Working with your archetypes within the shadow self

 

Working with your Archetypes and the Shadow-Self

Dr. Jimmy Henderson

I think the shadow-self can be described in a number of ways by people who have different approaches to life, for example, you may well find other explanations for the shadow-self in science, religion or spiritualism. The approach I personally like to use in my books and articles is psycho-spirituality, in which I use psychology to try to explain what are essentially, metaphysical or spiritual truths.

Carl Jung and Archetypes

Regarding the shadow self, I usually begin with the important work of Carl Jung, the world-famous psychologist who spoke of a collective unconscious or collective subconscious, to which we are all said to be connected. Within this deep collective level of the subconscious mind, we find what he called universal, archetypal forms or patterns of energy.  

Personal versions of these archetypes can also be found within the human psyche. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the ‘inner child’ but may also have heard of the ‘victim’ archetype, the ‘nurturer’ or the ‘hero’. According to Jung, our personal archetypes can be explained as collections of unresolved or repressed energy from unpleasant past experiences, trauma or unresolved needs and desires which we have pushed deep into our subconscious minds.

For example, if, as a child, someone is prevented from fully expressing their childlike innocence and emotions, desires and urges, these unfulfilled emotions could come together and form a  sort of sub-personality we call the ‘inner child’, one which would (metaphorically) long to be loved, nurtured and be allowed to freely express its childlike joy.  We can touch this archetype of the inner child when we, as adults, do things that children love to do, such as riding on a roller coaster. This thrill can take us back to our childhood days and unlock the energy of our inner child for brief moments.  

However, there are many other archetypes that are not that pleasant to have. For example, the ‘victim’ archetype, which is a nasty fellow, a toxic accumulation of pain from the past, resentments and anger against certain people or even against the social system itself. There are also other not-so-pleasant archetypes as well, those revealing themselves in negative traits such as repressed rage and anger (the ‘Angry Man’) and the ‘Greedy Man/Woman’ archetype, which houses an intense desire for wealth and possessions. If not satisfied, we can end up with this repressed negative energy forming an archetype deep within our psyche.

How they work

When we start thinking about a situation or have an experience that makes us unlock these repressed negative emotions, we are actually ‘cueing’ our negative archetypes, which release their energy and we then reveal this unpleasant trait or side of us all over again. 

From my own studies and meditations, I found that archetypes (including negative ones) can cling to each other and even bring about more sub-archetypes, almost like a mother giving birth to a child.

 During a meditation I did many years ago, I was able to connect with my own archetypes and found out that a very powerful archetype, the ‘victim’ archetype, can give rise to smaller versions of itself, representing different character traits such as anger and resentment that go with the experience (or perception) of seeing oneself as a victim in a ‘grossly unfair world’. This accumulation of different archetypes is important.

The shadow-self

So how do we move from Carl Jung’s archetypes to the idea of a ‘Shadow-self’?

We now understand how different negative archetypes, as well as their ‘offspring’ can come together to form an interconnected system of negative archetypes which can take up a large part of our subconscious mind. I see the shadow-self as that collection or system of negative archetypes deep within our psyche, forming a large, but unseen part of our personalities.

The shadow self and self-development

We often read in self-development books or articles that we need to acknowledge our shadow self. Yes, we do need to accept that we've within us these unfulfilled archetypal patterns which form the shadow self. But that is only half the story. As I said, I've worked intensively with archetypes during my meditations and studies, and I've found that one can work with them, in fact, we can resolve and even transmute them into higher forms to release their pent-up energy to help our personal growth.

Connecting with your shadow-self

Let me explain how this works.

As I said earlier, in a manner of speaking, our archetypes are sub-personalities within our subconscious minds and during deep meditation we can connect with them.

This will have to happen during meditation, when our conscious minds are very relaxed, crystal-clear and fully open to impressions. We can either decide to connect with one archetype at a time, or deal with our shadow-selves as a whole. In any event, archetypes will appear in our imagery, one-at-a-time, as humanlike forms with visible characteristics which point to their type and inner content. For example, our inner child may appear as a small, disheveled, dirty child huddling in a corner, suggesting that it has been neglected. We need to interpret what we see metaphorically, as our subconscious minds communicate with us mostly in symbolic images, such as during dreams.

