There is a belief system in our society that keeps telling us through the most subtle and also some quite obvious ways that we are unworthy of love and acceptance for being who we are and how we need to conform to fit the norm to be accepted, which is far from our authentic and true self. It actually leads us astray trying to find happiness through obtaining external materials and sources, which is not only unsuccessful, but also conveniently coincides with keeping our capitalistic economy afloat. Growing up in a traditional household, this is what I learned to believe and live by most of my youth, adolescent and some of…

The word “shadow” in this context, was what analytical psychologist Carl Jung defined as the suppressed parts of ourselves in our unconscious. The part that is largely running the show in our day to day lives, and what we tend to call “fate”. The shadow part of ourselves forms in early childhood through parental and societal disapproval and conforming to what is accepted. The inherent and authentic parts of ourselves (the negative and positive parts) that weren’t accepted, we then pushed away out of our awareness into our unconscious “shadow”. That’s were our authentic being would become fragmented as we only start operating with the aspects of ourselves that we…