Dark power: Shadow of humans

The shadow is an intrinsic part of humans but they do not consider its presence. People have a common tendency to mask their negative traits. They breathe with false moral superiority. According to renowned Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung, the shadow is the unknown ‘‘dark side’’ of human personality. It is those facets of the personality that people choose to reject and repress such as aggressive impulses, taboo mental images, shameful experiences, immoral urges, fears, irrational wishes.

As many people visualize that shadow can be easily chased, they can have fun with their shadow. But people normally avert their personal shadow that is the reflection of their negative emotions.

In Jung theoretical model, the shadow is a prototype that exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and inadequacies. The shadow forms out of our efforts to adapt to cultural standards and beliefs. It contains all aspects that are undesirable to society as well as to one's own personal moralities and principles.

Simply stating, shadow is the reflection of dark side of persona as it embraces negative emotional feelings. It is a known truth that we as a human cannot escape from our shadow. It always stay with us and reminds us the darker face of mental conditions. Shadows of emotional life develop as child grows. Good traits are accepted while bad traits are rejected. Humans get cues of shadows from environment also.

Besides darker side, humans also get benefited from shadow as they comprehend their flaws, weaknesses, selfishness, nastiness, and hate. Thoroughly exploring shadow part of life, it is understood that our shadow gives lots of opportunities for personality development as well as in ascending career. When people adapt with their shadow, they also learn to accept the dark part of other individuals. It is good to integrate with shadow to augment our lifestyle.