Communicating with each archetype forming the shadow-self

We pick up the impressions from these archetypal pockets of energy within our subconscious and form the humanlike images in our conscious minds.  As I said, we can actively engage them. They are almost like separate personalities. With the scene changing spontaneously, we will find that the archetype responds to us in some way or another. It’s actually quite amazing. We usually see their responses in gestures, movements or facial expressions, but if we are fortunate and familiar with inner work, we may even hear words popping intuitively popping into our minds.

The following process should be used with each archetype as it presents itself:

·         Acknowledge the archetype

 

               ‘I acknowledge you and I know that you are part of me.’

·         Give thanks (express gratitude)

Thank the archetype for its role in your life.  Remember that you created them for a reason, even if it is a negative archetype. 

                ‘I want to thank you for the work that you've done over the past years.’

As a counsellor I know that It is not easy to say ‘thank you’ for a devastating traumatic experience, but it is not the fault of the archetype, but our own choice in holding onto self-destructive emotions which have given rise to the archetype and indeed, our shadow-selves. In other words, balancing or resolving an archetype is the same as forgiving others and forgiving yourself.

·         Acknowledge the experience

By now, from memory or intuitively, you may start picking up on what has given rise to this archetype, something from your past that you have done or not done or simply had the misfortune to experience such as past trauma or even the ‘dark night of the soul.’ Once you have an idea of what may have given rise to this archetype, acknowledge their pain (which is actually your own pain).

·         Admit that you are sorry

Be prepared to admit your mistakes and apologize to the archetype for the pain you have caused it. In other words, acknowledge your own pain. Remember that the archetype is part of you, your own creation. At the end of the day, you are talking to that inner part of yourself that is hurting.

              ‘I'm sorry for hurting you, for what I've done, what you've had to go through’.

·         Recommit to a new path  

In the presence of the archetype recommit yourself to a fresh start and approach to life.

               ‘I commit myself to positive thought, positive actions and to avoid the thinking and actions      

                that created you.’

 

·         Resolving or balancing the archetype

After you have acknowledged the archetype, apologized, and recommitted yourself to change, address the archetype and ask it to balance or resolve itself.

        ‘I now ask you as my archetype to release your energy’ 

If you have done the necessary inner work and your archetype is satisfied, you will see it recede into the background. 

·         Transmuting the archetype

However, if you wish to make new use of their energy, ask them to transmute or transcend. In this case say to the archetype:

       ‘I feel now I want to move on. I want to ask you to release your energy now so that I can use it for

       further growth.’

 

How is this done?

Negative archetypes have the potential to be raised an octave or two into higher, more positive and useful forms. For example, the transmuted form of the ‘victim’ archetype would be the ‘victor’. This request also needs to be given with thanks and a new intent.

               ‘I thank you for what you've done. I have overcome these feelings with your help and am no

                longer a victim. I'm now a victor.’

 

               ‘Please release your energy that I can use it wisely as a victor.’

Once again, if you follow the process correctly, your archetype will respond and you'll feel a surge of energy and release. This will tell you that your archetype has transmuted or transformed into a ‘victor’ archetype, a much higher form with a positive energy. If you have mastered imagery you may even see the transmutation taking place.

Using this process your whole shadow self can be transmuted and the freed-up energy used wisely for personal growth and unfoldment. They are wonderful sources of energy.

Why is all this this necessary?

You may ask why all this is necessary? Consider this. One of the tasks of life is to deal with our past ‘baggage’. And these unresolved issues and feelings are packaged or embodied in our archetypes. Instead of years of counselling or therapy we can do-it-ourselves quite quickly by acknowledging, facing, and resolving them in this manner. Obviously, this approach needs a commitment to do inner work and to learn the skills of meditation and spontaneous visualization or imagery. Articles on these skills are available on my website www.discoveringyourself.co.za

This article is extracted from my latest book, Understanding Metaphysics, in which I use psychology to better explain metaphysical experiences. In this regard I also want to encourage you to visit my website and get the book which will help you in your self-unfoldment. Once again, my website is www.discoveringyourself.co.za

Thank you

 

