Confronting Shadow: The Work of Self-Discovery

Psychotherapy is essentially the work making shadow conscious-all that we have not discerned, disown, or project onto others. We seldom welcome shadow, for it is marked by emotions and motivations that deflate, disturb, and dethrone ego. From family scuffles to political hostilities and outright war, we most often meet our shadow in others. Its presence is signaled by a strong urge to take action, with feelings ranging from judgment to antagonism, from pity to self-sacrifice, and from obsession to disgust. If we have the courage to face and relate to the inner world of another, we experience and expand our own inner world. Shadow is the dark doorway to renewal and development, creativity and compassion. Jung said, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
HERE'S THE DREAM WE ANALYSE:
"I am in the backyard of my grandparents’ house. It’s night and very dark out, and I can see the lights on in the house. I have a bird feather in my hand that is luminescent with green and purple. I stick it in the ground and a bird appears-a dove, I think. It flies away, and I stick the feather in the ground a second time. Another bird appears and flies away. I do it a third time, but this time I take a feather from the bird that appears and replant it in the same spot. When I do this, the ground trembles. Something big is happening and I’ve started something I can’t stop. The third bird flies back to me and tells me to find a swan to make something called svala. Then I’m at some sort of school party, like a reunion or homecoming. I see an Indian woman I knew and used to be friends with. We haven’t seen each other in a long time and are no longer close, but I think she might know the meaning of svala and how I am supposed to make it and what it will do. I keep trying to talk to her but things keep getting in the way. Finally, she invites me to her room. There is beautiful music playing in the background and her room is full of soft, golden light. I tell her about the dream with the feather and needing a swan to make svala and that I don’t know what it’s about. She laughs and says, “What is a swan but transformation? The hardest part in making svala is finding the swan.”
RESOURCES:
James Hollis. Swamplands of the Soul.
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[@nguyenquangminh4814]

47:22 i love this quote. “Being a therapist is a little bit like being a novelist”

[@nguyenquangminh4814]

In that you have to enter the experience of someone whose life might be drastically different from yours and use all of your empathic imagination to understand that experience as if from the inside

[@kayematinez89]

thank you all the team for the great free talks ! yt was made for this (originally)

[@chalinofalcone871]

"Recapitulating, I should like to emphasize that the integration of the shadow, or the realization of the personal unconscious, marks the first stage in the analytic process, and that without it a recognition of anima and animus is impossible. The shadow can be realized only through a relation to a partner, and anima and animus only through a relation to the opposite sex, because only in such a relation do their projections become operative. The recognition of anima or animus gives rise, in a man, to a triad, one third of which is transcendent: the masculine subject, the opposing feminine subject, and the transcendent anima. With a woman the situation is reversed. The missing fourth element that would make the triad a quarternity is, in a man, the archetype of the Wise Old Man, which I have not discussed here, and in women the chthonic Mother. These four constitute a half-immanent and half-transcendent quaternity, an archetype which i have called the marriage quaterino. The marriage quarterino provides the pattern not only for the self but also for the structure of primitive society with its cross-cousin marriage, marriage classes, and division of settlements into quarters. The self on the other hand, is a God-image, or at least cannot be distinguished from one. Of this the early Christian spirit was not ignorant, otherwise Clement of Alexandria could never have said that he who knows himself knows God." [Psyche & Symbol, Carl Jung, edited by Violet de Laszlo, 1958, Ch.1: Aion, Sec.V- Christ, a Symbol of the Self]

[@krisscanlon4051]

I got away from this podcast for 6 months however I needed a little more peace in my life. I am at the least relaxed after listening to you folks...Jung is my main man...he opened the doors to so many other ideas.

[@gwendolynmurphy9563]

Listening to this following an excursion into my personal Shadowland that began on Thursday when the Episode "Why Do We Push People Away: Understanding Our Defenses" played. I listened to it with keen interest and identification. Then, in the afternoon I received a text that essentially mirrored this as one of my core issues. Over the following 24 hours and after a couple of unskillful text exchanges the concluded in severing the relationship, the process of acknowledging this "gift" of seeing my shadow was an excellent report to share with my Jungian analyst! Thanks, Shadow!

