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
