Carl Jung developed the concept of the Shadow Self. This concept describes that we cut parts of ourselves off and make them unacceptable, denying their existence. The funny thing is, the unacceptable parts don’t just go away—they become a part of our shadow identity, hidden often even to ourselves.
For example, a homosexual person may decide they can’t be open about their sexual identity because of society’s extreme prejudice towards this often “other” group. They may not even allow themselves to think of themselves as gay. They may then carry this unacceptable (to them) sexual identity in their shadow self. The shadow may appear, ironically and tragically, as prejudice and cruelty to gay people.
Can you imagine what the world would look like if we were able to embrace most of our “others”? Can you imagine what peace it might bring to the alienated? Can you imagine the peace and harmony you might find?
