Planets in Retrograde -- The Basics
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If You Had Controlling Parents: How to Make Peace with Your Past and Take Your Place in the World
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	Embracing the Shadow by Ellen McFall
Astrology, Tarot, and Self Improvement for the New Age.

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Embracing the Shadow
by Ellen McFall

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Within our psyches, each of us has memories and ways of perceiving events which we have inherited from our ancestors. These vague recollections from the distant past are stored in what psychoanalyst Carl Jung referred to as the collective unconscious.

We brush against these archetypes when we are faced with universal situations such as leaving childhood, falling in and out of love, aging, dying and confronting the evil within. We modern beings may believe that we are beyond the influence of ancient fears and instinctual desires, but these patterns of perception are too ingrained in our psyches to be ignored.

It was Jung's strong belief that archetypes are the basic fabric of all mythologies, religions and political "isms" that exist. He cautioned that whether the power of the archetypes is used for the benefit or destruction of mankind is our choice.

One of these archetypes -- the Shadow -- is rooted deep in our psyches and contains elements of man's instinctual nature, including the drive to destroy and to create. Within the Shadow lies the dark side of human nature that was loosed during the Holocaust as well as the genius for making intuitive leaps that lies behind history's greatest inventions. It is the sum total of all that is evil and awe-inspiring within the human soul.

In order for society to function, it is necessary to tame the aggressive side of the Shadow, but this is often accomplished by suppressing all aspects of our instinctual selves. When the goal is the complete elimination of our "animal natures," the result is often the loss of spontaneity, creativity and intuition.

When we allow ourselves to be divorced from the native wisdom of our Shadow selves, we risk living shallow and spiritless lives. As long as we resolve not to confront the more ancient, instinctual aspects of our psyches we slam the door on unrealized stores of creativity.

Once faced and incorporated into our selves, the Shadow can work in harmony with the Ego to make our lives vital and exciting. It is through this union of intellect and instinct that one's creative gifts are channeled, resulting in increased spontaneity and inspiration.

Much as we may try, the dark elements of the Shadow can never be completely eliminated. They are simply withdrawn into the unconscious, where they wait patiently for a crisis or difficult life situation to affect the Ego's usual ability to control the darker impulses.

It is during these times of trauma that otherwise "normal" members of society may find themselves committing criminal or abusive acts that horrify both themselves and their neighbors. Those who choose to accept and incorporate their Shadows into their psyches before a time of crisis may find themselves more able to cope with difficult situations while still maintaining control of their darker sides.

When society represses the Shadow too stringently, disaster often ensues. As Jung warned, "The animal in us only becomes more beast-like when suppressed." Feelings of unexamined jealousy, anger and hatred may be banished from the conscious mind, but they will make themselves known in bursts of hostility, addictive behaviors or bouts of depression.

The greatest danger from refusing to face our own negative feelings is the likelihood that we will project our own unresolved issues onto others.

It is this tendency to see our own darker side in others and to lash out when our own inadequacies become unbearable that is behind many instances of racial hatred and which continues to fuel political "isms" of destruction. The collective repressed Shadow of a country may ultimately strike out and engulf other nations in horrific bloodshed while years or generations of suppressed hostility are released.

Perseverance, courage and self-awareness are necessary if one is to incorporate the good and bad aspects of the psyche into a healthy, fully functioning Ego.

The rewards of exploring and accepting our inner selves are great "- increased creativity, greater capacity for joy and the confidence borne of self-knowledge. The stakes involved in refusing to confront one's Shadow are equally high "- the risk that our unacknowledged and unprocessed darker side will one day rage free and destroy those closest to it.

E-mail: ejm53818@yahoo.com
Author's URL: Geocities - EJM53818

Ellen McFall is a freelance writer with a master's degree in counseling. She has an ebook available at DLSIJ Press and has been published in Writer's Forum, Spiritual Life, BackHome, Pacific Review, Tintota and Atomic Petals.

Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~
Born June 22, 1906

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Last updated October 10th, 2004

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Expect the Unexpected (Or You Won't Find It): A Creativity Tool Based on the Ancient Wisdom of Heraclitus
By
Roger Von Oech