Shadow Mastery

Shadow is the name the psychologist Carl Jung first gave to our dark side – to those aspects of ourselves that we see as negative – that we feel guilty or ashamed of, that we don’t want anyone to know about.

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In Jung’s view, we are all born whole and complete, at one with ourselves. But at a very early age, in order to be loved, to be accepted, to avoid disapproval and rejection, we learn to suppress our Shadow side. As a result, we begin to feel divided within ourselves, in conflict with ourselves. And because we repress and deny parts of ourselves, we may feel incomplete, unsatisfied, always looking for something to fill the void.

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Thus, in denying and repressing our dark side, we undermine our own personal power. We give up vital parts of our energy, aliveness, vitality, strength. And, Jung went on to point out, in order to hide what we don’t want others to see about ourselves, we develop an ‘image’- and idealized false self that we present to the world. Our image is like a mask that conceals our Shadow from others — and from ourselves. And because we develop an image in the first few years of our lives, it becomes unconscious. We begin to think that our image is who we are – and so we cut ourselves off from full self-expression and genuine authenticity.
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And, as Jung also pointed out, the more we repress our dark side, the more likely it is to leak out in unconscious ways, erupt when we least expect it. The more we resist our Shadow, the more it controls us. And so we may sabotage ourselves, prevent ourselves from achieving success and experiencing freedom and self-worth. Shadow Mastery provides you the opportunity to see clearly the aspects of yourself that you’ve learned to suppress and hide – from others and from yourself. And the opportunity to embrace your Shadow, to integrate it into your life, so that you experience being more and more at one with yourself. And so that you access the power and aliveness that resides in your Shadow.

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