of ​pi is 3.14…, this is a truth that is independent

of the socio-cultural and historical factors of the perceiver.

However, when we talk about whether or not Audrey Hepburn is the epitome of

human beauty, the value of the answers can be subjective as the beauty depends

on the eyes of the beholder.

While no other problems may arise when we talk about geometry and

mathematics, objectivity can cause problems when applied to human values.

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In this case, Kierkegaard saw this paradox through the inauthentic nature of

people during his time.

As members of the Christian faith, people often conformed with the norm, simply

agreeing with whatever was and is.

Kierkegaard saw this as funny and problematic at the same time. Apart from

religion, He rejected this act of simply conforming to social rules without giving

them proper weight and evaluation.

And I quote:

"When I was young, I forgot how to laugh in the cave of Trophonius; when I was

older, I opened my eyes and beheld reality, at which I began to laugh, and since

then, I have not stopped laughing. I saw that the meaning of life was to secure a

livelihood, and that its goal was to attain a high position; that love’s rich dream

was marriage with an heiress; that friendship’s blessing was help in financial

difficulties; that wisdom was what the majority assumed it to be; that enthusiasm

consisted in making a speech; that it was courage to risk the loss of ten dollars;

that kindness consisted in saying, “You are welcome,” at the dinner table; that

piety consisted in going to communion once a year. This I saw, and I laughed.”

(Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or)

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In this direct quote, we can see that Kierkegaard was laughing at the bourgeois

dream of conforming to the set objective notions of how to live the good life.

The same thing can be applied to us as we simply subscribe to this notion of the

American dream.

For Kierkegaard, it was important to examine more about ourselves rather than

simply adhering to the social notions of what is right and how should life be lived.

Kierkegaard believed that the primordial task of man is to discover the meaning of

his own life in light of his innate angst.

This concept of angst arises from man’s frustration of how life should be lived. As

Kierkegaard wrote: “Life can only be understood backwards but must be lived

forwards.”

This iconic quote which reflects the absurdity of human life makes us question if

we can really ever derive meaning from it. In every choice we make, we are faced

with a situation which forces us to eliminate another option.

An individual, for instance, may have a lot of talents in life. He may have an

exceptionally high IQ while having generational talent as a musical conductor.

Typically speaking, this person may decide to pursue a career on both the

sciences and the arts.

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However, in choosing and focusing on one, he forgoes the other. He may look

back but time has already been lost.

This is the angst that every human person must live with for the rest of his life.

In the same way, this act of making choices forms our shadows. In this case

however, this gifted man who can pick either may have been influenced by people

around him.

It would be great if people influenced him positively. However, for most of us,

Kierkegaard has noted that there exists the inauthentic crowd.

In this case, even if this man had enormous talents and possibilities, he wouldn’t

necessarily be able to pursue them, especially when he keeps associating himself

with the crowd.

By conforming with the crowd, the talented man loses his possibilities of pursuing

his dreams alone. He becomes like a sheep, a herd-like animal, who simply

follows the flock.

Kierkegaard notes that if we truly wanted to live a meaningful life, we would have

to constantly face this unending battle of authenticity in making our finite choices.

Angst fills us over given that once we make one choice, we realize the finitude of

our existence. Just as we have to choose between saving a family member vs. a

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loved one in the classic bridge dilemma, our life as human beings are filled with

such absurdity.

In the even that we reject one, just as the talented man rejects his musical

aptitude for a career in the scientific field, we may have formed shadows.

I see this all the time with kids who supposedly had talents for the arts but are

forced into standard and mechanical courses in order to obtain a stable job.

After graduating that four-year course, yes, the child may have obtained a good

job at a good company, but will always look at that guitarist in their local bar who

eventually became Ed Sheeran as a once in a lifetime talent.

Whereas that child may have surpassed Ed Sheeran in talents (especially in looks

as well), the social influence of the familiar forced him to create a shadow instead

of a light for the path he would walk upon.

In other words, even in our own family, they can become the crowd that

Kierkegaard strongly warns us against. Instead of making our own choices, we

depend on the opinion of our friends, family, and even irrelevant workmates.

This creates judgments, which in-turn creates shadows for us. Before we know it,

we have already lost ourselves in this stream of the crowd, making choices

infinitely irreversible.

But why do people do it anyway?

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Kierkegaard tells us that the appeal of simply going by the crowd’s groove is that

it presents to us a certain level of security. He wrote:

“By getting engaged in all sorts of worldly affairs, by becoming wise about how

things go in this world, such a man forgets himself, forgets what his name is (in

the divine understanding of it), does not dare to believe in himself, finds it too

venturesome a thing to be himself, far easier and safer to be like the others, to

become an imitation, a number, a cipher in the crowd.”

His point in this passage highlights the very notion of inauthenticity. Whereas an

individual is to pursue how he believes life should be lived, he sometimes feels

that he is better off conforming in the crowd.

This primarily is caused by the notion that the crowd provides a certain level of

comfort and security.

Such is usually displayed even in the way we select our music. Most people

simply select the “Top 50” songs even when they don’t really like those songs.

By listening to top bands and artists, one does not need to explain his/herself.

Conformity begets explanation for it is perceived as a standard.

So, whereas, a person truly prefers Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9, that person

listens to Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode even if it is truly a nonsense song.

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When we allow the crowd to persuade and dominate us, we unintentionally create

shadows.

As such, that friend who loves Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Vivaldi will be

labeled as weird. Not wanting to be associated to such persons, we forcibly recent

their choice of music.

This same notion applies to all other things we do – from the way we dress,

speak, and live.

By relinquishing our responsibility as individuals to find meaning and value in life,

we dismiss ourselves to the crowd, and together with it our own authentic

meaning.

This whole discussion of Kierkegaard about the subjective self and how it should

be opens up the possibility of understanding shadows and shadow work from a

social context.

When we begin to doubt the social influences around us, this can lead to greater

levels of introspection about ourselves not only by way of looking at our

judgments but also how our judgments are affected by others.

If people simply conformed and subscribed to the ideas of social norms, he would

live a life of despair and inauthenticity, for he knows that the choices that he

makes are not entirely his own.

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Given that we can absorb these ideas, concepts, and notions of how life should

be, they definitely affect our shadows in one way or another.

DETACHING FROM ONE’S ENVIRONMENT: B.F.

SKINNER’S DETERMINISM

In the previous section on Kierkegaard, we have stressed the discussion on the

point of freedom. As free persons, we are able to rationalize and create our own

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decisions, just as we are able to create our own shadows and choose whether or

not to implement shadow work in our lives.

This for Kierkegaard placed man in a position wherein he is ultimately the master

of his own fate – a task of meaning that he must not avoid.

However, this was no easy task. It as a constant internal battle, a quest to

conquer despair and angst.

Due to the extremely difficult path that one has to walk upon should he decide to

be free, individuals surrender.

They surrender their individuality and simply accept the notions of the crowd,

making them vulnerable and susceptible to its corrupting nature.

As individuals give up freedom for security, the have far more less control and

conscious awareness about themselves.

In turn, this creates shadows apart from the ones that they have truly decided

upon.

Surrendering to the crowd makes one less of a human person, with shadows that

are simply a product of socially influenced preferences.

