Light and Shadow

I read an article the other day by Jim Paredes entitled “ Coming to Terms with our Dark Side”. He cited a certain Caroline Myss in her book “Sacred Contracts” who said that each one of us has 13 identities at any given point in time. Of these identities, we have what is called a shadow identity – a dark, deviant side which goes against norms and morals. It is that sudden outburst of rage when you’re normally calm and level-headed. That spike of sensuality in a lifetime of decency. The surprise betrayal when you’ve promised fidelity.

We’ve all had those moments - impulsive reactions and polluted thoughts which we’d rather shackle in the locker. A blimp in our character profile.

Usual response is to suppress these thoughts and feelings. But Myss proposes otherwise. This shadow identity, being intrinsically part of ourselves, should be acknowledged and enabled instead of stifled. She wasn’t talking about all hell breaking lose; her belief is that this aspect of ourselves should be freed and re-channeled into something positive. It’s the law of conservation of energy – you cannot extinguish it but it can be converted.

That’s why some would advocate getting youth into sports – re-channel the bursting energy (and hormones!) to help keep them away from mischief and drugs. Or for someone battling with lustful inclinations, to re-channel the overactive imagination to music or fine arts. History has also witnessed how the Greeks, who have constantly waged war amongst their city-states, found a way to show how strong and formidable they were minus the bloodshed. They replaced military conquests with contests staged in Olympia and eventually gave the world the Olympics.

I remember a friend once telling me an anecdote about her macho alpha male friend who, after suffering a heart-wrenching break up, decided to enroll in a class – a sewing class. He purchased a sewing machine and a pile of textile and the most eligible bachelor became a tailor – so that he could forget his ex-girlfriend. What started as a diversion became one of the more successful fashion retail industries in the country. The guy ultimately married the right girl and eventually relinquished the sewing aspect to more able seamstresses so that he can focus on the business side.

The shadow identity is manifest when we see good men doing bad things. And to re-channel/re-focus it is why “bad men” do good things. The rapist turned protector. The traitor turned savior. Professor X in the recent X-Men First Class film said that focus lies somewhere between anger and serenity. As my teammate explained, you can only reach the state of serenity when you are able to go beyond the rage and focus it on something worth your while. The shadow identity is part of us for a reason. By re-channeling/re-focusing it , we can, hopefully, achieve our optimum selves.