 

 For those of you that wish to publish your own books, I certainly recommend my publisher myebook.online 

The shadow-self

 Here is the link to my latest video on the shadow-self (in The shadow-self psychological terms) 

Dr. JImmy Henderson discusses 4 levels of consciousness

 

Latest video on consciousness 

https://youtu.be/UsEOIlzhjjs

Readers please feel free to visit my website https://www.discoveringyourself.co.za/

How to develop and apply the powerful skill of active visualisation or spontaneous imagery

Dr Jimmy Henderson explains the processes and power of active visualisation or spontaneous imagery  

1/2 hour video 

Launch of new book : Understanding Metaphysics

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsYrihlTC2w&feature=youtu.be

How to meditate and visualise sucessfully

 

How to meditate and visualise successfully

Your spiritual work will be greatly improved if you know how to meditate and visualise properly.

Meditation

Meditation lowers our brainwave activity so that our mental chatter subsides, and we are better able to relax. This means that we learn to lower our brainwave activity to the Alpha state of 8-12 cps, and later to the Theta state of 4-7 cps. This allows us to bypass our normal thinking and opens the doors to our subconscious minds.

There are a number of steps you need to follow:

Start with a mental relaxation exercise

·         The first is to learn to relax your body and remove all distractions. Ensure that you are alone, dim any lights and play soft, background music. Then begin the mental relaxation exercise

 

·       Sit quietly, comfortably and then begin to notice your breathing. Keep it regular. Now close your eyes and imagine a wave of peace slowly moving up from your feet, through the muscles of your ankles and legs, into your hips, over your chest and up your back

 

·       At the same time, begin to empty your mind of all thoughts until it is completely quiet. Do not use your will‑power to hold back or forcibly remove distracting thoughts, as this only creates a new set of inner tensions

 

·       Merely allow all your thoughts to gently pass in and out of your mind without giving them any attention. Simply allow your thinking to slow down until your brain is just ‘ticking over’ without any real conscious activity taking place.

 

·       Now continue to focus on your breathing as well as the feeling as the ‘wave’ passes through each muscle, limb or organ. Finally, allow the feeling to pass up your neck and out the top of your head

 

Do this three times.

 

           At the end of the exercise, your mind should be at peace and you should experience a feeling of total relaxation.

 

Getting into the Alpha brainwave state

 

The next stage is to consciously be able to induce the Alpha state of consciousness.

 

• Close your eyes again and begin to relax by focussing all your attention on your breathing. This takes your mind away from thinking and is the same exercise you did to improve your mindfulness.

 

·         Breathe to a count of one to five. Focus on nothing else but the counting (either aloud or in your mind). Breathe in 1,2,3,4,5 hold your breath, 1,2,3,4, 5 breathe out, 1,2,3,4,5 hold your breath, 1,2,3,4,5 breathe in, 1,2,3,4,5 and so on.

 

• During this breathing try to keep your mind clear of thoughts, but do not try too hard. Meditation is a process of ‘letting go’ rather than forcing your mind to be quiet. Practise this exercise until you can keep your mind quiet for at least twenty seconds. This is the Alpha state of total mental relaxation.

 

Entering into meditation

 

• Now with your eyes still closed, move your focus away from your body, especially from your hands and feet, until you are no longer consciously aware of them. If you feel stressed at all it means you are trying too hard. Begin again and start over. Meditation is a very gentle process.

 

• Next, with your eyes still closed, open your senses and try to be mindful of everything around you, but without actually thinking. Shift your attention to your sense of smell and try to detect scents in the room, such as flowers or burning candles. Now change your focus to your hearing and listen more acutely for any noises in the room and outside, such as insect or animal sounds. Do not focus on your body or open your eyes, as this will distract you. Above all, do not be afraid, as you are only working with your own mind.

 

• After a while, let go of all effort and become mindful of cues such as sensations, feelings or impressions. This state of mindfulness can be likened to a combination of ‘openness’, ‘listening’, and most importantly, ‘feeling’. Meditation increases your sensory awareness.

 

• You will know that you have entered into meditation when everything becomes quiet and you are aware of strange feelings from deep within yourself. At first, they will not make any sense at all. Do not panic or doubt yourself. This is normal. Gratefully accept the new state of consciousness that you are being introduced to.