Thus, Kierkegaard pushes this idea that we should be free from this crowd, from

the security of the familiar and the tranquility of repetition as V phrased it.

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But the real question here that nobody is asking is that are we truly free?

Such a question has been repeatedly asked not only in philosophy but also in

psychology, particularly in behaviorism.

This question will be the subject of our next discussion for if freedom is not real,

then does that also mean our shadows are conditioned responses?

If so, are we ultimately responsible for our shadows?

SHADOW WORK EXERCISE: B.F. SKINNER’S OPERANT

CONDITIONING
Before there was a B.F. Skinner and his operant conditioning, we all know of

Pavlov and his classical conditioning.

Accidentally, Ivan Pavlov discovered the concept of classical conditioning as he

was feeding the dogs. Conditioning their response every single time that he

arrived, the dogs already salivated because of the idea that he brought meat with

him.

He furthered this experiment by bringing in a neutral stimulus like the bell, in

which whenever the bell rang, he would feed the dogs some meat.

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Because dogs now associated this ring to food, whenever the bell rang (even

when there was no food), the dogs salivated.

Thus, Pavlov discovered this concept that certain stimulus can condition a

response of an animal.

But this wasn’t enough. In the quest of understanding more about behaviorism,

John Watson took this study to the next level.

This time, he used an actual human baby for his experiment.

He tried to induce a conditioned response from this baby by associating fear with

mice. Initially, the baby didn’t fear the mice.

In order to associate fear, he would make loud sounds whenever the mice

appeared before the baby which conditioned a response – crying.

Eventually, the mice were shown to the baby, without the loud noises. Still, the

baby displayed the conditioned response of crying.

This advancement has influenced B.F. Skinner to further the advancement in the

field of behaviorism.

He furthered this idea of behaviorism by introducing something more than

classical conditioning.

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Unlike classical conditioning, operant conditioning incorporates the idea of

positive and negative reinforcement. This was, most definitely, a synthesis of

Pavlov and Watson’s idea.

Positive reinforcement was a rewards-based scenario while negative

reinforcement was a punishment-based scenario.

Using Freud’s example, potty-training a child while giving him positive

reinforcements such as praises, appreciation, and external rewards leads him to

replicate the same action.

While in negative reinforcement, we utilize the bad consequences scenario in

order to discourage a person in repeating the same action.

A child has become unruly and was sent for detention.

Following negative reinforcement, we assign temporal punishments for the child in

order to “teach a lesson”.

But perhaps, in having this crash course about behaviorism, you are now

wondering how it is related to our shadows?

The thing is, B.F. Skinner eventually became the professor of psychology in

Harvard.

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If you would search his name in google, a list will show that he is currently the

most significant psychologist followed only by Piaget and Freud.

This is primarily because of two things.

First, Skinner swayed away from the classic approach of theories of personality.

While Freud, Horney, and Jung posited certain ideas and theories about the

individual, these remained as assumptions about their psyche.

They didn’t really translate into real world actions which can be observed and

recorded.

Skinner, on the other hand, focused on actual reactions, tendencies, and

behaviors which induced a conditioned response.

Thus, he appropriated that behaviorism is more of a science compared to these

pseudo-metaphysical ideas of the self. Behaviorism presented a concrete and

observable answer, not some inquiry on the nature of human persons.

This was especially true when Skinner conducted an experiment on pigeons.

In his famous experiments on pigeons, Skinner introduced and reinforced a

response to the pigeon. While pigeons randomly turn, he wanted to condition

them to make a full circle turn.

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This is done by giving food whenever the pigeon attempts to turn to the left.

Repetition then leads to behavior as this pigeon completes a full circle turn.

This experiment has led him to conclude that actions, indeed, can be conditioned.

However, this alone did not make him the man he is renowned for today.

It was two other things that engrained him to legendary status.

First, the position that he held favoring determinism and second, the way he

translated this determinism to the social level – behavioral engineering.

The first point on determinism is not an original idea from Skinner.

This is an idea from a philosopher who goes by the name Baron D’Holbach.

According to this idea, man’s actions are not truly free but instead, are

determined. Whatever man’s actions may be, a certain previous stimulus or a

past event influenced him to act in this way.

In D’Holbach’s words, “we’re all just cogs in a machine, doing what were always

meant to do, with no actual volition.”

To evaluate this idea, let us use a thought-experiment.

You recently got a promotion in your job and you finally decided to buy that

pick-up that you have been eyeing for months now.

The inevitable question arises – which color to pick?

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Selecting the color of your pick-up seems to be a manifestation of autonomy and

freedom. As ‘you feel it’ you will be selecting blue for your new Ford Raptor.

Now while we usually think that this choice may have been an expression of

freedom, hard determinists argue that it is not.

In choosing that color, hard determinists tell us that you were influenced by

previous images, advertisements, or even preferences arising from personal

attachments.

You selected the color blue because of that cunning Ford Raptor commercial with

that royal blue color.

Or maybe you chose it because you associated the color to something meaningful

like a family crest or a loved one’s preference.

While it appears that we are free in making this decision, hard determinists think

that we are not. These choices are ultimately choices that we cannot avoid, they

are determined for us just as fate determines what’s next.

In choosing a color, we associate it with something significant. Thus, the illusion

that we feel free is nothing more than an idea but never a reality.

Although Skinner was a behaviorist instead of a determinist, he shared the same

view that our choices are ultimately influenced by something else and that they

are not totally free.

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One may claim that his/her choice is out of his/her own free will but such choices

are almost always influenced by a prior event – thus determined.

While this is far from Skinner’s operant conditioning, the same principle applies.

The responses of individuals on a certain situation can be conditioned by the way

that they were brought up and the culture that they are living in.

If people happened to be kind to others, this can be a conditioned response

based on the society that he grew upon – whether it be positive or negative.

Even if that person grew up from a harsh environment, we may perceive that it

was free will that made him a good person. However, determinists will argue that

it was the harsh environment that shaped this perspective of kindness.

This brings us to Skinner’s second point – behavioral engineering.

For Skinner, this experiments on pigeons proved more than animals following a

conditioned response. He thought that behavior is behavior whether it be in

animals and humans themselves.

While the subjects of his experiments are animals, this doesn’t mean that such is

inapplicable on humans for they are also molded by behavior.

If we are able to apply the same principles to humans, Skinner thought that we

can engineer a society that has new and better behavioral traits and values.

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Religion, for instance, is a way of ​behavioral conditioning​. By presenting dogmatic

precepts, human action is limited by both reward and punishment.

As it is common for religions to present a reward and punishment case, we may

socially induce good behavior by bringing up possible consequences. If you do

good, you might go to heaven. If you do bad, you might go to hell.

These precepts induce a certain behavior, a way of living for people, that is

socially engineered or organized.

And to note, it has been proven in human history that it has nothing to do with the

positive or negative nature of the precept itself. Rather, it has more to do with the

social engineering.

Consider for instance the time wherein the church sold indulgences. After

conditioning the minds of individuals, they can manipulate it to a point that

individuals can believe something even when it is blatantly unjust.

Such is also common in other religions, especially small-scale Christian

denominations who present themselves as sons of God. They can easily

condition and persuade their congregation to give up everything that they have for

them to buy a jet.

This is the supposed power of social conditioning, which led Skinner to believe

that we can also condition the responses of people in a society.

