The Shadow

“Why would you focus on the flaw in someone else’s life and yet fail to notice the glaring flaws of your own?” (Matthew 7:3 TPT)

According to Jungian psychology, each of us has an unconscious dark side or a shadow self. Since it is painful to acknowledge or accept these negative aspects, we instinctively ignore these personal deficiencies. However, we are prone to projection--easily recognizing the same moral failures in others while overlooking them in ourselves. 

The collective conscience also has a shadow side. Our group identities provide us an echo chamber that allows us to deny our weaknesses, while projecting our insecurities onto those we view as different. The unacknowledged parts of our deep-seated beliefs shape our inherent biases. Since we want to believe that our ‘group’ is basically decent, we cover up the shameful parts. At the same time, we gaslight--sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of others. Displacing blame is less painful than accepting our inner darkness. Examining our innards is about as uncomfortable as a colonoscopy--why wouldn’t we put it off indefinitely? Unless we acknowledge the possibility of serious malignancies in our perceptions, we will continue to ignore the shadow side of our communal identity.