 

• When you have spent a few minutes in this new state, slowly start thinking again by setting an intention to exit from the meditation. Do not suddenly just open your eyes and return to normal consciousness, as this may disorientate you. Slowly and gently become more aware of your body and breathe more deeply, feel your hands and feet, move them around and slowly open your eyes.

 

• Another way of exiting a meditation is to count down from ten, and at different stages, tell yourself you are disconnecting. For example, ‘disconnecting, ten, nine, eight, disconnecting, seven, six, five, disconnecting, four, three, two, one’ - open your eyes.

 

Practise this regularly until you are familiar with the process. You will know that you have achieved a measure of success when you start to feel more relaxed, at ease and certainly more mindful.

Learning to visualise

 

Most meditations can be combined with visualisation so that you can see the changes and effects taking place around you. It may take a while for you to develop this skill and a summary of the correct process is given as follows:

 

• Step one

Practise your mental recall

 

     Cut out a colour picture of a household scene from a magazine showing furniture and different objects. Study the picture for about half a minute and close your eyes. Try to recall as many of the features of the room and the objects as possible. You will need to practise until you can recall most of the objects and the furniture setting in the room quite accurately. If you are able to do this the first time, it means that your recall is excellent, and you can move onto step two.

 

• Step two

Learn to mentally create scenes

 

     Close your eyes and create a colour image of the same picture you used before in your mind without looking at it. Continue practising until you can create it clearly and hold it for at least ten seconds. It can still be two–dimensional.

 

• Step three

Use your imagination to create new scenes (Keep your eyes closed for all further steps)

 

          Enter the relaxed and quiet state of mind required for meditation and set your intention to create a new scene in your mind. It can be a real scene such as a view of your garden or simply something put together in your imagination, such as being on the beach.

 

     Piece it together and hold it in your mind for as long as possible. Once again, at this stage, you can still keep it two-dimensional. You may find holding the scene together somewhat tiring. As soon as you lose concentration, end the imagery. Do this in the same way as you would for meditation (moving your fingers and hands or counting-down). Continue with this exercise over a few days using the same scene, gradually filling in as much detail, form, colour and texture as you can.

 

• Step four

Add in other dimensions

 

     Set your intention and re‑create your scene as before, but this time, add more depth and try to see it in three dimensions. Also add sounds, scents and movement to your scene. In other words, imagine seeing the leaves moving, get the scent of flowers, and hear the birds singing.

 

• Step five

 Place living things in your scene

 

     Now imagine an animal moving in your scene. In other words, see your cat or dog walking through the garden. Once you have done this and are successful, slowly end your imagery and meditation. Continue with this exercise for a few more days, until you can do these mental tasks with ease.

 

• Step six

 Place yourselves in the scene

 

     Begin your imagery as before with relaxation and enter into a light meditation. Set your intention to create an image of yourself in the scene as a separate figure. In other words, see yourself walking through the garden. Remember to include all the previous steps of three-dimensionality, sounds, scent, movement and animals. Seeing yourself at a distance in this way is called the third-person perspective.

 

     Exit your imagery in the proper manner. If you have woven your visualisation into a story, close the session as if you were bringing the story to an end. In other words, see yourself leaving the garden and closing the gate behind you. You have to get your subconscious mind used to this process, as, if you end the session abruptly, you could become disorientated or confused.

 

• Step seven

The first-person perspective

 

      During your next meditation and visualisation, create your scene as before but now try to put yourself into the figure you have created for yourself in the scene. Look through your figures ‘eyes’ at the grass beneath you and the path in front of you. In other words, no longer see yourself as separate in the scene. You are now looking out from the figure and are actually inside the scene. This ‘first-person perspective’ is difficult and takes practice. Continue with this for a few days until you actually ‘feel’ the ground beneath your feet, ‘touch’ the foliage with your visualised hands and experience some actual sensations. Once again, after finishing the exercise, exit slowly and gently by leaving the garden and closing the gate behind you.

