Me and my Shadow

In my last blog I discussed the emergence of a force into the national and world psyche , which seem to have been precipitated by the return to power of the Labour party in 1997 . This force has changed behavioural patterns and intensified personal relationships throughout the world. What is it and how will it continue to affect us?.

The renowned psychologist CG Jung was the first to use the term '' the Shadow '' to describe the unconconcious emotions and energies which are repressed within ourselves and which we do not want to acknowledge ,out of fear or guilt and which are too painful too enter into , if we can avoid it .However , these energies will always try and find an outlet and can suddenly burst into life in both destructive and positive ways.

I am now going to quote Deepak Chopra - which I am loathe to do , as I find New Agers a bit too happy-clappy for my tastes , but he does seem to know what he is talking about in a lot of areas :

The Shadow is personal and universal at the same time.

Anything can be stored there.

Whatever is stored in darkness becomes distorted

The intensity of shadow energies is a way of getting noticed.

Bringing conciousness to any energy defuses it.

The shadow itself is not evil and therefore not your enemy.



It is my view that since 1997 these shadow energies have been forced out of our psyches . Have your interests changed -how often do you find yourself reading books or watching films that you would never normally be interested in and sometimes cause you to feel ashamed ? The rise in films showing ever more nasty and sadistic methods of slaughter are to me indicative of the Shadow . The political and media habit of referring to their enemies as 'terrorists' as well as the massive interest in conspiracy theories eg : 9/11 , the death of Princess Diana again point to shadowy figures who dwell in the darkness . The profileration of adult and child pornography on the internet ,also, comes from the same place.

Without going into great detail about the various layers of the Shadow - feelings of inadequacy , guilt , fear , as well as addictive behaviours are all symptoms of it - it seems to be common sense that there must be a basic reason for the shadow . My opinion is that the core centre of the Shadow is the fear of death , or rather the belief in death . The belief that we are going to be destroyed and that we cannot live without our bodies . Everything , the world is based on seems to come from this premise -our basic impulses come from the need for survival-food , sex , shelter etc and all our energies are put into it.

But what if this is wrong - what if the body and death are not true ? Is it possible that we are trapped in some sort of hallucinatory world ,which relies on these beliefs to sustain itself . Could it be that all the hate and anger are somehow misplaced - are we living a con ? I can only let you decide for yourself , but something is happening and the Shadow is at the heart of it . And Tony Blair of course.