One of the original primers on shadow work— A spiritual guide to fully understanding your psyche and unconscious mind to achieve transformative self-acceptance In this mind—and life—altering volume, Jungian expert and renowned author Robert A. Johnson describes how we all have shadows—the unlit, undesirable, part of our ego that is hidden deep within us that merely—and often painfully—turns up in unexpected places. As we leave these shadows dormant, we veer further away from our true selves. But when we begin to explore and embrace these shadows, we begin to find balance and finally heal the parts of ourselves we thought were broken. Johnson illuminates that by accepting and honoring the shadow within us, we can: ·      Live beyond judgement and shame through healthy emotional regulation ·      Strengthen our relationships and develop healthier behavioral and communication patterns ·      Stop comparing ourselves to others and learn to live with authentic gratitude for what we have and who we are ·      Move beyond self-sabotaging to radically improve our self-esteem and self-worth Both radical and piercing yet compassionate and gentle, Owning Your Shadow allows us to clasp the painful parts of ourselves—our anger, jealousy, addictions, fears—and use them to discover our most authentic selves. A must-read for anyone who struggles with a lack of self-confidence, trouble setting boundaries, anxiety in relationships, doomscrolling, or simply finding the happiness they know they deserve. Indeed, the light at the end of the tunnel begins when we choose to venture into the darkness first. A bestselling author shows how we can reclaim and make peace with the "shadow" side of our personality. Robert A. Johnson, a noted lecturer and Jungian analyst, is also the author of He, She, We, Inner Work, Ecstasy, Transformation, and Owning Your Own Shadow. Owning Your Own Shadow Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche By Robert A. Johnson HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2010 Robert A. Johnson All right reserved. ISBN: 9780062507549 The shadow: What is this curious dark element that follows us like a saurian tail and pursues us so relentlessly in our psychological world? What role does it occupy in the modern psyche? The persona is what we would like to be and how we wish to be seen by the world. It is our psychological clothing and it mediates between our true selves and our environment just as our physical clothing presents an image to those we meet. The ego is what we are and know about consciously. The shadow is that part of us we fail to see or know. How the Shadow Originates We all are born whole and, let us hope, will die whole. But somewhere early on our way, we eat one of the wonderful fruits of the tree of knowledge, things separate into good and evil, and we begin the shadow-making process; we divide our lives. In the cultural process we sort out our God-given characteristics into those that are acceptable to our society and those that have to be put away. This is wonderful and necessary, and there would be no civilised behaviour without this sorting out of good and evil. But the refused and unacceptable characteristics do not go away; they only collect in the dark corners of our personality. When they have been hidden long enough, they take on a life of their own -- the shadow life. The shadow is that which has not entered adequately into consciousness. It is the despised quarter of our being. It often has an energy potential nearly as great as that of our ego. If it accumulates more energy than our ego, it erupts as an overpowering rage or some indiscretion that slips past us; or we have a depression or an accident that seems to have its own purpose. The shadow gone autonomous is a terrible monster in our psychic house. The civilising process, which is the brightest achievement of humankind, consists of culling out those characteristics that are dangerous to the smooth functioning of our ideals. Anyone who does not go through this process remains a "primitive" and can have no place in a cultivated society. We all are born whole but somehow the culture demands that we live out, only part of our nature and refuse other parts of our inheritance. We divide the self into an ego and a shadow because our culture insists that we behave in a particular manner. This is our legacy from having eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Culture takes away the simple human in us, but gives us more complex and sophisticated power. One can make a forceful argument that children should not be subjected to this division too soon or they will be robbed of childhood; they should be allowed to remain in the Garden of Eden until they are strong enough to stand the cultural process without being broken by it. This strength comes at different ages for different individuals and it requires a keen eye to know when children are ready to adapt to the collective life of a so