[@jmcconne2003]

Or if we aren’t a balanced person w integrated shadow, I feel my shadow became a part of who I am in my response to trauma. Things I should be accessing and appreciating in myself that I’ve normally disliked in others could’ve been a positive in my life in ways I didn’t see before. Not the way others misused that shadow characteristic. Like laziness, selfishness. I’ve hated these things, in my life recently I realized the value of them; it would’ve been beneficial and protective from the burn out due to never giving myself a break. It’s ok to be selfish and care for myself

[@angelcandelaria6728]

What he says about mj and tattoos. So many people punished and years gone to those…😢 and now middle class people grow plants while lower class people with less plant matter are still in jail. Huge shadow here

[@vera1654]

Is everything that we dislike in another person part of our shadow? A coworker of mine is always late, disappears for long stretches of time and doesn't pull her weight at work. She is getting paid for not working when others are. That annoys me so much, but I'm struggling to understand how it relates to my shadow.

[@thisjungianlife]

Yes, but often not the exact behavior we are witnessing. For example, your coworker might be provoking your shadow around cheating, hostility toward authority, disobedience, or manipulation. Each provocative action is surrounded by various levels of meaning that play a part.

[@N28-h9m]

Thanks for the question.

[@vera1654]

@@thisjungianlife Thank you for answering, that gives me something to stew on. I'm just also wondering what the end process of integrating the shadow looks like? I don't think it was mentioned in this podcast. Using the example of someone's dog pooping on your property. Do you just ignore the owner and say nothing? And accept you might also let your dog poop everywhere. I feel like letting the person know you are annoyed with it stops it from happening in the future. Are we supposed to just become tolerant of bad behaviour and accept it? This is where I get confused.

[@mariamjabali6573]

I think maybe you need to relax at work a little bit and you dont allow yourself

[@ira_herself9663]

In my opinion and simply because I had the same issue at work, it could come from not being appreciated or seen enough and you might think she is getting so much more even though she doesn’t deserve it. Maybe it is a judgement and it hurts you more because a punishment doesn’t apply. We often think bad people need punishment not us, good people. Just a thought, I 100% felt like a victim when it happened to me.

[@deed3211]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Blessings

[@OneFanHere]

I need to listen to this episode a few more times...

[@Dischordian]

29:00 shadow work 32:23 sometimes subltle not literal reflection 1:02:28 dream

[@jojomariejosee]

Interesting, thank you. 🙏 Just wondering what you think about the Golden Shadow- things we admire in others that are positive qualities of ours that we have repressed because they were not acceptable as children. My example is how my mum always shamed my intelligence by saying 'you're just like your father' as if this were a bad thing...

[@islandseastentertainment1431]

Literally the Kilauea volcano 5 miles from here In hawaii started erupting yesterday afternoon and was besieged by shadow pain, getting lashed and bit and stabbed all over the body the morning prior. Frickin ínstense

[@KNKLDK]

Thank you

[@QuidamByMoonlight]

@1:05:00 I figured it out. Here’s his dream interpretation: “Svala” is a Nordic word that means “swallow” or “bird”. There’s a vegan purse company named “Svala” with a bird logo, which is how I came across the origin. It seems like whoever is speaking to him in the dream may have Nordic roots. “The hardest part of making Svala is finding the swan.” It seems to me there is an interplay of one type of bird transforming into another. He has a luminescent blue-green feather, like a peacocks, likely signifying pride or “flashiness”, transforming into a bird that looks like a dove, which signifies peace. After he plants the feather of the dove in the ground, upheaval is the result! The “svala” he needs to make is the dove, peace. In negotiations, people often talk about finding the “black swan”. This is the secret people don’t want to reveal in negotiations. Upon discovering it, it changes the game! Swans are also a symbol of beauty and grace, which can come from real peace. Finally, this might also be of interest that the word “smala” is French for family or tribe-so there might be some wordplay here as well, as he is in the home of his grandparents, the head of his family tribe. So, putting it all together: Basically, he needs to “swallow” or bury his pride, i.e. the peacock feather, and make peace with his family, likely having to do something with his grandparents. His attempt is going to cause some shaky foundations and uneasiness for him, but he needs to stand firm in his convictions. The key to his resolution is that the transformation will take more than one attempt for him to discover what is keeping his family tension from being resolved. That’s the (black) swan. He is in a unique position to heal a family rift maintained by foolish pride, and he’s being called to do so.

