All gaps in our actual knowledge are still filled out with projections. We are still so sure we know what other people think or what their true character is. We are convinced that certain people have all the bad qualities we do not know in ourselves or that they practice all those vices which could, of course, never be our own.
We must still be exceedingly careful not to project our own shadows too shamelessly; we are still swamped with projected illusions.
If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all these projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a considerable shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do this or that, they are wrong, and they must be fought against…
Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day.
These problems are mostly so difficult because they are poisoned by mutual projections. How can anyone see straight when he does not even see himself and the darkness he unconsciously carries with him into all his dealings?
— C.G. Jung, Psychology and Religion
May we find the world within ourselves, and may we there heal it,
Simeon
Quote of the Week
“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds… But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Face Your Darkness and Grow
Carl Jung taught that healing begins where projection ends. In this video, we explore how embracing the shadow not only reshapes our sense of self but also subtly transforms the way we move through the world. The journey is inward, but its effects ripple far beyond.
Suggested Reading
Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert A. Johnson
What if the darkness you fear in others is your own, asking to be seen? In *Owning Your Own Shadow*, Robert Johnson invites us to face the parts of ourselves we hide or deny—and to discover the wholeness that comes with embracing them. This book is a quiet revolution of the soul.
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