 

• Step eight

 Spontaneous imagery- The Threshold of Inner Sight

 

In psychology, spontaneous imagery is defined as the ‘unintended emergence of mental images.’ This is very important to metaphysical development. This phenomenon is based on the psychological fact that your subconscious mind has the power to place its own impressions and images into your visualised scene during meditation, in the same way as it does when you dream. However, as is the case with dreams, sometimes their meaning is not clear and you have to interpret the images.

 

 

 

Spontaneous imagery usually occurs during meditation and normally only happens after you have diligently practised meditation and visualisation for quite a while. Spontaneous imagery means that symbolic images from your own subconscious minds begin to spontaneously present themselves to you during visualisation. This sounds incredible, but I assure you that it works, and is a wonderful experience which marks your passage to what I call, the ‘Threshold of Inner Sight’. This means that you have been successful in establishing a close working relationship with your subconscious mind and you are now able to create a flowing visual field in which sensations, impressions and images from your subconscious mind, as well as from outside of your own mind, will be able to present themselves.

Spontaneous imagery is not the same as true clairvoyant sight, but it does prepare your mind for more advanced types of inner vision as it teaches you how to create an inner ‘visual screen’ for images to project onto and also helps to develop the centres in your brain you need for inner sight. Eventually, you will not even have to create a visualised scene at all, as images will spontaneously present themselves to you during your meditations.

Do not attempt spontaneous imagery unless you have mastered all the earlier steps, otherwise, you will be disappointed. This is a very exciting stage of your growth, as it means that you can actually see the changes taking place during your meditations, as well as your contact with other spiritual personalities

Let me show you how this works:

• Once again, begin visualising during meditation. Keep your mind quiet and your eyes closed. Set an intention for your subconscious mind to communicate freely with you in the form of flowing impressions and images

 

• Put together a visualised three-dimensional scene as before but keep it simple. Once again, just see yourself walking around in your visualised garden or some other beautiful scene you create in your imagination. Now use the first-person perspective. At this time you are still actively creating the scene and the images and holding it all together in your mind.

 

• Now, slowly begin to release active control of the scene until it sort of ‘floats’ lightly in your consciousness with minimal effort. This fluidity opens your imagery to outside influences and your visualised scene now becomes an inner visual screen on which incoming images and impressions can be projected. If you are successful, your scene will stay more or less the same, in spite of the fact that you are spending less effort on controlling it.

 

• As you move along in your visualised scene, look for something which you are not creating in your own mind. In other words, you may see an object such as a rock or an animal suddenly appear which you did not consciously place there. This is your subconscious mind beginning to communicate with you using symbolic representations (images). Once this happens, give thanks, gently take back control of the scene and end your imagery with the storyline as before.

 

• Later on, with more practice, you could see humanlike figures in your visualised scene. These can be personified aspects of your own psyche, but also spiritual or archetypal personalities such as celestials projecting their energy into your imagery. You can interpret their characteristics from what you see of their appearance, as energy is translated into images in your mind by the mental phenomena of Synesthesia and Pareidolia.  

 

• You will have to interpret the message from the figure or meaning of the object or image using your intuition or own personal framework of symbols which is formed from your past experiences and present framework (paradigm) of thinking. In other words, decide what the image means to you personally

 

• A mastery of spontaneous imagery means that you can bring about amazing shifts in consciousness and inner experiences and actually see the effects of your meditation on yourself, other persons and your surroundings. It is a wonderful skill to have as part of your self-development.

 

 

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Video- What is psycho-spirituality?

Links to book 

1.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G1KGDYC

1. https://books2read.com/u/49MRA8

New book by Dr. Jimmy Henderson available on Amazon

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G1KGDYC

Metaphysics and personal growth

Link to full version of talk 

Talk on metaphysics and personal growth



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3qdWIvL2qU&t=10s

Video on Spiritualism

Reprogramming your minds for Success

My latest talk on reprogramming your minds for success

https://youtu.be/tTRbmRq-PG0

Website

Readers are also invited to visit my website www.discoveringyourself.co.za

website

Talk on mindfulness

The Four Relationships in Unfolding Consciousness

My latest article 'The Four Relationships in Unfolding Consciousness' is in this latest edition of Odyssey magazine:

Dr. Jimmy Henderson article 

The power of words

   

                       

                         The power of words 

‘Mere words have an extraordinary significance for us; they have a neurological effect whose sensations are more important than what is beyond the symbol.’

