Question:
I am in need of some clarification regarding the dark-side/shadow aspect of human beings. I am confused as to whether a person’s shadow side is a permanent fixture of their awareness—to be accepted and integrated—or whether it is something that is to be eventually transcended and/or dissolved through diligent meditation practice. I seem lately to regularly encounter seemingly contradictory viewpoints on this matter where sometimes the dark/shadow side is spoken about in terms of past conditioning or accumulated stress and karma wherein the implicit understanding is that, given enough time and due diligence with meditation, one would eventually tread past their negativity and emerge into unconditional love. Other times though it seems that the shadow is portrayed as being a permanent, inescapable fixture of the human condition (love and hate coexist always) wherein the goal is simply to acknowledge it, accept it, and learn to live with it. If one tends to favor their positive aspects over their negative ones does that necessarily mean that they are denying and suppressing parts of themselves? I can’t imagine not preferring love over hate.
Anyway, I can’t help but see the above two points of view as being utterly contradictory. Do enlightened individuals really have the same dark aspects as everyone else? If so, what is it exactly that makes them enlightened? Or have they indeed let go of and moved beyond all negativity.
Answer:
When the shadow elements are accepted, integrated and healed, they cease to be in the dark. Reactions like hate and greed would vanish because the ignorance holding them in place would be replaced with self-awareness. So in that sense the shadow or negative side is not permanent. What is permanent are those basic elements of our personality that were previously dysfunctional and repressed, but are now functionally working in concert with our spiritual aspirations. The strength and energy of that part of us that was previously cut off from us has been brought back into alignment with our higher purpose.
The ignorance, shame, guilt, and fear that characterize the shadow side are not permanent fixtures of human awareness. When we outgrow those aspects of the psyche, then we no longer create these shadows. It is as if the contents of our consciousness then becomes fully transparent to the light.
The idea of a shadow side is a different issue than what you have described later as the need for contrast or opposites to give meaning to our experience. It is not necessary to have a hidden hateful part inside in order to love. Being able to love and express the full range of human experience is available to an enlightened person, even though he or she is no longer has a covert side motivated by shame, guilt or fear.
Love,
Deepak
Great question… One that I have often pondered. To add to the conversation, I once read that one who responds to the darkness with the same fear/anger/hate he himself enters the darkness. To respond with love in the face of darkness is truly an evolved way of living/being.
I cannot help but think of the Star Wars saga and how Anakin Skywalker is consumed by the dark side of the Forceand and finally finds peace in the end. As Krishna says “Remember me and fight!”
The “shadow” or “duality” experience of this earth is what each one of us chose for the explicit
purpose of learning, including the learning of deep appreciation for life. The higher self’s primary
goal is to grow spiritually, and we grow fastest when we experience challenges and pain. Sitting
around in the clouds all day does not do much for the growth experience (or appreciation), so we
(meaning our higher selves) chose to design an experiment where we’d grow as fast as
possible (i.e. this Earth experience). Then we had to forget that we designed it. (If your human
self knew about this plan, if we knew we were the designers of the plan, we wouldn’t go through
with it! We’d say, forget this!)
We designed our lives to experience hardships and crises for some highly noble reasons, and
now we are ready to see the bigger picture of this experience. (All this is good news for humanity!!)
Right now we’re going through a “Great Shift in consciousness” where we’re reconnecting to the
higher aspect of ourselves. THIS shift is what will create the transformation, both on an individual
and a collective level. Reconnecting to your higher self is the key to the “new earth,” “great shift,”
or “Golden Age,” whatever you want to call it.
Your higher self is in charge of your life, always has been in charge. Your higher self has the
design within to create your own “Golden Age.” All you have to do is reconnect with that aspect of
yourself and learn to trust it enough to follow through on your inner guidance. This will transform
every single one of your problems, as well as humanity’s problems. We’ll see them finally for
what they are…
Christine Hoeflich
I like the quote above: Remember me and fight! Krishna thinks like me.
(I’d say more…but this comment form wrestles with my text….fix it up I say…)
I think in metaphors, so would the metaphor below encompass the concept of the opposites
mentioned in this thread?
“Ice is ice, no more, when you pour warm water on it, as it can not be ice, then”
Thank you.
The ignorance, guilt, shame and fear are not permanent … When they are
accepted, integrated, and healed they cease to be in the dark. Then we are free
to love and experience the full range of human experience. Good answer!
