“Those who define themselves by the thing they are not eventually find themselves more and more like their imagined opposite. To be someone’s antithesis is also to be their alter ego. Watching the disintegration of Joe Biden in his CNN debate with Donald Trump, I was reminded of Hans Christian Andersen’s chilling story “The Shadow,” in which a man’s shade comes to life, gradually infiltrates his existence, takes over his entire persona, and kills him off. Biden’s shadow is Trump and we got to watch in real time as it inhabited and displaced him.”
I’ve been thinking about the role of the shadow in American politics today while ruminating about the debate. Here is Fijian O’Toole in the NYRB.
“Yet despite mounting calls for Biden to step down from the campaign, he is committed to staying in the race. Facing a Republican candidate who believes himself to be “unique, unparalleled, irreplaceable,” Biden seems to believe that he alone can win. His tragedy, observes O’Toole,
is that he has come to take on this same conviction, to feel that he alone can save America. In mirroring his archenemy, he has created an equal and opposite belief in his own indispensability.”
Thank you for reviewing the shadow journal and the NYT article. For many beginners a journal can be useful! I would enjoy a review of other journals to se what you think would be useful and is accurate.
Interesting article, as always, AND what caught my eye was the reference you make at the very end to Nina Bunjevac's major arcana tarot deck and guide. Seems a fitting tool for the necessary inner reflection that goes hand in hand with shadow work! If other's are interested and want to see a preview of the 22 cards before purchasing, here is a YouTube video (a bit lengthy) where they are all shown... https://youtu.be/KSFOxTl_Zjo?si=c-XvGVEwz12IqqUT
Thank you for writing about shadow work and the NYT article. I will join your Substack because you're a wise teacher, and I love Jung's work. I've studied on my own for decades and saw Martha Blake, a Jungian analyst, for a decade after my younger brother was killed. Thank you for your work in the world.
Great post! I saw that same NYT article, and looked up the journal online. I was in the fence about it, and didn't end up buying it even though I was curious and do want to try a little self-directed shadow work. I think I'm immediately suspicious of viral TikTok trends, and assumed the worst!! Anyway, it's interesting to hear the thoughts of a real Jungian therapist, and I appreciate your balanced point of view.
For what it's worth, if ever you write something like this I'll buy it immediately!
Is it possible that we are appalled when facing our own shadows…which appear when seeing a person express her ideas -even get reviews in NYT-without the credentials you might expect behind a published work? I have found this shadow aspect in myself many times and I don’t like her because she exaggerates the importance of the expert, and diminishes free will, even when I needn’t defer to her views as educated.
Satya-Thank you. I was immediately afraid for the integrity of the work and began projecting all kinds of things on Ms Shaheen. And then you calmed me right down with your easy acceptance of the potential broader impact of her journal. Your credibility to me as a Jungian expert is impeccable, but almost more importantly, your capacity to demonstrate compassion and generosity rather than judgment is again, for me, a very welcome and refreshing example.
Thank you! As usual very well said. What came to me is how the response to Keila Shaheen’s book lines up with the acceptance of falsehood that seems to have become epidemic in the USA. Or is this an aspect of the shadow of our country?
More from O’toole:
“Those who define themselves by the thing they are not eventually find themselves more and more like their imagined opposite. To be someone’s antithesis is also to be their alter ego. Watching the disintegration of Joe Biden in his CNN debate with Donald Trump, I was reminded of Hans Christian Andersen’s chilling story “The Shadow,” in which a man’s shade comes to life, gradually infiltrates his existence, takes over his entire persona, and kills him off. Biden’s shadow is Trump and we got to watch in real time as it inhabited and displaced him.”
I’ve been thinking about the role of the shadow in American politics today while ruminating about the debate. Here is Fijian O’Toole in the NYRB.
“Yet despite mounting calls for Biden to step down from the campaign, he is committed to staying in the race. Facing a Republican candidate who believes himself to be “unique, unparalleled, irreplaceable,” Biden seems to believe that he alone can win. His tragedy, observes O’Toole,
is that he has come to take on this same conviction, to feel that he alone can save America. In mirroring his archenemy, he has created an equal and opposite belief in his own indispensability.”
Thank you for reviewing the shadow journal and the NYT article. For many beginners a journal can be useful! I would enjoy a review of other journals to se what you think would be useful and is accurate.
Interesting article, as always, AND what caught my eye was the reference you make at the very end to Nina Bunjevac's major arcana tarot deck and guide. Seems a fitting tool for the necessary inner reflection that goes hand in hand with shadow work! If other's are interested and want to see a preview of the 22 cards before purchasing, here is a YouTube video (a bit lengthy) where they are all shown... https://youtu.be/KSFOxTl_Zjo?si=c-XvGVEwz12IqqUT
Oh goodness! A truly mature response! My soul is delighted!
Thank you for writing about shadow work and the NYT article. I will join your Substack because you're a wise teacher, and I love Jung's work. I've studied on my own for decades and saw Martha Blake, a Jungian analyst, for a decade after my younger brother was killed. Thank you for your work in the world.
Beautiful response Satya! I had to giggle a bit. I love you!
I appreciate the generosity of your response …. While also offering fact checks.
Great post! I saw that same NYT article, and looked up the journal online. I was in the fence about it, and didn't end up buying it even though I was curious and do want to try a little self-directed shadow work. I think I'm immediately suspicious of viral TikTok trends, and assumed the worst!! Anyway, it's interesting to hear the thoughts of a real Jungian therapist, and I appreciate your balanced point of view.
For what it's worth, if ever you write something like this I'll buy it immediately!
Is it possible that we are appalled when facing our own shadows…which appear when seeing a person express her ideas -even get reviews in NYT-without the credentials you might expect behind a published work? I have found this shadow aspect in myself many times and I don’t like her because she exaggerates the importance of the expert, and diminishes free will, even when I needn’t defer to her views as educated.
Satya-Thank you. I was immediately afraid for the integrity of the work and began projecting all kinds of things on Ms Shaheen. And then you calmed me right down with your easy acceptance of the potential broader impact of her journal. Your credibility to me as a Jungian expert is impeccable, but almost more importantly, your capacity to demonstrate compassion and generosity rather than judgment is again, for me, a very welcome and refreshing example.
Thank you! As usual very well said. What came to me is how the response to Keila Shaheen’s book lines up with the acceptance of falsehood that seems to have become epidemic in the USA. Or is this an aspect of the shadow of our country?