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We have come a long way in briefly discussing Skinner’s idea of society. A quick

run-through on his ideas gives us the notion that the responses of persons can be

conditioned given the right mechanisms.

Should it be real, at least to a certain extent, we can raise the question of are we

truly free?

This is a very crucial question simply because if we have no freedom, we cannot

possibly make our own choices. This means that we are simply products of our

own environment.

Skinner believed that our environment influenced actually more than what we

perceived for we live in this illusion of freedom

Man, from the perspective of hard determinism, can be a result of the processes

and forces before him, ultimately making him who he is right now.

Maybe, in reading this lengthy section, you are now wondering why we had to go

to the process of identifying a possible loophole to man’s supposed freedom and

how it affects our shadows.

The problem is that people often assume that we are free. Although we may feel

free and may actually be free to a certain extent, identifying its bounds is

important if we want to understand more about our shadows.

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Our disposition on human freedom will decide to which extent we will be able to

perform shadow work and integrate our shadows.

For instance, you are in the process of successfully identifying and integrating

your shadows. But in the same way, the whole integration process is an inevitable

result of causality of natural processes and forces. Did we really integrate with our

shadows? Or was that response conditioned by the society before us?

This question is crucial for it challenges the validity of our shadows and the things

that we do to it.

In the previous sections, we have learned that shadows are a result of concept

judgment. But this section raises the bar a bit higher by challenging the

assumption that it is actually us who are calling the shots.

Determinism and behaviorism would have categorized these shadows differently,

not as a result of one’s choice, but an inevitable consequence of how one was

molded to make those choices.

Kierkegaard sought to break us free from this conditioning, the inauthentic crowd

who decides the values for us.

But in breaking away from it, have we done it out of our own volition?

Another point that I would like to stress here is that if we continue this notion that

we are indeed not that free and that our responses are more conditioned and
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caused rather than autonomous, then can we blame ourselves for having these

shadows?

Isn’t it the case that when we admit and surrender to the crowd, it is but the

natural thing to do?

Do we have a responsibility to keep ourselves informed and integrated in this

way? Or is it easier to surrender to the crowd for such fate cannot be stopped?

Our answers to these questions will ultimately determine our disposition regarding

this issue of freedom which in turn, will tell us more about nature and how to

perform shadow work.

DEFYING EXTERNAL FACTORS – VICTOR FRANKL’S

WILL TO MEANING
The question posited by Kierkegaard showed us the dread and anxiety that

comes along with life. As we are born into this world, we have no choice, and as

we leave, we have no choice either.

Similarly, this dread and anxiety is present in the creation of our own shadows.

Without having a choice or an option, in every decision we make, we create

shadows.
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Such creates the ultimate and endless task of man which is to constantly grapple

with his shadows just as he must constantly look for the meaning of his own life.

Giving-up in such a self-project means that we surrender ourselves to the crowd,

and allowing them to govern the values that we abide with.

By surrendering, we also surrender the control of ourselves, furthering the density

of our own shadows.

To add to this predicament, we have seen in B.F. Skinner’s theory that not only

are these shadows a result of our own decisions but more importantly, they are

heavily influenced by the environment around us.

Using operant conditioning, Skinner was able to show us that behavior, indeed,

can be conditioned. By introducing certain stimuli in the environment, an individual

may decide to act into a certain way.

Such leads us to question the limits of our freedom, which in turn affects the

validity of our shadows.

If all my actions right now are determined by a greater force other than my own

free will, then the shadows that arise from these decisions are not wholly mine.

By using this theory on behaviorism coupled with hard determinism, social

engineering of actions can be highly possible.

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Thus, when a child decides to prioritize technical-based work and resent those of

arts and spirituality, this can be a result of how society has been conditioned.

In the creation of shadows that we are not even aware of and have control about,

are we ultimately responsible for them? Or can we do otherwise?

To answer this question, we will examine Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy.

MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING

Perhaps, World War II was one of the most infamous events in human history.

Often described as the clash between axis and allied forces, the WWII showed

the gruesome side of humanity in as much as it has also shed light to the noble

ones.

At the spotlight was none other than Adolf Hitler, the man deemed responsible for

the beginning of this arc in human history. A lot of atrocities were committed

during this time. One of the most controversial is the concentration camp by Nazi

Germany.

Within these concentration camps, prisoners of war were subject to inhumane

conditions (an understatement).

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In 1938, Austria became German territory. This led to the creation of

concentration camps which included thousands of German Jews. We found in

these camps the infamous Holocaust which meant mass genocide.

In one of these camps, there was a psychiatrist who goes by the name Viktor E.

Frankl. He was of Jewish descent which practically explained why he got caught

up in this tragedy.

As he was processed, Frankl spent the next five months as a slave laborer in

which he has seen the situation of the individuals in the concentration camp.

The peculiar thing about Frankl is that he took the time that he had inside those

camps to observe the reactions of the prisoners.

In seeing how they responded to certain situations, Frankl was able to derive an

understanding about humanity and freedom.

To begin with, let us know what Frankl said as follows:

In attempting this psychological presentation and a psychopathological

explanation of the typical characteristics of a concentration camp inmate, I may

give the impression that the human being is completely and unavoidably

influenced by his surroundings. (In this case the surroundings being the unique

structure of camp life, which forced the prisoner to conform his conduct to a

certain set pattern.) But what about human liberty? Is there no spiritual freedom in
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regard to behavior and reaction to any given surroundings? Is that theory true

which would have us believe that man is no more than a product of many

conditional and environmental factors—be they of a biological, psychological or

sociological nature? Is man but an accidental product of these? Most important,

do the prisoners’ reactions to the singular world of the concentration camp prove

that man cannot escape the influences of his surroundings? Does man have no

choice of action in the face of such circumstances?​” (Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search

for Meaning)

In this excerpt, we can see the summary of our previous discussions. By raising

the question on whether or not processes and forces were the ones that

controlled man, Frankl was able to posit the hard determinist and behaviorist

position that Skinner presented.

True enough, perhaps no other place would have best represented this problem

other than the concentration camp.

In these camps, prisoners were not only secluded physically. Psychologically, it

also had a toll on them. Being here was like an epitome of bad fate, that one is

most certainly doomed.

Given this, Frankl presented that there were three main reactions from prisoners

who recently arrived at these camps. First, there was shock given the initial phase

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as they were admitted into the camp. Second, apathy ensued as they became

accustomed to camp existence. Third, negative reactions of depersonalization,

moral deformity, bitterness, and disillusionment happened if ever he survived.

(Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning)

Unlike Kierkegaard’s context, man can still be free even when he decided to avoid

the crowd for man was not restricted. In the same way, Skinner’s notions were

also based on theory instead of practice and actual experimentation on human

beings.

Frankl’s experience was astounding compared to both of them. While he shared

and questioned both ideas, the context from which it was executed induced

real-life reactions from individuals.

Eventually, due to this experience, Frankl began the psychology of ​Logotherapy –

the search and restoration of man’s meaning in life. He believed that individuals in

these camps somehow represented the extent of human liberty.

This was illustrated to him when he saw that other inmates, despite the harsh

conditions that they were in, chose to place others first. There were instances

wherein food supply was slowly depleting towards Christmas time and people

were losing hope.

