“According to Freud, the only way that something unpleasant or uncomfortable in our unconscious can reach the conscious mind is through active denial. We express the very...

The Laws of Human Nature, Chapter 9, The Law of Repression

Quote Continued

…opposite of what is buried within.”

Explanation

We each possess dark, sometimes even sinister, edges to our character—edges that lie deep inside of us.

To accept and embrace these uncomfortable traits is an unsettling prospect.

As such, rather than accept these flaws, rather than embracing them as part of who we are—perhaps even finding the strength to channel them productively—we often decide to repress them instead.

We deny these traits and desires, and so they lie hidden from both ourselves and others.

But no matter how much we repress this darkness within ourselves, it still remains.

This Shadow, festering in our unconscious, eventually comes to pass indirectly.

As the original quote states, our unpleasant or uncomfortable thoughts and ideas inevitably reach our conscious minds through active denial.

This means our vehement denials often act as positive expressions of our internal Shadow desires.

To cope with the discomfort and confusion that plagues our minds, we express the opposite of what lies within.

For example, someone who expresses an oddly passionate contempt for homosexuality is likely experiencing some form of homosexual desires, and he can only come to terms with that which exists inside of him through a staunch denial of these feelings.

Similarly, someone who expresses an obsessive commitment to the appearance of masculinity has likely experienced a profound loss of manhood at some point, and he can only comprehend such trauma by denying this loss, which means crafting a persona that espouses the opposite of what he feels internally.

This idea is important both to individuals who wish to understand themselves better, and also to those who wish to understand others better.

In relation to ourselves, we must accept that there are parts of us that lie repressed, and if we remain ignorant to these facets of who we are, they will likely force their way out of us in strange ways.

Are we truly tough and strong individuals, or are we exaggerating this presentation of ourselves in order to repress the emotions that lie below the surface?

This example of toughness and strength is, of course, exactly that—an example.

We can observe any overly pronounced traits in ourselves and ask the same question.

Importantly, by moving through this process of honest self-analysis, we can uncover those repressed parts of our personality.

And when we do so, this Shadow will become more conscious, no longer infecting our unconscious minds, instead transforming into something useful rather than harmful.

On the other hand, when observing others, we ought to pay close attention to the traits and qualities that people over exaggerate.

We should be wary of the fact that the personas people most obviously present to the world usually exist to cover up the opposite.

Someone who is overly kind, who is nice to the point of it being uncomfortable, is likely masking his or her underlying cruelty or jealousy.

Someone who is constantly exclaiming his or her trustworthiness is likely covering previous acts of disloyalty.

It goes without saying that not every intense trait or persona is a facade, but we must be conscious of the reality that it might be.

Our intuition—formed by our attention to detail and willingness to see the truth—will guide us as to whether or not we are observing a genuine or misleading display of a person’s true character.

“The brighter the light, the darker the shadow” — Carl Jung