The shadow is - ricknotesricknotes

Draft Sept. 22 2010 – Revised Sept. 30, 2010

Is “the shadow” evil? Are evil and the shadow part of the divine? Is the shadow expanding? Compelling questions.

In addressing these questions let’s first define the shadow. In very simple terms, based on the work of Carl Jung, we can think of the shadow as the disowned or unconscious aspects of an individual or a society. These disowned aspects range from minor weaknesses to the barbaric and demonic. The shadow, unacknowledged within, is then projected on others (individuals or societies). Note: recently the notion of the shadow has been extended to include disowned “positive” aspects of ourselves – the “white” shadow; we won’t explore that in this article.

Much of what we call good or evil depends on our perspective, moral codes and social norms. And these are changing as human consciousness evolves. Much of the behavior of early humans would likely be considered barbaric or labeled as evil today, however it was and is part of the divine.

It is interesting to look at the expansion of human consciousness and how it occurs. There is great value in human diversity, and the role of individuation seems important. This is a process of a young person becoming distinct from the “entanglement” of family beliefs, roles and values, and able to choose their own path. This individuation brings about the possibility of personal spiritual undertakings, creativity, and of unique gifts appearing in our midst, and leads to shifts in consciousness. Consider the radical teachings of the worlds spiritual masters when they first appeared. In some traditions these new “masters” are considered reincarnations of past masters, and some “new teachings” are considered gifts / inspiration from the divine. If the evolution of consciousness is to continue it appears that it is desirable to foster the expansion of the leading edge of consciousness by individuals. (Note; individual, as used here, refers to a unique expression of one consciousness and does not imply “separation”)

However with diversity, individuation and the possibility of great positive change comes the possibility of an individual expressing the worst of what humans have been over time.

We can think of this evolution as a slowly expanding leading edge with periodic breakthroughs into greater consciousness. And it appears that there is currently a “surge” in the expansion of consciousness. We can depict it this way:

—————–> The leading edge of early humans’ consciousness

Early humans had a much “narrower” range of consciousness that we do today (although there were great shamans with extraordinary vision and power). Note that the starting point for each arrow is the same.

The introduction of “great teachings” results in breakthroughs in the expansion of consciousness.

————————–> Expansion of consciousness

——————————————> Expansion of consciousness

————————————————————-> The expanding leading edge

With each movement forward the range expands when new consciousness and awareness emerges. However the archaic thought forms still exist, and since they are no longer acceptable they become the shadow.

As the range of consciousness expands, the ends of the scale become farther from each other and thus there is the perspective of increasing polarity. What was once the leading edge of consciousness is relegated to the past and from the perspective of the leading edge of consciousness the shadow is expanding. Although this increasing polarity is often condemned and presented as the root of many problems it seems to simply be an artifact of the expansion of human consciousness.

Each society chooses it’s values and norms (i.e. what is acceptable vs. evil) and these can be thought of as a “window” on the scale of consciousness, and a set of control systems (laws and enforcement) is enacted to reinforce the “window”. Some of these social windows are narrow and near the leading edge of human consciousness, some wider and farther back. Some societies have windows near the leading edge with threads connected to behaviors from the distant past (e.g. the treatment of women in some cultures).

Likewise each individual, chooses their own window of expression. We all hold the seeds of past human behavior (the shadow) within our makeup, hence we all have the possibility of “reverting” to the old, barbaric ways. Based on our lineage, internal resonance and life experience some of the seeds sprout within to form our personal shadow. The human mind seems capable of creating partitions and rationalizations that allow barbaric behavior by otherwise “normal” people. In our shadow work we acknowledge these seeds, their appeals and attractions, striving to integrate our individual shadow, avoiding projection, and having it overwhelm us, or be expressed by us. We can also recognize the collective shadow of our society. The polarities within consciousness provide the framework for choice, initiation and are the crucible for our spiritual growth – the classroom and the teacher. The journey to mastery is one of reconciling the shadow and working to become the leading edge of expanding consciousness.

This takes us back to the value and role of “individuals”, as described above and the importance of the choice of each individual in expressing consciousness. The shadow from the past often reappears in new disguises such as false prophets, charismatic leaders or criminals. Ironically, many of the people who introduced and catalyzed the expansion of human consciousness were considered dangerous or worse in their times. (e.g. Jesus Christ). It’s hard to tell genius from madness in the moment.

The shadow is. It is an artifact of the expansion of consciousness, and what is considered “love and light” today will likely be considered barbaric or evil from the perspective of the future when consciousness has expanded and new ways of being have emerged.