Shadow Work: Meet Your Inner Asshole

You've got a dark side, and it's high time we introduced you two.

Why You Should Care

Look, enlightenment isn't all sunshine and daisies. It's dirty work. Mud wrestling with your own demons dirty.

You want to transcend? Meet your shadow.

Carl Jung: "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate."

The Secret Language of the Psyche

Carl Jung said:

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate."

Listen to the man. You've been sleepwalking in a world scripted by your inner asshole. Let me tell you about Anakin Skywalker. Yep, Mr. Darth Vader. He was a hero, a champion. But where did he end up? A wheezing hunk of metal and darkness.

The guy's shadow snuffed out planets. You think yours won't wreck your life?

Identification

Spot the Shadow

Meet Bob. Family guy, entrepreneur, and someone who'd never hurt a fly.

Except that's bullshit. Bob hates his wife's laugh. It's petty, but it's real. Acknowledge the demon.

• Catalog Your Irritations: Those tiny annoyances, jot 'em down.

• No Judgment Zone: This is discovery, not a courtroom.

Bob's first step? Admitting he's got shadows, lurking right there in the annoyances he ignores or glosses over.

Are you any different?

Confrontation

Face Your Monster

Okay, so you've met the beast. Now what?