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Some even died just bearing the thought of not being able to escape this horrible

place.

Yet not all gave up, and the stronger willed persons were even able to place

themselves ahead of others.

In the light of these discussions, what does it tell us about human freedom?

While it can be most certainly true that those human actions can be conditioned

and subject to the processes and forces, the divergent actions of some inmates

showed the possibility of freedom.

For instance, eating is a biological action yet can be a conscious choice. Going

into a buffet restaurant and eating beyond your heart’s content gives you the

impression that it was your own choice.

However, when we use this same principle in the scenario of the concentration

camp where food is scarce and the environment is harsh, the meaning of eating

changes.

From being a choice, it becomes more of a need. (not even tendency or habit)

Because people naturally need sustenance in order to survive, they need to eat.

But in this case, we can see that man is not always ultimately subject to such

assumptions. That even man, on harsh conditions, can choose to sway away from

the conditioned choice.

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This leads us to open a possibility for freedom, a leeway from which we can say

that while man may be physically limited and constrained, he is internally free.

Frankl sought the power behind this which led him to this practice of logotherapy

wherein he shows that Man’s search for meaning can be one of the greatest

faculties that he can have.

The question now shifts – what does this tell us about our shadows?

The whole discussion on Kierkegaard, Skinner, and Frankl, wrestled with the idea

of freedom. As we have repeatedly emphasized in these articles, freedom plays a

fundamental role in understanding our actions.

In having this sense of freedom, we also have a sense of control with our

shadows. For if we can ultimately conclude that we are responsible for the

shadows that we face, it also brings us to the realization that we are free to alter

and maneuver them.

If we are purely determined and our actions are mere consequences of prior

events, then we cannot be held accountable for our shadows.

But as we can see here, it is the classic mistake of correlation does not equate to

causation. While it can be true that our actions may very well be correlated to

each other, to say that they are indeed caused is flawed.

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This is because essentially, we can argue that each individual has a freedom of

his or her own.

Using Frankl’s experiences, the liberty of the individual is not always conditioned

by the society and environment around him. Even under harsh circumstances

(even that of life and death), man can always choose to do otherwise.

Such choice is the very expression of his freedom, an outward act to empirically

justify that man indeed can be free.

Given that this is the case, we can also point out that we can be free from our

shadows.

While the shadows that we have can very well be caused by the forces around us,

it doesn’t mean that we are limited to such.

For instance, society causes you to become homophobic given that you hail from

a predominantly Christian culture. Thus, you create a negative view on them even

when you haven’t really made your own choice about it.

This perception, of course, was socially influenced. However, your perception is

not limited to these social formulas.

People can change the way they perceive religion, sexuality, and their own

human existence at any time they wish.

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The power of human will can will itself even beyond what is conditioned of him.

For unlike the pigeon who keeps on making the circular turn in order to be fed,

humans are able to defy such limiting characteristics.

To conclude this section of the shadow work guide, we have to note two important

things.

First – that man is free and rational, making it necessary that he must look and

discover his own self-project.

In creating himself, it is of paramount importance that he considers his shadows

for they speak to him about himself.

Second – that while man is free, man cannot avoid society.

With this freedom, it is not from an omnipotent standpoint. Meaning, he cannot

simply sway away from the confines of society, culture, time, and space.

His actions will almost always be influenced, just as his shadows can be formed

without him knowing.

These two things that we have concluded will lead us to a higher plateau, an

understanding of ourselves that transcends both the individual and the social

spheres of life.

By taking control through shadow work, we become more human.

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HARNESSING SPIRITUAL POWERS

In the previous section of this series, we have seen how the individual and the

social factors contribute in changing the way people decide about themselves.

When we understand them as a result of both our individual and social forces, we

get to widen our scope in perceiving, acknowledging, and interpreting these

shadows.

However, while it is clear how this can be achieved, getting into that state of

achieving it is perhaps the most difficult part.

Just as when you are selling something, it is always the first sale that counts the

most – for it is in that sale that you get to begin the succeeding ones.

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In the same way, starting points are almost always half of the whole burden.

People hesitate to accept that they need to do these starting points.

When people go to the gym, the first payment meeting for the whole month is

almost always the easiest part.

People think that when they are able to start paying for it, their body goals will

automatically come to them.

But as we know right now, it doesn’t work that way.

In the same way, shadow work doesn’t work by simply knowing and studying

these topics.

Rather, it requires a lot of action and commitment from our part to actually live by

the things we have learned.

But how do we do it in such a busy setting?

Are you bored? Open your phone and start scrolling up! This is a classic example

of how people nowadays are eternally trapped by social media.

Following the good tidbits of the life of others posted in our social media

platforms, for instance, consumes a lot of time and energy.

Before we know it, time has already been spent and we can no longer continue

with our quest of acknowledging and integrating our shadows.

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A lot of social factors nowadays can easily distract us on this quest of knowing

and understanding ourselves better.

Thus, it is crucial to disconnect with these distractions and focus more on being

the masters of our own selves.

In this case, we will be exploring ways and ideas from the spiritual level in order to

create an environment within our minds that attract positive energy.

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HARNESSING THE POWER OF MIND: MEDITATION

The First way that we will be exploring today is the ​power of meditation​.

The practice of meditation is difficult to define in a clear-cut way. But following its

root word of meditate, it means focusing one’s mind in silence or chanting as a

method of relaxation.

In this broad definition alone, a lot of different ways can be implored. As a matter

of fact, meditation is a practice that is shared in both western and eastern

cultures.

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While people usually associate meditation with Buddhism, meditation is not

limited to such.

In exploring the works of the great Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, we can see that he

even made a work on meditation which had very similar principles to those

coming from the eastern world.

Nowadays, meditation is often associated with the monks in the mountains. Their

long hours of prayers, chanting, and silence allows them to detach and meditate

the meaning of life itself.

The problem, however, is that the same tranquility is something that the common

man cannot usually afford to have.

By being constantly connected to the “everyday” world, it is difficult to step-back

and have a distance in order to fully understand ourselves.

In order to have a deeper understanding about meditation, we shall use the

example of Siddhartha Buddha.

Siddhartha Gautama is credited as the great founder of Buddhism which has

strong emphasis on meditation.

Looking at his life, we can see where meditation took him. As a young prince, he

was not exposed to any form of rotting and death. Not even a rose losing a petal

was shown.
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Buddha grew up believing this nature of life, one that is eternal and not decaying.

Eventually, Buddha decided to go on a quest in which he found people that are

sick and dying. This made him question about the nature of life itself.

He concluded then the idea of suffering which was the inevitable nature of life.

In having this conclusion, he was on a quest for understanding more about life

and the escaping suffering.

While in this quest, he met five ascetics who practiced deprivation and eating

nothing but the seeds that fell from the trees as they did meditation.

Buddha, however, realized that this path only led to starvation which was futile.

He then revised his beliefs and turned to discovering the middle path.

After this, he went on to search for the fig tree in which he began his 49-day

meditation, and achieved an enlightened status.

In this enlightenment, he found the four noble truths and eventually returned to

these 5 ascetics becoming his first disciples.

We won’t be discussing the entirety of Buddhism’s 4 noble truths. However, we

can see that in this quest of eventually becoming one of the major religions in the

world, Buddhism was born basically out of pure meditation.

