eMag ~ Self Awareness & Facing the Shadow

Have you ever felt like a stranger to yourself, reacting in ways that leave you bewildered?

These moments often signal the emergence of what Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychiatrist, called your "shadow" - the hidden, often unconscious part of your personality.

Your shadow isn't inherently negative; it's simply the aspects of yourself you've deemed unacceptable or unworthy. Yet, when left unacknowledged, it can influence your behavior, relationships, and overall well-being.

This month, we explore the concept of the shadow and how developing greater self-awareness can help you recognize and integrate these hidden parts of yourself. By shining a light on your shadow, you can understand your unconscious motivations, break free from repetitive patterns, and move towards a more authentic way of living.

Come and delve into the fascinating world of shadow work.

E-Mag Contents

1. Insights: Understanding Your Shadow – The Key to True Self-Awareness
   
2. Podcast: From Narcissism to Self-Awareness - The Role of the Shadow in Spiritual Evolution
   
3. Reflection
4. Recommended Reading: Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self
   
5. Monthly Meditation: Core Strength Calm Mind
   
6. Featured Teaching: Facing the Shadow
7. Behind the Scenes
8. Extra Reading: Explore the Depths: Shadow Work Articles for Self-Awareness and Healing

Until next time, stay well.

Jayne Stevenson & Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati

Insights

Understanding Your Shadow – The Key to True Self-Awareness

In this extensive article, you'll explore the depths of your shadow self, a fundamental aspect of Jungian psychology. You'll learn what the shadow is, what elements it typically contains, and how it forms throughout your life.

This article guides you toward recognizing when your shadow influences your thoughts and behaviors and the symptoms you will experience when your shadow is in control. It also offers three practical techniques for engaging with and integrating the shadow into your conscious awareness.

Read Article: Understanding Your Shadow – The Key to True Self-Awareness

Podcast

From Narcissism to Self-Awareness - The Role of the Shadow in Spiritual Evolution

For the spiritually oriented, shadow work is often overlooked because it seems to be the opposite of the aim of creating more Sattwa— purity, clarity, harmony, and balance. However, shadow exploration is essential if you seek wholeness. 

This podcast episode goes into great depth about working with your shadow.

Listen or Watch: Podcast Ep. 14 ~ From Narcissism to Self-Awareness -The Role of the Shadow In Spiritual Evolution

Reflection 

The shadow is always present:

"The meeting with oneself is, at first, the meeting with one’s own shadow. The shadow is a tight passage, a narrow door, whose painful constriction no one is spared who goes down to the deep well. But one must learn to know oneself in order to know who one is.” (Carl Jung)

Here are 5 reflection points to consider as you move through the month.

1. Explore your 'pet peeves': The traits that irritate you most in others often reflect disowned parts of yourself. Reflect on why these particular behaviors bother you so much.
   
2. Reflect on childhood messages: Consider the behaviors or traits that were discouraged in your upbringing. These might have been pushed into your shadow.
   
3. Review your impulsive decisions: Reflect on times when you've acted impulsively, especially if the behavior felt out of character. What hidden desires or needs might these actions represent?
4. Reflect on your 'guilty pleasures': Consider the activities or interests you enjoy but feel somewhat ashamed of. These might represent shadow aspects seeking expression.
5. Reflect on your spiritual 'shoulds': Consider your spiritual rules. What aspects of spirituality do you feel you 'should' embody but struggle with? These struggles might point to shadow aspects.
    

Recommended Reading 

Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self

In this book, Jung provides an in-depth analysis of the shadow, particularly in the context of the self and the collective unconscious. He describes the shadow as the hidden, repressed, and often dark aspects of the personality that the conscious ego does not identify with. This work is essential for understanding the interplay between the shadow and the process of individuation, where one integrates these hidden aspects into their conscious awareness.

Read more about this book

Monthly Meditation 

Core Strength Calm Mind

Become grounded, confident, and stable with this guided meditation series designed to help you manage stress and face difficulties with greater confidence and resilience.

These techniques empower you to develop a more accepting, courageous spirit by strengthening your deep, energetic, psychological, and emotional core.

Find Out More →

Featured Teaching 

Facing the Shadow

Unify the dark and light aspects of your mind and emotions through this unique study with Big Shakti. 

Our "Facing the Shadow" course offers a transformative journey into the depths of your psyche. It combines Western psychological insights with Eastern yoga psychology and philosophical perspectives to reveal and examine your psychological shadow.