Krishnamurti

Words and concepts have a magical quality in that they ‘stand in’ for our thoughts. We think using words and when they are linked together by logical reasoning, they help us to arrive at good conclusions and decisions. 

Words also have power to evoke emotions. Look at the way news is presented in different ways by the media: For example, have a look at the following two headlines which describe the same event:  

‘Vicious dog attacks defenseless man’

‘Cruel owner bitten by abused dog’

This example highlights the problem of 'perspective' or one's point of view as shown by the choice of words of two different reporters. Notice the different feelings you experience as a result of the words used. 

The effect of ‘words’ on our minds and thinking

Mental exercises such as affirmations show how powerful words can be when they enter our subconscious minds. But even consciously, in everyday life people can be easily swayed or seduced by highly emotional or great-sounding words and ideas, which can have almost a hypnotic effect on those who are open to the message. The right words can have a powerful effect on our minds. For example, if someone tells you that there’s a vicious dog just behind the next gate, you will know what this means and be extra careful to make sure the gate is closed when you pass by. And if your partner phones and tells you that you have just won a pile of money in that competition you entered, your state of mind will quickly change and you will be very excited. Obviously, it is the meaning and implications of what is being said that gives the impetus and direction to our actions. In fact, words are so important that if we don’t understand a concept, we will struggle to understand any inner experience linked to that concept.

Our understanding and openness to new knowledge deepens with each new concept that we master and this is the reason why I believe in reading more holistic books and articles, so that our thoughts and vocabulary will expand and become more universal and able to accommodate new ideas. 

Self-talk

Having the right thoughts (or words) are especially important for our self-talk. Self-talk is the inner ‘conversations’ we have with ourselves when we are put into any situation. Put simply, it is ‘what we tell ourselves’ when placed in these circumstances. Sometimes we may speak our self-talk our aloud (thinking out loud), but for the most part it takes place subconsciously without us even knowing what we are saying to ourselves and this is where the danger lies. 

As I have just shown in the example of the ‘vicious’ or ‘abused’ dog, the words in our self-talk can trigger emotions which, in turn, can affect our thinking and decision-making. Words can either be positive and uplifting or negative and dis-empowering. Holding onto negative thoughts can be a real problem if they filter through from our subconscious minds and come out as our self-talk. 

Let me give you another example:

Tom had a difficult childhood and ended up as an adult with low self-esteem. This is shown in his self-talk when he is around women, which would probably be something along the lines of : 

‘I am not very popular with women’ 

Or 'Women simply don't like me' 

This is not necessarily the case. The problem is that this type of self-talk is being reflected in his insecure body language (social awkwardness) and social avoidance, which reinforces the idea that Tom is not a fun fellow to be with. This causes women to avoid him even more. In this way his inner conversations (words) become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is important for our growth and development that we be prepared to challenge and change this type of negative self-talk. 

The effect of metaphors on our minds

To add to this theme on the power of words, try looking at the metaphors you use every day to describe yourself, your situations and the world itself. Metaphors have a special, powerful effect on our minds and thinking. There is a recorded case of a spectator calling a soccer referee a clown and who was convinced he saw the referee’s uniform change into a clown suit. In other words, the clown metaphor filtered into his subconscious mind and acted as a cue to activate the idea of a clown suit which was then superimposed by his mind and imagination onto the referee’s uniform. This is not an isolated case, and there are many cases of people using cue words to influence our thinking and even what we believe we are seeing. In fact, cue words are often used by magic entertainers as the power of suggestion.  

Metaphors also subconsciously affect the way we look at ourselves, at life and reality itself. For example, the metaphor ‘living between a rock and a hard place’ leads us to the idea that life is all suffering.  However, if we change this metaphor to a more open and universal one, such as ‘life is the field of all possibilities’ and we really believe it to be so, we confirm to our subconscious mind that we are open and receptive to new possibilities and experiences and our subconscious minds will respond accordingly. 

‘Our words change our perception and if we change our language, we change our reality ‘

Luigi Boscolo