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In this quest of understanding life, we have seen how Buddha basically utilized

meditation as one of the ways to detach from the nature of the ever-changing

world.

But why so? What was in meditation that allowed him to achieve this status?

Perhaps, it is most crucial to note that meditation sets the proper environment

from which we can begin understanding about anything – including ourselves and

our shadows.

By doing meditation, just as Buddha did, we can focus our thinking and energies

in to things that matter to us rather than being simply distracted by what’s

happening around us.

Going back to our problem, the everyday man’s mind is presumed to be

pre-occupied.

Whether it be in work deadlines, family issues, or even positive ones like

upcoming meetings with a long-lost friend, our mind is usually thinking of

something else.

While this is good, some practitioners of meditation will say that it isn’t always as

good as we perceive it to be.

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This is because thinking of too much can clutter the mind. When we think, we

allow ourselves to go beyond and out of the moment, whether it be on a positive

or negative stance.

And so, this constant process of thinking does not allow our minds to rest. Just as

with everything else, a stressed mind will never lead to a good environment.

For instance, a cluttered mind will reflect in a hoarder’s home. Someone who is

unable to give up a past life will continue collecting things which makes him/her

remember of it.

But the problem with this is that people fail to live for the present.

Thus, the way to solve this issue is by way of meditation. Through meditation, we

are able to create an environment within our minds that are clutter-free.

This conditioned state will allow for more space and positivity.

By removing ourselves from thoughts and concerns that we cannot fully deal with,

we are able to allow our creative and good energies to flow.

As an exercise to prove my point, stop reading this article right now.

Pause for a moment and think, just think of anything.

After thinking, try writing whatever you thought of in a piece of paper.

What do you see?

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If I’d guess correctly, most of the things written there are negative.

But why so?

This is because we are concerned with things from the past or the future.

Marcus Aurelius, the great father of stoicism, would tell us that this practice of

being concerned with the present and the future will only make us worried about

things that we have no control of.

Thus he writes:

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find

strength” (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations)

By going back to our minds, we find strength in realizing that we have to

continually live day-by-day on the present events.

Upon realizing that we can only live for the present, we get to have an idea of how

fleeting life is – that all other external things can never bring us happiness.

Even when he was coming from a different tradition, Buddha still came to the

same conclusion using his method of meditation.

As a matter of fact, small-scale studies done on the present time will show that

there is a difference in brain activity between the monk and the everyday man.

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With someone who does meditation constantly, brain scans show activity in areas

which anxiety and depression while increasing tolerance and positivity.

Some Buddhist monks were even able to showcase higher empathy and exhibit

alpha waves in their minds.

Even more, heavy practitioners of meditation showed better immune system

compared to the everyday man who’s constantly bombarded by stress and

anxiety.

Studies show that when we are not focused on anything at all, our brains activate

what we call the DMN or the Default Mind Network.

In this DMN mode, our stream of consciousness constantly processes things that

we shouldn’t be really thinking about.

But in comparison, someone who is heavily focused on something like a craft or

art of some sort, the concentration of the brain is on the task-at-hand.

Such leads us to the conclusion that meditation will allow one to go beyond one’s

constant and default thoughts. By doing meditation, we turn-off the DMN, bringing

us back to a state of focus and tranquility.

By slowing down our thoughts, we can reach a clearer mind. This is the principle

behind meditation.

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In the figures cited, we have seen Buddha using the same method to dissipate

suffering. Marcus Aurelius utilized it as a core method for stoicism and achieving

internal happiness.

But for our case, how do we actually use meditations in shadow work?

To cite a practical method of doing it isn’t the main point of the article. Rather, we

are better off looking for the common thread that runs across the hundreds of

ways that people meditate.

In our application to the shadow, it is clear that meditation will bring us to a status

wherein we empty ourselves of both positive and negative thoughts.

Of course, we won’t be able to fully empty ourselves with that but along the way,

in this course of constantly meditating, it will bring us to a state of tranquility.

In this state of tranquility, we get to temporarily step-back and detach from our

consciousness as existential phenomenology suggests.

By doing so, we get to enter a state wherein we are not confined within our usual

DMN network.

This is vital because if we try to look at shadows, they are mere ideas of

ourselves.

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As we look at ourselves at a distance, we are able to assess these traits from a

more objective standpoint.

For instance, when we see a black cat passing right in-front of us, we

automatically assume that it is bad luck.

This frame of perspective comes from our preconceived notions of what bad luck

is. But do these black cats really bring bad luck?

By way of meditation, we get to realize that in the same example, there can be a

different interpretation.

What is crucial is not the interpretation but the interpreter.

Knowing this, we get to realize that equating black cats to bad luck only creates

the idea in our minds that it is. With it, we influence our own selves by fostering

this negativity.

Even more, shadows are formed by way of value judgments. While they can be

socially influenced, they are still value judgments that we constantly make about

things.

We say that this painting is good while this one is not; these traits are good while

other ones are not.

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But in meditation, all of these value judgments are suspended. As we suspend the

DMN, we also suspend generally negative thoughts about things.

By the time that we think about our shadows, we can perceive them more

favorably and accept the good while acknowledging the bad.

As we meditate and give time for ourselves and our brains to rest, we become

free.

Meditation doesn’t free us from external factors like the starvation that we

experience and the suffering before us.

However, it frees our mind from endlessly thinking about this negative spiral.

Thus, it creates a condition where the shadow cannot become denser in the dark.

To conclude, it is important to consider that meditation can be the first gate from

which we can enhance our shadow work efforts. As the classic saying goes

“empty your cup”, meditating allows for new knowledge and serenity to overflow in

us.

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HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE EARTH: HEALING

CRYSTALS

While in the first section we have looked at how meditation can create that

condition for us, this second section will look at how we can tap on the powers of

the earthly elements.

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The recent surge of the new age movement during the 1960’s has created

plethora of eclectic beliefs. Various ideas from different epochs, cultures, and

societies are pulled over to create an ultimate jumble.

This has gained both positive and negative tractions. Skeptics believed that it was

bogus, selective, and had no coherence at all. Proponents defended by posing its

perspective and free-will based movement.

One of the crucial ideas that have resurfaced during this time is the use of ​crystal

stones for healing.

To begin with, healing crystals are typically understood as natural crystals arising

from the earth’s surface. They generally form part of crystallization process of

earthly gases and elements.

In this harsh and time-consuming process, crystals are hardened and made

without human intervention. They are the result of natural forces.

Along this way, it is crucial to note that ​healing crystals contain an energy force

which is created by mother nature itself.

This energy is believed to have curative powers due to the principle that it

contains vibrations which can alter and positively influence the flow of human

energy.

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A major principle behind this notion is scientific. It is believed that energy is

neither created nor destroyed. Rather, it is simply transformed and transferred.

By transferring energy, we get to positively influence the state of the human

person, removing negative energy by letting it flow out of us and replacing it with

positive ones.

This basic notion that crystals do have this transformative power is often viewed

as a bogus. Being part of the New Age tradition, a lot of skeptics think that it is

simply make-believe.

However, if we look at crystals and how they were used in human history, we can

see that it is not simply a practice during the new age movement. Rather, it is an

ancient practice that is universally shared by cultures.

