golfnrl Thanks for asking. I would say that "the real us" is very complex and has a lot of different facets, and we aren't conscious of all of those facets. There's the "me" I consciously want to project to the world, but that's not all of me, and even that "public me" isn't consistent: humans are full of contradictions. What is usually referred to as the "shadow" consists of the parts of ourselves--behaviors, attitudes, thoughts--that don't exactly mesh with the "public me."
Self-examination is a daunting task. We have to let go of the idealized version we hold of ourselves and see into all the dark nooks and crannies of our personality. Most folks refuse to give up the idealized self-view they hold, or the belief that it's someone else's fault or they are the victim, etc. We have all observed that repeatedly in folks who claim to be good christians and do terrible things. I've been journaling for decades, and that is an exercise in writing down what really happened and what I really did and how I really feel: it's not fun, but it's liberating and it helps me grow. One of my favorite uses of cannabis is to help open the doors of perception and give me more relaxed access to the things I may have more trouble confronting in myself.
Self-examination is a daunting task. We have to let go of the idealized version we hold of ourselves and see into all the dark nooks and crannies of our personality. Most folks refuse to give up the idealized self-view they hold, or the belief that it's someone else's fault or they are the victim, etc. We have all observed that repeatedly in folks who claim to be good christians and do terrible things. I've been journaling for decades, and that is an exercise in writing down what really happened and what I really did and how I really feel: it's not fun, but it's liberating and it helps me grow. One of my favorite uses of cannabis is to help open the doors of perception and give me more relaxed access to the things I may have more trouble confronting in myself.
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