The shadow is often viewed as everything about us we would rather hide away from ourselves and the view of others and society. It can also represent aspects of ourselves we are unaware of in part or unconscious to completely, our blind spots. Carl Jung, the psychologist who originated the archetype of the shadow, said it “personifies everything we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves.” Jung also famously said “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

Darkness and Light

The “everything” we tend to hide away, our shadow self, are conditioned ways of seeing and sensing ourselves, others, and the world we embody at an early age. This makes our shadow a natural part of who we are because it played a role in keeping us safe and helping us orient to others and the world. These aspects of us might include insecurities, fears, repressed cravings and desires, and thoughts and feelings we judge to be outside the accepted norms of our families, workplace, or society.

This is the shadow as it is mostly depicted, a place of darkness and danger, waiting to wreak havoc in our lives and on others. And, this is possible and real when we react to and act on impulses that are unconscious, unexamined, and not aligned with our values. We see this at a societal level, with devastating consequences, when people project their fears and insecurities, their shadow, onto others and judge them as being less than and “other” because they do not fit into their worldview.

We also do not acknowledge and hide away parts of ourselves we haven’t fully appreciated. These are the places of light, our unrealized potential, which could be our underused strengths and skills and innate creativity. These ways of being emerge when our inner voices of self-judgment are quieted, perspective is brought to our fears, and we care less about what others think and say about our self-expression.

We avoid or downplay these aspects of ourselves based on past experiences we misinterpreted as threatening to our ideal sense of self, the highest hopes and aspirations we have for ourselves. These experiences are primarily from when we were too young to reflect on or understand their significance; they became embedded in our bodies and minds as unconscious and mostly inaccessible shadows.

Examples abound from people’s childhoods where excitement at pursuing a specific passion, interest, or creative pursuit was upended or sidelined due to a lack of recognition or encouragement, or, in some cases, overt discouragement and disparagement. We were not acknowledged or maybe not allowed to express our true, free selves, and, as a result, hid these key attributes from ourselves and others.

A Path to Integration

Integration means the shadow no longer threatens us or holds us back. Our integrated Self is our awakened Self. There is nothing to hide away, battle, or slay; our shadow is simply a natural part of us. We acknowledge and come to accept all aspects of ourselves with ease and self-compassion, withholding judgments and facing our fears.

We awaken to who we are, with all our parts acknowledged and accounted for by adopting an attitude of radical inclusion. This means everything we experience, within ourselves, in our relationships, and in the world is allowed to be just as it is in every moment, without judgment and without fear. Our personal vitality and capacity to flourish in the world depends on how well we integrate all aspects of ourselves.

Ways to integrate the energy and dynamism of our shadow self are available to us every day in the emergent here and now. Mindfulness meditation and mindful reflection practices are core ways to integrate and awaken. Mindfulness means paying attention on purpose to our thought patterns so we can build and rebuild the bridge between our conscious and unconscious minds.

Mindfulness also increases our emotional and somatic awareness, providing us with data from our feelings and sensations from our bodies in real time. From my experience working with coaching and supervision clients for more than 23 years, it is the mindfulness practices they find most transformative in supporting their journey of becoming who they want to be in the world. Mindful reflection provides a path for the integration of our shadow throughout its entire range from darkness to light. Through integration practices, we strengthen our relationship with ourselves, thereby directing our lives and leave less to fate.

Recently I was a guest on the Tending the Shadows podcast, hosted by executive coach Alisha Herrick. I spoke about the power of being fully present in your body, letting go of self-critical narratives, and embracing the journey of self-discovery. I also guided Alisha through a transformative meditation practice aimed at bringing consciousness back to the present moment. 

To delve deeper into the topic of shadow work for individuals and for executive coaching purposes, please look into the work of Alisha and also Aman Gohal.

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.” — Carl Jung