For instance, from the Chinese culture, they have jade stones which are

commonly referred to as the emperor’s stone. For almost 9000 years, the jade

stone has been the symbol of status, purity, spirituality, and health.

Jade stones are treated with utmost respect for they are believed to bring

prosperity to the user to a point that they were heavily sought after in Chinese

history.

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While in the western world, the amethyst stone is highly valued for its spiritual

power. Particularly in Egyptian tradition, they are believed to be helpful in guiding

the dead in their journey.

Furthermore, the carnelian gemstone is also believed to be very important in

Egyptian tradition. It is a source of constant renewal and vitality, placed in tombs

as magic armor for the dead.

The long list goes on, only to show that these crystals and gemstones have been

a long part of human history and not merely that of the new age movement.

Given its longstanding value, can we implore the help of crystals to better

understand our shadows? If so, which specific crystals can lead us to such?

If we are looking to understand more about our shadows, we should generally

look for crystals which brings balance and focus. Their vibrations are believed to

bring stability to internal conflict which is common in shadows.

One particular stone that can help us in this journey is the Agate.

Historically, the philosopher Theophrastus first found the stone as he was strolling

along the river of Achates. Since then, this stone which is formed from igneous

rock and silica deposits, it has gained much value in various cultures.

These are stones which were also discovered by the Babylonian empire used as

a healing amulet.
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With regard to its healing properties, the agate crystal is believed to be bringer of

stability due to the naturally lower and gentler vibrations.

Resonant with the earthly elements, the agate crystal brings stability like a rock in

times wherein we cannot understand ourselves due to energy imbalance.

For instance, when our natural yin and yang is out of control and proportion, it

creates an internal chaos in us.

This chaos may manifest in the lack of self-control, as if a part of us wants to take

over. This is very well represented by the shadow, which seeks to manifest its

qualities.

As a matter of fact, the agate is even part of the quartz family, a commonly used

stabilizer for clocks and watches.

Particularly for the case of shadows, one must seek the agates with regular

designs in order to stimulate total harmony and balance.

By placing it near the forehead area, it attracts and flows energies of stability and

tranquility to the mind.

With it, we are better able to deal with our shadows over and above the method of

pure meditation.

Another crystal that we should pay attention of is the clear quartz.

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Hailing from the same family with the agate, the clear quartz crystal is even more

famous for being referred to as the “perfect jewel” and is a centerpiece of various

historical cultures including the Japanese.

Theophrastus, for instance, thought of the crystal quartz (literally meaning ice in

Greek) to be a form of permanent ice while in Japan it is believed to symbolize

space, patience, and purity.

Apart from its historical and socio-cultural value, the crystal quartz is even used in

modern day technology as part of the LCD found in our phones, television, and

even in your unbelievably expensive iPhone XR.

Given its clear composition, the crystal quartz is believed to be the “master of

crystals” and is able to heal any problem that its user is faced with.

This clear composition is able to absorb all the negativity while providing a

transparent balance to its user.

In the case of the shadows, since they are often viewed as negative, it is

imperative that we utilize the crystal quartz to absorb such energies. By doing so,

it empties our mind of this idea about ourselves which are not necessarily true.

To utilize the power of the crystal quartz, it is best that we begin with meditation

and hold the crystal in our palms and begin projecting all the shadows within us.

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With its help, we can temporarily project the shadow in this crystal allowing

negative energy to flow out.

By flowing out of us, we get to sort which shadows to keep and which to simply

acknowledge as a tendency.

These crystals are simply some of the many stones that we can tap to for balance

and focus.

What is important is understanding how they work and how we can use them in

our daily lives.

Our shadows will always be behind us. We can never truly escape them. But with

the help of these crystals, we are able to achieve a status wherein we attract

positive energy and let it flow in us, easing resistance as we perform shadow work

in our lives.

With it, we get to have a better grip with these shadows, leading to a sense of

spiritual freedom of the psyche.

HARNESSING THE POWER OF ENERGIES: CHAKRA

HEALING

In the previous sections, we have seen how two methods of accessing our

spiritual powers is possible.

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First, the power of meditation allows us to empty our cups and dismiss us from

the default experiences of dread and anxiety.

This allows us to clear the path in understanding our shadows.

Second, we have read the power of crystals in helping us moving forward. Given

their curative powers through vibrations, they can aid in recovery of positive

energies.

Such leads to a more vibrant and energetic feeling of inner harmony and peace.

Given both methods, we will complement it by tapping on another vital resource –

our chakras.

To begin with, the practice of ​chakra energy regulation began from the eastern

world. Just like healing stones, they are often accused as make-believe.

However, if we trace this practice of tapping into cosmic energy, we can see that it

is an ancient practice originating from ancient eastern philosophy in India.

As a matter of fact, the word chakra refers to a spinning wheel in Sanskrit. This

represents a constant flow or regulator of energy.

Basically, chakras are considered as basic focal points in the body, resembled by

disc or wheel-like images.

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Their function and the energies that they regulate are not simply based on some

random associations. Rather, its practice originated from the ancient times, where

certain parts of the body can be associated with illnesses. (we will get to know

more about this later)

(If we look up the history of chakras and its origins, there would be a lot of debate

regarding this topic. Regardless, we will simply take it as it is.)

Okay so to begin with, we have to understand that chakra energy is neither

created nor destroyed. Similar to the vibrations of healing stones, chakra energy

is simply transferred from one object to the other.

Their basic difference, perhaps, lies in the cosmic energy force. Chakra energy is

often understood as tapping into cosmic energy, much like the one in the Avatar

Aang series.

But why should we tap into cosmic energy?

If we are to think of the world, the universe, and everything that is, we would

wonder what is the common thread that ties them all.

The answer to that is cosmic energy – the energy that is present in everything that

is.

In Hindu philosophy, it is understood as Kashmir Shaivism or Prana which means

spiritual energy.
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Thinking of your own self as a physical lump of different organs, cells, and

tissues, we usually ask what allows all of it to work.

The answer to that question, of course, is our mind – the intangible and

metaphysical entity that allows us to be. This is often translated into pure

consciousness.

Cosmic energy is similar to the mind. This is a metaphysical life force that exists

in all that there is.

Its significance, of course, lies in the understanding that tapping the cosmic

energy will allow us to achieve a state of ​higher self.

Such energy is always viewed as positive and essential given that nothing can

exist without cosmic energy.

Just as sunlight is necessary in order for everything else to grow, cosmic energy

cannot be done away with given that nothing grows without primordial powers.

If you don’t really buy into this notion, perhaps you should look at how the

universe operates.

If ever you’re wondering why life exists in the universe, perhaps you should learn

more about intelligent design.

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One of its theories is the fine-tuned universe. In this theory, it is shown that it can

be scientifically proven that the universe indeed has an intelligent design for life to

exist.

This is because it requires perfect balance between various primordial forces

such as electromagnetism, gravitational, and nuclear forces.

The mere fact that these highly essential yet destructive forces are fine-tuned in

order for life to exist shows how the universe is built with intelligent design.

Furthermore, if we look at it, this intelligent design shows that at the center of it all

is this concept of balance. If the values of these forces are slightly different (ex.

By 0.000000000000001), life cannot exist in this universe.