This course helps you uncover and integrate the hidden aspects of yourself, known as the shadow, to achieve greater self-awareness and wholeness.

What You Learn:

• The force that separates you from wholeness
  
• How the shadow operates in the world, society, and relationships
  
• The shadow's role from both Eastern and Western perspectives
  
• The shadow in relation to ego and identity
  
• How an unexplored shadow hides your true nature, and tools to remedy this

You'll Discover How To:

• Engage with the disowned parts of yourself
  
• Manage negative feelings like shame, resentment, and anger
  
• Understand why you may project your shadow onto others
  
• Establish a positive relationship with your shadow
  
• Integrate the shadow into your higher self

Find Out More →

If you want to hear more about upcoming courses and classes, click here to join our wait list for teaching notifications and pre-release invitations.

Behind the Scenes at Big Shakti

It is amazing how what you focus on creates synchronicities on the same theme. This certainly was true when creating the shadow content for you! Here are just a few shadow-themed events, of which there were many.

We encountered a major, perplexing technical issue that stumped our expert technician. He said, "This is usually so obvious, but I just can't see it," calling the issue a shapeshifting gremlin. Eventually, he took a long break to "mull it over," returning with an insight that fixed the problem. This mirrors what we often need to do when faced with a shadow issue: take a break, shift our focus, and reflect. It's an exercise in awareness.

Several new clients arrived with very obvious shadow issues, including nightmares, relationship issues around blame, and sudden inner events arising from their unconscious.

We were recommended the Netflix series Turning Point—The Bomb and the Cold War. This nine-part docuseries chronicles how the development of the atomic bomb led to the rise and fall of the Cold War, drawing parallels to current political tensions. The documentary is viscerally and emotionally challenging to view. It illustrates how the shadow is created through relentless political power drives, fear of "foreign" cultures, belief in cultural superiority, scapegoating as a central propaganda mechanism, and moral and ethical corruption. If you choose to watch it, we suggest doing so in small doses, as we did.

A friend also recommended the Sydney Theatre Company's modern interpretation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula." First published in the highly restrictive Victorian era when primitive instincts, self-expression, and sexuality were stifled, the story exemplifies how the human shadow grows strongest in times of extreme Puritanism. Fiction often expresses these repressed elements, alleviating a nation's suffocation. Dracula epitomizes the shadow as a symbol of the "other," defying mortality yet dependent on human lifeforce (blood) to exist.

Extra Reading

Explore the Depths: Shadow Work Articles for Self-Awareness and Healing

We believe shadow work isn’t just a trend; it’s a transformative journey into the depths of our being.

By confronting our shadow, we can connect with a richer, more authentic understanding of ourselves; increasing our self-awareness.

If you're interested in exploring your shadow, we have a collection of articles that share insights into the nuances of shadow work. From exploring the hidden aspects of the self to understanding the collective shadow in our post-pandemic world, these articles are designed to guide you on your path to true self-awareness.

Whether you're just starting your journey or looking to deepen your practice, there's something here for everyone.

Take a moment to browse the articles below, and let these insights illuminate your path.

📕 Understanding Your Shadow Self: The Key to True Self-Awareness

📗 Understanding Shadow Symbols: Revealing Hidden Aspects of the Self

📕 The Maha Gunas - The Primary Forces in the Shadow

📗 Mental Illness in a Post-Pandemic World: Managing the Collective Shadow

📕 Unearthing Your Spiritual Gold With Yoga Tantra And Jung

Have you engaged with shadow work before ?

We'd love to hear your experiences if you'd like to reply and share.

Final Contemplation

As we wrap up this month’s newsletter, we encourage you to reflect on the importance of acknowledging and integrating the hidden aspects of yourself. Shadow work isn’t about fixing what’s “wrong” with you—it’s about understanding and embracing the full spectrum of who you are. By bringing these unconscious elements into the light, you gain greater clarity, self-awareness, and the ability to live more authentically.

Throughout this e-mag, we’ve provided a range of resources—from articles and podcasts to meditations and teachings—to help you begin or deepen your exploration of the shadow. Remember, this is a gradual and ongoing journey, and each step brings you closer to wholeness and peace.

Until next time, may your path be illuminated with greater self-understanding and balance. Stay well!

Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati & Jayne Stevenson



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