I’ve been in the holiday spirit lately because of Halloween (my favorite holiday), so I’ve been watching tons of horror movies. In ”Halloween 8: Resurrection,” a professor taught his class about Carl Jung’s concept of the shadow.
He states that “Inside all of us there lurks a dark, malevolent figure, this is [called] the shadow.” I thought more about this, and I realized just how true it was. As mammals, we are animalistic and it’s a part of our primal nature. We all have inherently dark traits about ourselves that we try to ignore or deny because of societal standards. But I think the secret to self-acceptance and growth is acknowledging all the parts of who you are: the good and the bad.
I tend to draw connections between multiple concepts, so Carl Jung’s idea of the shadow aligns perfectly with the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang. Essentially, the yin and yang symbols are visualizations of Jung’s theory. This philosophy is the idea that two opposing forces make a whole. Everything in this world has yin and yang energies, including people. Yin is associated with darkness, the moon and stillness, while Yang is associated with light, the sun and movement. There are several other associations but these correlate the most.
To summarize Jung’s main points, the shadow harbors all the qualities, desires, instincts and traits we don’t want anyone else to see. We repress these things and push them into our subconscious so they don’t rise to our conscious selves. I see this play out in real life a lot, especially when I observe self-righteous people and those who claim to be a positive person.
To me, no person on this planet is all good. We all have another side to us; denying this is an act of disservice. If you think that you don’t have any darkness within you, imagine having to defend yourself or someone you deeply love from an attacker. I can guarantee that you will unlock a side of you that you claim didn’t exist or never knew existed. This goes for a lot of different scenarios. You never really know what lurks within you until something triggers you.
The inner workings of people are as profound as the ocean; after all, our bodies contain up to 60% water. Some people will spend a lifetime trying to navigate and explore those waters. Others never explore, which is why they are more prone to drowning, figuratively speaking. The solution isn’t to conquer the depths of who you are but to befriend them. If you acknowledge your shadow and attempt to understand it, you can control your urges and instincts better. This is Carl Jung’s main point: shadows must be integrated into one’s light so that you can improve as a person.
The goal isn’t to get rid of our shadows. We need our shadows as it’s a half of our whole. The goal is to make sure that our shadows and light are balanced. The existence of the shadow tells us that all of us aren’t 100% good, and that is okay.
We are not meant to be 100% good. Anyone’s belief in this would deny the full scope of humanity. We are primal beings, meaning we have primal instincts like anger, pleasure, fear, survival, grief, etc. None of these are inherently evil or negative; they’re natural. Just accept yourself for all that you are. It’s the human thing to do.
Amyri Jones is a 22-year-old digital advertising and religious studies senior from Baton Rouge, LA.