By balancing these energies, it suggests that there is a great architect. From other

perspectives, they call him God. But from our perspective, it will be the cosmic

energy which keeps things at bay.

Given the presence of cosmic energy, these primordial forces are able to live in

harmony, allowing life to grow in the universe.

Just think of it this way – if cosmic energy can fix the universe, common sense will

tell us the obvious.

The problem is that not all of us tap into these cosmic energies. Instead, we

continue to perceive that we ourselves are in control even when we’re not.
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This is where shadow work comes in – when we think that we are the owners of

ourselves, but our ​negative projections​ have already hijacked us.

Following this train of thought, allowing cosmic energy to flow through our chakra

points will definitely improve our wellbeing by bringing back the balance that is

lost.

Looking at a familiar case, our shadows usually throw us off balance, while

shadow work seeks to re-align our energies. When we see someone wearing

those classic jumpers and we judge them as gross, yet we truly want to wear that,

our shadows are negatively manifesting.

This throws us off balance. We release negative comments and statements which

are not well deserved by these individuals for simply being who they are.

While we are here at a distance judging them, they are there being their true

selves.

And so, we ask, who are the ones truly discordant in this situation? Is it them for

being judged or is it us for judging?

By tapping into these chakra points, we can better restore our internal harmony.

In order to do this, we must know the 7-chakra points which will allow us to focus

on each.

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Our shadows naturally manifest in many ways. It can manifest through our urges

and preferences, all of which covers a wide range of feelings and emotions.

In doing this, all of our chakra points are basically important and relevant. For

instance, the sacral chakra or the navel chakra is responsible for our sexual urges

and preferences.

Thus, when we prefer one orientation over the other or have an urge, tapping into

the sacral chakra will allow us to attain inner harmony.

When our shadows manifests in liking someone from the office even when we are

already married, by tapping into this chakra we are able to take control.

This means that we don’t necessarily do something in order to express that urge

but to simply accept it. Instead of flirting with that person, allowing cosmic energy

to flow into our chakra points will make us more human.

In this article though, we won’t be discussing the entirety of chakra points and

how our shadows may manifest in each. Rather, we are here to show its value

and connection to shadow work.

But instead of skipping it altogether, I think that we should pay attention to one of

the most relevant chakra points – the crown chakra.

The crown chakra, or referred to as ​Sashwara​, is the 7​th chakra point located at

the topmost part of our head.

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This chakra point is responsible for pure consciousness energy. You can think of

it as a gateway to allow cosmic energy to enter within us. Moreover, our own

personal consciousness is also located in this chakra point.

The crown chakra is very much relevant to the case of the shadows given that it is

the driver’s seat of consciousness. Understanding that the crown chakra contains

the individual’s consciousness, we get to pinpoint exactly where the shadows

attack.

While the shadows usually hijack the consciousness of the individual, performing

shadow work and allowing cosmic energy through this chakra point will help

alleviate inner conflict.

In this case, by letting it flow like a waterfall, cosmic energy will clear us of such

impurities caused by negative associations with shadows.

Instead, it will present to us its positive side and negative side, allowing for a more

harmonious way of doing shadow work and integrating our shadows.

This experience is quite difficult to describe using words for it is usually by

experiencing these things that we get to validate such. To help me tell you more

about this, let us focus on the story of Kung Fu panda.

In Kung Fu panda, the main protagonist Po exhibits the same problem. Po, having

a troubled past due to being disconnected to his real parents was in search of
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himself. Along the way, we can see that he made a lot of mistakes basically

because he wasn’t resonated with himself.

He tried a lot of different things, and most of the time he was funny. But this

façade only hid his true feelings of internal conflict.

When he was eventually selected as the dragon warrior training under master

shifu (the rat character), he was taught of this idea of inner peace and how to

achieve it.

Eventually in the movie, we can see that Po was able to achieve this state of inner

peace by allowing cosmic energies to flow through him and recollecting his past.

This led him to the path of self-acceptance which eventually led to inner peace.

Even at the brink of losing, Po was able to master the cosmic energies of the

universe.

As the enemies were firing the cannonball, he was able to maneuver it not by

fighting it but by resonating with its power, speed, and intensity.

While such is fictional and symbolic, it tells us the value and importance of being

at peace with ourselves.

When we perform shadow work, which may lead to conflicts in life, lacking that

sense of inner peace won’t help us conquer our problems.

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As he was defeated, Shen (the main antagonist) asked Po: “how did you do

it?How did you find inner peace? I took away your parents, everything! I scarred

you for life.”

This was an iconic scene given that most of us experience life and our shadows

this way.

When something bad happens to our life, they leave wounds. While these wounds

heal, scars remain. These scars remind us of the bad things which then affects

the way we perceive ourselves.

Just as when an abusive parent leaves a negative shadow to a child, it is difficult

to achieve inner peace alone.

The key, as Po later points out, is to let go of the past and accept that we can only

deal with the present.

By tapping into our chakra points, they will help us let cosmic energy, whose

forces are constantly operating in the present, guide our actions and lead

ourselves to a path of acceptance to these shadows, all of which can be achieved

through shadow work.

HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE: OM

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The last spiritual aspect that we will be looking at in this article is how we can

possibly harness universal power.

As you can see, this whole section on the spiritual series began on an escalating

pace.

First, we begin with opening the gates through meditation as it allows us to empty

ourselves temporarily.

Second, we amplify this meditation by using health crystals whose vibrations can

help us attract positive energy.

Third, we have examined the value of chakra energies and harnessing cosmic

energy.

And lastly, fourth, in this section, we shall see the value of Om – or universal

energy.

Contextually speaking, the concept of Om or Aum is considered to be a sacred

symbol in Hinduist traditions and Eastern Religions.

It is one of the most important Hindu chants which brings inner harmony through

meditation.

The word Aum, however, is not merely its literal pronunciation, but it also signifies

important core beliefs in this topic.

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The letter ‘a’ symbolizes consciousness, it represents the power to create which is

very much significant to our nature as conscious beings.

The letter ‘u’, on the other hand, talks about balance between the two letters as it

is at the center.

While the letter ‘m’, is about the transformative energy of the universe, leading us

from one state to the other.

Its whole symbol represents the creator of the universe.

In Hinduism, the whole symbol of Om even is a representation of Brahma, Visnu,

and Siva which directly corresponds to creator, maintainer, and destroyer.

In other words, the power of om is like the whole center of the cosmic power for it

represents all and is all.

To understand Om is to understand that the beginning of the world is Om.

Meaning, out of all the relevant energies and vibrations that we have discussed,

Om is at the root of it all for it is the vibration of creation.

Much like in Christian religions wherein God’s word is the source of everything,

Om is the beginning of all. The difference, however, is that this Om is an

impersonal energy life force.

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When everything was in pure stillness, it is believed that Om is the first syllable

mentioned. Thus, representing the power of creation.

But if you think of it, everything else in this world is a mere manifestation of an

idea.

For instance, new innovations even in the food industry are mere ideas that are

actualized by people.

A paradoxical idea of a fried ice-cream is one of the many actualizations of great

ideas that people once had.

In understanding Om, we can think of it this way, for our ideas are one of the most

powerful and infinite things that we can master in the universe.

