Our Shadow Self
Carl Jung was a man who thought differently than others when it came to the human psychology. He believed in two dynamic halves of the human psyche, the shadow and the persona. The shadow half of ourselves is where we’ve casted all of the negative attributes of ourselves, and the persona is where our strengths lie within our social connections or more specifically, where our social identity lies. It's implied that positive sociality was where our good side remains. The shadow, though, albeit negative is still a side of us in which we cannot escape and instead must acknowledge it if we are to ever improve ourselves. Our shadow self is something that absolutely must not be denied.
Our shadow selves are something of intrigue. I know mine, and it is something that I cannot deny if I am ever to grasp my persona. My persona comes forth as an intellectual who prefers quiet aspects of life. My persona is willing to share information if I feel I can better someone with it. My persona is something of higher consciousness, a being trapped studying the more bizarre mysteries of life. My persona takes the form of a sage, for better or worse. My shadow self, however, is negative and lacks social inhibition, finding little point in sharing or empathy. This is sort of startling as I find my greatest strength to be my empathy and my ability to relate to others. Now, let me ask you: what is your shadow and your persona? What do they manifest as?
Carl Jung is someone who was a cut above the rest when it came to open-minded thinking. A game producer even based a popular series off of his beliefs, a series called “Persona.” In Persona they even do a wicked mix by throwing in the Tarot to blend with the shadows and personas. Most often the personas in the game tie in with mythology and animism. This was a roleplaying game series that simply cannot be missed by fans.
What do you think that shadows and personas really are? Are they some sort of inner demon or inner within our souls? Are they some sort of yin-yang within ourselves? A cosmic polarity within our inner being that helps us cope with all the storms that surround us in life? Where does the true strength come from? Could our shadow self be the real strength of a human being, something that is able to get us past our greatest pits of denial? Trust me, shadows are as important as our persona is.
Our persona is something that can help us achieve much in life when it comes to our social interaction. Whether we want to admit it or not, social interaction matters. Friends are something that even I need. I consider all of you my indirect friends. After all, you put up with me, right? No, but seriously, don't doubt the power of both the positive and negative sides of yourselves. We must work within both our shadows and personas. It’d be wise to ponder your shadow self for awhile. If you can accept the darker side of you then maybe you can also embrace your persona and truly move forward in life. Ciao!
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