Last month I introduced the idea of shadow, a psychological concept first explored by pioneering psychoanalyst Carl Jung. He discovered in his patients a tendency to repress (i.e., keep hidden from the conscious mind) those personality traits that the ego finds unacceptable. Traits like greed, violence, laziness, egotism and dishonesty are disowned or denied by the individual but manifest themselves through being projected onto others.

Jung believed that individuation -- the maturation of the personality -- required the healing and integration of all conscious and unconscious elements, including the shadow. Such integration results in the actualization of the complete individual, or self, in all its wholeness and uniqueness. 

The process of encountering and integrating these hidden, disowned traits is called shadow work, a term coined by Connie Zweig and Jeremiah Abrams in the 1980s. It challenges us to make "the continuing effort to develop a creative relationship with the shadow" in order "to expand our sense of self by balancing the one-sidedness of our conscious attitudes with our unconscious depths."  Through shadow work you can:

• Achieve greater self-acceptance through a more complete understanding of who you are.
• Defuse negative emotions that erupt unexpectedly while under stress.
• Be freer of the guilt and shame triggered by negative emotions and negative behavior.
• Recognize when you project onto others your disowned traits.
• Improve relationships through more honest self-examination and better communication.
• Improve physical and mental health by freeing the energy spent repressing shadow.
• Be better able to control the cycle of self-destructive thoughts and actions.
• Liberate your creativity as you grow toward wholeness and self-actualization.

Want to learn more about shadow and shadow work? I recommend The Shadow Effect  book and documentary film, featuring Debbie Ford, Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson. For an in-depth look at the psychological and cultural aspects of shadow, see the classic anthology Meeting the Shadow, edited by Connie Zweig.