If we are to think of our shadows, for instance, we’d realize that they are mere

ideas about ourselves. As we have pointed out in the previous sections, the way

to deal with it is to realize that it is only an idea of the self through shadow work,

an aspect where we can change at will.

In the same way, this idea of the self can have creative powers given that it can

lead us to become who we want to be.

The only problem is that sometimes, we don’t really know who we want to

become.

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This inner conflict can lead us to create wrong decisions in life, such as enrolling

for a course that we aren’t really passionate for.

In light of this problem, the significant question to ask, therefore, is that “how can I

make use of Om in order to create a proper idea of the self?”

One effective way of doing it is by aligning our thoughts with Om energy.

By recognizing that Om is the power of creation, we can then incorporate this

notion in everything we do in order to attract the cosmic energies around us.

For instance, if you want to have a gift during Christmas, you can say ‘Om Gift’.

This will move the energies of such ideas to create a condition which pulls in the

same positive thought.

Of course, you won’t always receive the gifts that you want. But while you are

missing out on the latest gadgets, attracting positive energies by saying ‘Om Gift’

can lead to you realize the value of the presents around you.

Your family and friends, who are there for you, can be an example of this gift

which you fail to see and realize because your mind is clout with negative

thoughts and feelings.

In the same way, when we say ‘Om Money’ or ‘Om Success’, we are attracting

these things and placing ourselves in a favorable condition where we can have

greater access to such desires.

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By keeping these in mind, we get to see that success and money can come in

many ways, and not simply in the ways that we envision them.

Perhaps, this gift of being positive will allow us to see the silver lining in between

problems and challenges.

This will give us the opportunity to seize the moment and make money and

success out of small stuff.

By embodying this om principle in our lives, we get to deal with the basic principle

of creation about our self-project including our shadows.

If we look at it, one particular aspect from which this Om power can contribute is

by attracting balance, harmony, and inner peace in our lives.

While other ideas such as abundance and prosperity seek to add more to what

we have, aspiring for inner peace, balance, and harmony is more crucial in

shadow work.

This is because most of our shadows are a result of unresolved internal conflict.

By having a wrong notion about others, we act wrongly and judge wrongly as well.

But deep inside, we resonate with them and simply couldn’t accept it.

Another problem pointed out in our shadow work series is that it is not only

unresolved internal conflict but also how external forces and stimuli condition us

to have a certain idea about ourselves.

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Looking at the latest model of Victoria’s Secret can make us have an image of

ourselves which is technically demeaning given that society has set this high of a

standard.

This shadow is not simply a consequence of our choice. Rather it is a

consequence of how our choices are heavily influenced by the social factors that

we conform with.

In both cases, whether it be internal conflict or social influence, we often find

ourselves in internal conflict and not having inner peace. Just as Po was looking

for himself though others, he could not find this inner peace and master the

powers of the universe.

Our shadows, then, can be hindrances to who we can become. But in the same

way, they can become part of who we are going to be – whether it be for the best

or worst.

By attracting inner peace through Om, we get to see that life is beyond us. What

does this mean?

Recognizing that there is a greater force, a universal cosmic energy force, that

can move us, we surrender. This doesn’t mean surrendering to the crowd as

Soren Kierkegaard despised.

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Rather, what this means is surrendering our negative feelings and perceptions of

ourselves by seeing that we are mere parts of the universe.

Think for instance of standing beside someone who you look up to. While

standing beside them, you have two options – to admire or to be intimidated.

By feeling that intimidation, their mere success and achievements in life can

create a negative shadow in you – that you really wanted to admire them, yet you

ended up being intimidated.

But going for admiration can lead you to the other path – the one where you get to

construct yourself with this idea that someday you can be as great as this person

you look up to.

The problem is that most people will fear intimidation. As they compare

themselves to great people, they feel as if their existence is nothing more than a

mere speck in the universe.

While it is true that such is the case (that we indeed are mere specks and that is

who we are right now compared to them), such should not remain to be.

Shadows can be negative ideas of the self which are not necessarily true, but we

continue to attract them due to the lack of moving away from these attractions.

This is where the value of Om comes in. By realizing that such great force is

behind us, we can allow it to flow within us and conquer our fears.
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With cosmic energies within our body, constantly attracted by Om through

consistent placement of it in our lives, we become something more.

We become something more given that we transcend the compounds of the

empirical world. What we see, feel, hear, smell, and touch are mere qualities

which signify the existence of something.

For instance, a freshly baked cheese streusel bread smells so good that we get to

recognize it.

But being able to utilize the power of Om means that we transcend it and go to

the realm of tapping this cosmic power in our consciousness.

Yes! It all goes back to the mind – the metaphysical operator of ourselves in this

universe.

By seeing that everything else in this world, even our shadows, are ideas present

and recognized in our mind, we can alter them and change them to our favor.

While this is clear to us now, how do we exactly tap into this Om resource? What

physical ways can we do to invigorate this process?

In order to access Om energy, we have to incorporate it with the practice of

meditation.

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Remember that meditation brings us to a state wherein we are emptied of things

from the past and the present.

Meaning, it flushes out the things that we constantly think of – like our next meal,

the pending water bill for next month, and your upcoming anniversary with your

loved one.

It also flushes out the past – just as you won’t be thinking of how relationships

were broken between you and the other person.

By doing meditation, we prepare and set up ourselves for something greater than

us – Om.

After creating this conducive state, carefully and gently utter your Om desire – in

this case that would be ‘Om inner peace’, balance, or harmony.

After uttering in your mind, continue this reflective stance consistently day-by-day.

This will allow you to program yourself in such a way where it becomes one of

your core goals. By slowly being engrained in you, it becomes part of you.

In realizing this whole process and how it can help us, we constantly add in

ourselves this cosmic energy, being channeled towards our desire of inner peace.

By doing this, we achieve higher states of clarity and congruence with ourselves,

making it easier to acknowledge and integrate our shadows.

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FINAL WORD

In this whole section of the spiritual aspect of

the shadow work guide, we have seen how

the shadow can be addressed by tapping on

resources beyond ourselves.

Just as most of these shadows are formed in

a social manner, a manner that is beyond us, it is necessary that we utilize

energies and powers that are beyond us as well.

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By placing an important value on spiritual ways, we get to harness and tap into

methods which will place us on a higher level of ourselves.

In doing this, we get to perceive ourselves at a distance, with less contraction and

discord.

This will allow us to sort our shadows, pushing it apart from us through vibrations,

earthly energies, and cosmic energies.

All of these efforts will lead us to become a better person, one that has a real

sense of ​individuation​ and ​self mastery​.

Finally, in this whole shadow work guide we have seen basically in a more

comprehensive manner how our shadows operate and how they are influenced by

others.

As the writer of this series, I sincerely hope that whoever you are, reading this

article, will know yourself more.

To further help you with that, I will also be introducing how the shadow can be

present in your archetype.

This is very important given that our archetypes are from the collective

unconscious – a state of our minds that transcend our present time.

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Whether we like it or not, our archetypes will have an influence in how we decide

and live our lives.

By looking at the tendencies of each archetype, we get to focus on what are some

possible ways that we can deal with our shadows.

Thus, the next time you find inner conflict, you can simply look at your archetype

through this website and ponder upon how you can improve yourself.

This will allow you to become a better person not only for yourself but also for

your family, friends, and workplace in general

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