It has been said “there is no such thing as evil only that man would make it so”. With past experiences and some reflection this is proportionately right. Proportionate to the society in which we live and their morals of the day. For example some cultures still approve of child brides and polygamy. When a social change occurs what was right becomes wrong or visa versa. Is this a matter of semantics? Enlightenment vs social change vs personal change due to a variety of new inputs. Laws were made to protect individuals and groups of people from harm. eg. don’t eat pork, fish with no scales, until a child is physically developed sex will harm their body and their mind, take in blood – then there were no refrigerators, the risk for bacterial, parasites was high – the 7 deadly sins. For sure will kill you. Overeating, jealousy, greed look where they are all getting us – into this mess. There is a formula for healthy individuals and society. The 10 commandments were it. Jesus replaced it with 2 new laws “Love Thy Neighbour as You Love Yourself” and “Love Your God” If we just practiced that first one law essential to the success of that law we must love ourselves. It is people who have no love of themselves, who do not know what love is that can be a manifestation of real evil. Serious evil does exist, it is real and flee when you encounter it! It is as powerful as LOVE. If a person is querying about their inner drk side and its permanence – then that person is not evil. ?There is room to grow and change. Be encouraged. True EVIL doesn’t even question it. It LOVES being EVIL> It has no shame or embarrassment, no conscience.
Good explanation. Form cuts off text on right
Wherever fear finds safe harbor, enlightenment is delayed and evil, best considered to mean trouble, where used in the bible as opposed to wicked, will expand. When the enlightened of a social order reach a critical mass (1%? 10%?) fear in the social order abates and with it, evil. The wicked lose power and control. The enlightened are encouraged and share enlightenment with greater numbers, reducing the safe harbors for evil. This makes enlightenment the personal responsibility of every loving neighbor and those yet to be so.
When the sun of truth, love and light rises darkness vanishes automatically. When a person becomes established in goodness, his dark side vanishes automatically. In unenlightened souls, this is still manifest as a struggle between good and evil where, the person has to consciously make an effort to favor the good because their minds aren’t quite in their controls yet. It requires constant spiritual practices to tame the mind. In enlightened souls like krishna, buddha and christ that have perfect control over their minds (and hence matter too), the sun of knowledge, love and light has permanently risen and darkness ceases to exist! As long as one remains unenlightened, darkness still exists. Only the enlightened ones have completely and permanently conquered evil and darkness.That’s my 2 cents on the subject.
The shadow aspect of humans, is the characteristics that are
outside of their awareness.
The unconscious impulses which drive destructive
feelings.
The shadow side, by its very nature, cannot be
seen, so the person, must first recognise when the subconscious is
showing them, shadow aspects of their personality. These aspects can
be identified by their negative feel. Also we may notice, we
are so proficient at pushing away this negative feel, it
may be elusive at first, but with practice, we can become more aware.
Identification of these negatives is the first
step to transmuting them, into their polar opposites. I speak
about ice, often, and the fact that it cannot be in a
place where heat is. It gets dissolved. Same as darkness
is no more, when we shine a torch on it.
These two analogies, of heat/cold, darkness/light work in a similar
way to how the shadow dissolves, the more we become aware of
its presence. Like all dark fear based things, the shadow will try
to hide. We form layers of denial, and rationalisations, and it takes,
awareness to identify these, and get past them.
Past conditioning comes into it, when someone has suffered,
at the hands of others, and not had a chance to heal.
Due to this lack of love, the person may repress all of the
sadness, they feel unable to express. They may think they are
‘getting over it’, when really they are only disconnecting themselves
from their own feelings.
This defence mechanism is used by the vulnerable, as a
protection mechanism, but can be pathological, if those feelings,
are not worked through at a later stage.
This is breeding ground for shadow material.
Love and hate are like heat and ice, but we transcend as much
shadow as possible, in order to grow in depth and for
psychological growth. Acknowledging it, is the beginning of
dissolution, transmuting it, into its polar loving opposite is another
step. Awareness is like magic, alot changes, when we become
aware of something. In the presence of awareness, there
cannot be hidden grief, just like there cannot be ice in a hot
environment. Our positive traits will always feel nicer than our
negative ones, but to hide the negative ones from our full awareness
is a mistake. Hate becomes love with increased awareness.
I don’t think anyone is totally enlightened, except of course the invisible
divine force which runs our universe. All any of us can do, is move
towards that light, until we become it.
My two pennies worth, for your consideration.