Becoming aware of Self can happen only
when one explores both the conscious and
the unconscious aspects of one’s being.
Carl Jung called the unconscious aspect as
“shadow” to contrast it with “light”, the
conscious aspect. The conscious aspect
again has two dimensions, the “real” which
is represented by Self with a big ‘S’ and the
‘persona’ which is a projected self,
represented by a self with a small ‘s.’
A disclaimer to start with In my experience, there are no such a sharp divides between the real, projected and the shadow self. The boundaries are blurred at best.
According to me, personal shadows are created in this manner: We have our persona which is the controlled, intelligent, attractive image that we present to the world every day. This acts like a social mask hiding qualities, feelings and behaviours that do not fit the image. Feelings that make us uneasy like anger, hate, jealousy, greed, lust, shame etc., behaviours that are considered wrong by society like laziness, aggression, dependency etc. are disowned by us. However, they cannot be discarded since all these are human qualities and we are human too. Hence these qualities, feelings and behaviours find refuge in our shadow side.
There is an unfortunate consequence to this process: When we suppress some of the qualities that we consider as unacceptable, we also suppress some of our sources of strength and power. Let me give you an example. When we take up the image of ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ in our persona, we push qualities like being stubborn etc. into our shadow since we believe that nice guys are never stubborn. However being stubborn has functional aspects, like the ability to say no and being determined to do something despite opposition. They also tumble into our shadow along with stubbornness. Hence, in order to discover the hidden sources of one’s power, freedom and choice, we need to also dive deep and face some of the qualities we deem undesirable.
Though hidden from our awareness, the shadow has a life of its own. Sometimes it emerges at times of stress, challenge or intense emotional experience. Some emergence of the shadow leaves us ashamed, anxious and disgusted. At times, they also bring surprise and joy when we discover sources of our power. In the above example, we saw the Mr. Nice Guy hiding his ability to say “No” and keep on saying “yes” to all demands made by others. At some point, this person will find himself saying an emphatic “no” to someone when he wanted the least, shattering his image amongst his people.
We can see this at play in T-Groups where participants seem to be reacting to images they on others based on their on their shadow rather than based on what the person is in the here and now. The person cannot see that though the others can, When this is observed and pointed out, realisation can occur and the pattern created within the shadow brought to light.
The western psychological approach to the shadow and the Indian approach of Yoga both advocate integration and union of the split/ fragmented parts of oneself. Both see it as a way to transcend suffering and live a life of agency and choice.
Let us look at some perspectives from Indian philosophical traditions. Here is a simple version of some very deep perspectives and there is always a danger of over-simplification. I hope I haven’t done that!
Most Indian philosophical traditions agree that shadow formation in the mind happens through attraction (raaga) and avoidance (dvesha). Raaga is that process in the mind when we get attracted to people, objects and events that bring pleasant experiences. Dvesha is the opposite, our aversion/ avoidance of people, objects and events that generate unpleasant experiences. The source of this attraction and avoidance is fear – we go towards what provides us comfort and safety and avoid what we perceive as dangerous and causing suffering.
According to Indian thought, the persistent and obsessive attraction and avoidance experiences make an impression on the mind. This is called samskara (mental impression, recollection). The impression (saṁskāra) sinks into the sub-conscious mind and activates memory, which then produces a desire to either repeat or avoid the experience ( i.e., continue the raaga and dvesha).
Reinforced samskaras produce a vasana. Vasanas are inherent latencies and tendencies that are appropriated by the Ego to form self-identity. For example, if I avoid confrontation and always try to please others because of my fear of losing relationships, I will receive social approval as a “nice person”. So when I please people, I get a pleasant experience. This results in a samskara and over years of similar experiences, this samskara turns into a latency (vasana); and the Ego (ahamkara) appropriates this latency/ tendency as a component of my self-identity. I describe myself as a ‘nice person.’
Once the Ego does this, I will find it difficult to stand up for myself and confront people and issues even when it is important for me to do so. The Ego won’t allow me to do that. I will also experience feelings of guilt and shame when I raise my voice on rare occasions.
Because of these samskaras and vasanas, we lose touch with current reality and react based on our past impressions. Our responses/ reactions to the here and now stimuli are based on our attractions and avoidances and not based on our sensing of the moment. This is the shadow at work in a T-group.
We can see this dynamic at play in T-groups where participants seem to be reacting to images they hold about others based on their on their own vasanas rather than based on what the other person is in the here and now. The person cannot see this though the others can. When this is observed and pointed out, realisation can occur and the pattern created within the shadow can be brought to light.
A more detailed understanding of the Indian psychological approach is given in chapter 10 “T groups and Indian Philosophy” in the ISABS book “T-group Facilitation,” edited by Lalitha Iyer and me (2023).
– By Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
Sankarasubramanyan (Sankar) has over 35 years’ work experience. He has consulted with organizations all over the world in HR, consulting, OD and Applied Behavioural Science. He is a long time professional member of ISABS and has held various roles in the organization.