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Carl Jung and The Self

Updated: Jan 25

A closer relationship with your hidden Self is how you move closer to a state of integrity, wholeness, and authenticity. Carl Jung wrote that "The Self might equally be called the 'God within us.'" He also said "Whatever is rejected from the Self, appears in the world as an event." Do you want to know the God within you? The divine part of your Self that resides in your subconscious? If you don't, then you will not be in control of your own life. Carl Jung knew God. Do you, yet?



I’ve always wondered how my unconscious self manifests in my conscious life. Am I the voice in my head? Is my shadow self manifesting in ways I can’t control?


How much control do I really have over my rational and emotional choices? Why do people act a certain way around different people?


I have a lot of questions. Carl Jung, a pioneer in the world of psychology, spent his life trying to crack these very questions.


The conscious self is the ego, that part of us which is seen - the mask. But spiritually speaking, the ego is fast asleep. The unconscious Self is the soul, which needs to be made conscious and awakened in order to make us whole.


Neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, thought psychology was all about repressed childhood desires. Jung, a one-time protégé of Freud, disagreed. He observed that the human psyche is not just about our childhood or past but also our deep unconscious Self.


Jung didn’t just theorise; he experimented. He looked for answers in dreams, mythology, and even religious experiences, looking for patterns across cultures and time. It blew Freud’s mind (literally, the two had a nasty public falling out). But Jung’s broader view of the psyche laid the foundation for a whole new school of thought: analytical psychology.


The real question is, why should I care about Jung’s observations on the human psyche? Because he put together a powerful framework for understanding your Self. Carl Jung's observations about how my unconscious self manifests and sometimes even controls my conscious life are mind-blowing.


So, if you’re curious about yourself and the deeper workings of your unconscious mind, stay with me. In six minutes, I will explain Jung’s hidden doorway to better understand who you are beyond your conscious self.


Everyone has two lives — the conscious life (the thoughts and feelings you readily access and the unconscious life (the hidden but influential life people don’t know).


Carl Jung called the parts of ourselves people don’t know the 'shadow,' a hidden aspect of ourselves with a lot of power to change our life’s trajectory — and sometimes, cause trouble.

So, why go into your shadow self?


Well, Because, as Jung himself said, “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”


“One does not become Enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious, he said.


Knowing your hidden self is also the beginning of Self-wisdom. We all have blind spots: Our 'unkown unknowns in the Johari window of our psyche. Unconscious biases, hidden desires, unresolved conflicts — these things are beyond the practical life. They are a part of ourselves we rarely talk about but influence how we live our conscious lives. The disturbing truth is that they manifest in ways we barely notice. Jung thought until we acknowledge them, they can sabotage our relationships, careers, and the lives we desperately want for ourselves.


The human psyche is like a house. Your conscious self is the open or spacious living room. It’s open to all — anyone who has ever visited or seen your living room knows how you’ve arranged your stuff. Our conscious space is the part of ourselves that makes decisions and interacts with the world. The unconscious or hidden self is the basement, full of our forgotten memories, emotions, instincts, primal urges, and hidden desires. Not many people know our own basements or attics. Making the unconscious conscious is about bringing the hidden things in the basement into the light and integrating them into the whole structure of your BEing.


It sounds scary. It is. “There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become Enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious,” Jung said.


No one wants to embarrass themselves. So we hide things in the basement. But Jung thought making peace with everything in the basement is how we find the freedom to live our best lives. An unresolved childhood experience with a strict parent may explain why you sometimes have conflicts with authority figures.


“If conscious life is not wholly rational, driven as much by emotions and intuitions, then the patterns and instincts of the unconscious are even more buried and obscure. Worse, Jung argues that the modern world has developed a positive fear of the unconscious because it escapes the precise determination, analysis and control promised by modern science. The natural language of the unconscious is not exact like mathematics; it is flexible like mythology.” — Mark Vernon — Carl Jung, part 3.


Encountering the unconscious: Knowing your shadow or hidden dark experiences brings a sense of wholeness. You become more Self-aware. That can translate into better emotional regulation and a stronger relationship with the people close to you because you won’t be afraid to open up or be vulnerable.


The goal of getting to know our hidden or shadow selves isn’t to eliminate its influence but to integrate its personality. Accept that these hidden aspects are part of you. The goal is to transform them from destructive forces into sources of strength, courage, transformation, and growth.


We all wear masks, social personas we project onto the world. These can be lethal to us. There’s the “work me,” the “friend me,” the “family me.” While these personas serve a purpose, they can also become rigid, stifling our true Selves. Jung believed the goal is to achieve a balance — acknowledging the persona while staying connected to our true Selves. Don’t confuse your persona with your true Self. The persona makes a great servant to our true Selves, but a terrible master.


“Indeed, many people are essentially fused with their ego identifications — their beliefs, interests, values, personal story, etc. — to the point of believing that the ego constitutes the entirety of who they are. They’re ignorant of their unconscious side — sometimes called the 'shadow' — which is abounding with unrealised ideas, wishes, and feelings. Freud once likened ego consciousness to a large building where the lights are on in only a single room. Hence, individuals identifying strictly with their conscious ego don’t realise that the psychological space they inhabit is only a small slice of what’s available to them.” — Dr. A.J. Drenth, The Spiritual Role of the Unconscious in Jungian Psychology.


The persona is just a tool, not your whole Self. “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes,” Jung said. If you make time through introspection (meditation) or creative therapy, you may find the hidden resentment and how it’s influencing your present life. Some people use 'self-awareness journaling' to tap into their unfiltered thoughts and emotions. They don’t judge; they write freely about their fears, frustrations, and desires: hidden aspects of themselves. Patterns may emerge, revealing hidden aspects of themselves they’ve been ignoring.


Others use art as a therapy. They bypass the conscious mind and tap directly into the unconscious to express themselves through painting, drawing, writing or any form of art that helps them fully express themselves without holding back.


Writing is helping me acknowledge my shadow emotions. I’m learning more about the things that trigger my stress, anger and frustration. I name my internal sources to tame them.


Knowledge about my hidden frustrations is helping me remain calm even when my shadow self wants to scream or react on impulse. It’s transforming my relationship with the people close to me.


Creative personal projects can be the window into your inner Self. They are a remembrance of who you truly are. A closer relationship with your Self or the hidden Self of your being is how you move closer to Jung’s ideal of the Self — a state of wholeness, integration, and a psychologically rich life. It’s how we become who we truly are, flaws and all. It’s also how you become less at war with ourselves and those around us. It's how you reintegrate your fractured psyche. You create from your heart.


The other avenue, other than creativity, to discover and integrate your true Self, is through meditation and guided meditations that unite your inner child, Higher Self and your shadow.


Jung wrote "My own understanding is the sole treasure I possess, and the greatest. Though infinitely small and fragile in comparison with the powers of darkness, it is still a light, my only light."


Namaste.


Sending you love, light, and blessings brothers.


Olly

Dr Olly Alexander Branford MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD.

Fully qualified and certified coach


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Hello,

I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my email for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching.

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Dr Olly Alexander Branford MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD

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“Transformative life coaching uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your self afresh, with clarity, and step into new ways of BEing, which will transform how you perceive and intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve.”

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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for over five years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works. I have written 400 articles for you and an eBook to guide you on your transformative journey, which are all available for free on my website - click on the link below:


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