Shadow Encounter

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Dinesh ^club

The human psyche is not a single, unitary, or unified thing, as the ego wants to believe. It is diverse, multiplicitous, and divided….always divided.

This autonomous world within is the realm of what Jung en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung called the ‘Shadow’. It is not evil. In the end we are wholly accountable for the actions and consequences of the Shadow, even if we were unconscious of its enactments at the time ~ Preface

Consider these actual occurrences:

@ A well-respected accountant finds a way to funnel funds from a charitable nonprofit to her private account. For years she tells her husband that she is being rewarded bonuses for her achievements. Only when they take an extended vacation, and someone else is minding the shop, she is discovered

@ A politician inveighing against gay rights is found to be gay himself. In his public position self-hatred, or cynical exploitation of the ignorance and bigotry of his constituents? Does holding public office mean that much to him, and, if so, why?

@ A woman leaving church turns to see her wealthy neighbor slips and land on her derriere in the middle of puddle. The woman grows hysterical with laughter. She cannot stop laughing – to the mortification of her husband, her son, and later, herself.

@ An educator secretly pillages his children’s college savings to fuel a gambling addition. Only when the first child is accepted to college does this chicken come home to roost.

@ Billions are spent by ordinary people on pornography, much of it watched over the Internet by those who piously decry any such interest

@ A televangelist tells his flock that he has spoken to God, and God has told him that they are to be happy and contribute to His church – which just happens to coincide with the interests of the clergyman.

@ a therapist manipulates people into his practice, despite having signed an ethical code that specifically forbids the solicitation of clients.

@ the richest country in the world spends billions on armaments and foreign adventure while slashing health, legal, and educational services to its disenfranchised, and also cuts taxes to the wealthy while, as recent statistics show, one in six of its citizens faces hunger on a daily basis

@ Valuing relationships so much, we nonetheless find few that are not broken. Can one love the “Other,” really, as they are, without self-interest interfering? Is there not a narcissistic interest that reveals itself when we carefully review our behaviors and agendas? Do not even parents, expect their children to endorse their values rather than fine their own?

This list can go on indefinitely, as long as there are human stories to recount, However disparate these examples, what do they all have in common? All are manifestations of the ‘Shadow”

Plato believed that humans are inherently good, as long as they were fully conscious, or so he argued in ‘The Republic’. If one does wrong, it is because he or she does not fully understand the consequences of one’s acts. …..

It takes a strong sense of self, and no little courage, to be able to examine, and take responsibility, for these darker selves when they turn up. It is much easier to deny, blame others, project elsewhere, or bury it and just keep on rolling. It is at these moments of human frailty when we are most dangerous to ourselves, our families, and our society. Examining this material is not a form of self-indulgence; it is a way of taking responsibility for our choices and their consequences. It is an act of great moral moment, for it brings the possibility of lifting our stuff off of others, surely the most ethical and useful thing we can do for those around us. As Jung observed:

“The Shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the Shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real.” Excerpts from Preface and Introduction (Why Good People Do Bad Things)

9 months ago. Edited 3 months ago.

Boarischa Krautmo ^club

so... what's the difference between ego and psyche?
And then: Are the "dark parts" of personality ego or psyche or something different?
Leading us to the question: What makes a person?

;-)

9 months ago.

Dinesh ^club has replied to Boarischa Krautmo ^club

Thank you for the visit. This except is on Jung's concept, Hence:

www.thesap.org.uk/articles-on-jungian-psychology-2/carl-gustav-jung/jungs-model-psyche

9 months ago.

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