C.G. Jung, The Light of the Shadow

Peter Birkhauser: The Bear at the Tree of Light

From Civilization in Transition

To confront a person with his shadow is to show him his own light.

Once one has experienced a few times what it is like to stand judgingly between the opposites, one begins to understand what is meant by the self.

Anyone who perceives his shadow and his light simultaneously sees himself from two sides and thus gets in the middle.

Civilization in Transition

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The Potential of the Shadow

What our age thinks of as the “shadow” and inferior part of the psyche contains more than something merely negative.

The very fact that through self-knowledge, that is, by exploring our own souls, we come upon the instincts and their world of imagery should throw some light on the powers slumbering in the psyche, of which we are seldom aware so long as all goes well.

They are potentialities of the greatest dynamism, and it depends entirely on the preparedness and attitude of the conscious mind whether the irruption of these forces, and the images and ideas associated with them, will tend towards construction or catastrophe.

Civilization in Transition
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