When I was doing graduate work I was captivated by Carl Jung. His insights into what he called the "Shadow" is unsurpassed. Basically, in Jung's paradigm, the Shadow is made up of those unconscious, repressed parts of ourselves that sometimes expose themselves in weird ways. An example is the University of Georgia research that demonstrated a positive correlation between latent homosexual tendencies and homophobia. In other words, based on the study, the most homophobic among us is highly likely to have repressed homosexual tendencies.
Jung noted that "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." With this understanding, it's not enough to observe that something irritates or offends us. The real discovery comes when we delve into why something irritates or offends us and more specifically, what that reveals about what lies hidden within.
I can't help thinking, as I write, about Adolf Hitler who was convinced the master race was the blond haired, blue-eyed ones. Yet, he had dark hair and dark eyes. Did no one ever look at him and say "What the heck?"
The point to this is to be aware of the next step, the step beyond irritation. When we notice irritation arising, that's only step one. Just because we're irritated doesn't mean we have to express our irritation outwardly. After we notice we're irritated, the next step is to look at what the irritation can teach us about ourselves. If laziness irritates us, is it because we have an unconscious fear that we might be or might become lazy? If aggression irritates us, is it because we have an unconscious fear that we are or might become aggressive. And on and on it goes until we have stripped away the pretenses and revealed the truth behind our own humanness and that is: Whatever is possible for a human to do, it is possible for me to do (both the good and the evil).
#counseling #acim #acourseinmiracles #psychology #spirituality
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