Every human being has their blind zone, but the larger it is, the more difficult their interpersonal relationships will be - in the family, at work, and in society. The amplified impact of this self-ignorance can bring disastrous consequences: wear and strain, difficulties, and failures across many domains, even illness. Jung affirmed that the most difficult, painful, and moving dramas do not take place on theater stages, but rather inside the hearts of ordinary men and women. And very often people will only express their conflicts when they fall into depression, the causes of which remain unknown to them.
The Shadow of Personality
The shadow of the personality is something that intrigues, provokes, and unsettles most individuals, because it contains so many negative aspects that have been - often with great effort - hidden from oneself. Some people go so far as to believe they do not have these aspects. But no human being can honestly claim to have no darker side. Paradoxically, the more enlightened a person becomes, the greater their tendency to recognize within themselves the aspects of the shadow personality - a fact well documented in the history of saints. Saint Peter, for example, wrote in an epistle to humanity: "There is no sin my brother commits that I am not capable of committing" (Aguiar, 2001).
Only a mind with little self-knowledge, with ignorance and arrogance, could fail to acknowledge that it carries within its personality the aspects of the psychological shadow. Shadow impulses predominate in the average human psyche, though little perceived and acknowledged amid so many rationalizations and civilized personas - due to a delirious automatism of the ego that conceals its true purposes and intentions, and the dark undercurrent that drives the great majority of people on the planet (Aguiar, 2011).
Projection and Self-Knowledge
The enemy within each of us, if not recognized and educated, will be projected outward, as though evil existed only outside and not within oneself. "In the persons of those we detest or toward whom we feel repulsion, we see projected facets of our own psyche that do not 'deserve,' or do not enjoy, citizenship in the conscious portion of our minds" (Aguiar, 2011, p. 359). The more an individual retracts this projection back onto themselves, the more information they gain about who they truly are, while also developing empathy - becoming less critical or judgmental and more compassionate and humble toward others.
It is important to remember that the shadow aspect of personality is not composed only of negative qualities. It also contains unexplored potentials in the human being that, over the course of one's existence, may become repressed, inhibited, or stifled by various influences. The shadow also holds vital qualities that need to be added and integrated into life.
The Courageous Work of Integration
Developing a conscious personality is fundamental - that is, claiming and taking responsibility for living the process of becoming who we truly are, in essence. This is already a continuous, demanding, and courageous pursuit. Therefore, for any individual in search of self-knowledge, it is inconceivable not to work with their shadow aspect. The shadow is part of who we are. It holds countless rich and living elements, ready to be brought into consciousness in order to promote an expansion of being - offering profound self-awareness as the shadow is gradually worked through. It creates the possibility of discovering who we truly are, and who we might yet become.
Reference: Benjamin Teixeira de Aguiar, saltoquantico.com.br