[@QuidamByMoonlight]

I wrote my original interpretation before hearing the podcaster’s interpretation. I think they were on the right track with the exception of not knowing “svala”. Only thing I would add/change is that in Hinduism, the swan is a symbol for self-realization. The “swan” could mean self-awareness in this case. He has to become more self-aware and know himself in order to make peace with his family. That makes perfect sense given the alcoholism and depression. What a dream!

[@thisjungianlife]

Outstanding amplifications.

[@CygnusMaximusXIII]

I'm a year late, but from what I'm seeing, "Svala," in Old Norse, means "to satisfy" or "to quench." Seems like just the kind of thing we middle-aged folks are so often in search of!

[@LasVegasSand_s]

6:07 “unconscious virtue signalling” 😂😂 is so on point.

[@gwendolynmurphy9563]

What an eloquent handbook of instruction on psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Proposed title: "In Search of My Personal Swan." Thanks so much!

[@carolorber6009]

The scapegoat, the identified patient, the black sheep - some things deserve defensiveness / reactivity - rightly or wrongly.

[@LasVegasSand_s]

22:30 such an interesting observation here by Lisa.

[@cgab12]

He is in his grandparents’ back yard. Is it significant that the dream is taking place in the backyard, in lieu of the front yard? To me, the backyard represents that which is hidden from public view. It is also dark out. I would say he is indeed dealing with a shadow in the subconscious.

[@siyaindagulag.]

Boy oh boy ! These are some very skilled hands on the reins of an unpredictable beast My own being the expectations of the other. (I'm Often naiive, sometimes infantile , regularly scapegoated ,always disappointed,with attendant anger issues ). However, not in this instance. Thank you guys ,so much.

[@raofna8054]

😅

[@raofna8054]

FuFF

[@raofna8054]

😅

[@raofna8054]

UuU😮

[@siyaindagulag.]

@@raofna8054 Wow. Four in a row and such a mighty emotional vocabulary . Stings bad, huh ?

[@angelcandelaria6728]

This conversation makes me question all my friends “usernames” 😅

[@sophiafakevirus-ro8cc]

That "friend" was letting herself off by claiming she just wanted to be admired.

[@DJSTOEK]

💘

[@LasVegasSand_s]

14:07 is also a deep quote.

[@adeptpeasant6161]

Starts @ 2:35

[@FeeFeeRN]

How can I find the Shadow Land series? Is it another channel? Would it be possible for you to link episodes that you refer to in videos? It would be so much appreciated. Thank you.

[@gwendolynmurphy9563]

May I cultivate awareness of shadow by noticing aversion arising in observing another's behavior, understanding that opening to this aversion in a relaxed, curious way is the entry into greater self-awareness and therefore integration, heading towards wholeness?

[@DeA2875]

First comment! BooYa!

[@judithsmorti4306]

🙏

[@chalinofalcone871]

"A moral point of view too often serves as a substitute for understanding in technological matters."[Understanding Media: The Extension of Man, Marshall McLuhan, 1964, Ch. 24: Games]

[@Markus___]

Can someone direct me to the video of this "K" person they're talking about? Thanks.

[@faustroad_]

the latest videos don't have subtitles available

[@thisjungianlife]

Huh, we'll check that out. Thanks for noticing.

[@ruskye4672]

His voice has changed no?