Critical Thinking: Does Repression Allow Human Beings To Lose Touch With Their Own ‘Darkness?’

If someone has watched many films over the years and even if they rarely watch films, they are likely to be familiar with the good vs. bad scenario. There will then be one person or a group of people that are good, against one person or a group of people that are ‘bad’.

However, without even going into a common theme when it comes to films, they could live in a society where there are those that are seen as being ‘good’ and those that are seen as being ‘bad’. For example, certain politicians and those that are at the top, so to speak, are often seen as being ‘bad’.

It’s clear

Based on this, the average person will see themselves as being very different to those in power. They might not necessarily see themselves as good but they are unlikely to see themselves as being ‘bad’ either.

Thanks to this view, if those at the top were dealt with, the world would be very different. Therefore, the sooner these people are removed from positions of power, the sooner the world will change.

A Different Angle

Yet, what if it is not this black and white and there is far more to what is going on than meets the eye? Ultimately, the view that ‘darkness’ is something that exists ‘out there’ is a consequence of the average person seeing themselves as a mere observer of reality.

What is going on has then got very little to do with them and thus, apart from changing what is going on exte
ally, there is very little that they can do. But, what if, along with observing what is going on ‘out there’ the average person is also playing a part in what they are observing?

Confusion

If this is the case, it would mean that in order for someone to observe ‘darkness’ ‘out there’, it would also need to exist within them. Without this, their reality would have to mirror back something else.

After hearing this, someone could say that this is nonsense as they are nothing like those in power. What could enter their mind is how they are a good person who is generally kind and loving, for instance, and this could be how a number of other people see them, too.

Two Parts

Although this could be true, what they will also need to ponder is that there is more to them than their conscious sense of themselves. In addition to this part of them, and how they behave, there is also what is taking place for them in their unconscious mind.

This part of them will contain the parts of themselves that they have rejected and painful feelings, amongst other things. What this means is that the sense of self that their conscious mind provides them is only a small part of who they are.

A Dumping Ground

The parts of themselves and the painful inner material that has been removed from their conscious mind and is held in this part of them doesn’t just lie dormant, though. No, it has just as much impact on their life as what is taking place in their conscious mind.

With this in mind, one can be full of ‘goodness’ on one level and full of ‘badness’ on another, and this ‘badness’ will impact not just what takes place in their own life but also what takes place on the planet as a whole. The reason for this is that the sense that their mind and eyes give them of being separate from everyone and everything is an illusion – a necessary illusion that enables them to have their own experience.

Stepping Back

Taking all this into account, if the average person is unknowingly carrying a lot of ‘darkness’ and this ‘darkness’ is exte
alised, is it really a surprise that there is a lot of ‘bad’ ‘out there’? To use an analogy; if an orange is full of orange juice and this orange juice is exte
alised by squeezing the orange juice, is it a surprise?

It is obvious that orange juice would come out of an orange that contains orange juice but, it is not obvious that ‘darkness’ would come out of human beings that contain ‘darkness’. First, because of how ‘darkness’ is seen as being ‘out there’, and second, because most societies don't acknowledge that at an individual and collective level, there is such a thing as a ‘shadow side.’

A Big Hurdle

One of the main reasons why there is such a focus on what is going on exte
ally is that fighting what is going on without is far more appealing than facing and resolving what is going on within. Going within is painful and there are no awards for doing so, whereas focusing on what is going on exte
ally can allow someone to avoid themselves, release tension and receive approval from some of their fellow human beings.

And, if someone is carrying a lot of pain and focusing on the exte
al world is a big part of what allows them to unknowingly avoid this pain, the last thing they will want to do is to change their behaviour. When it comes to the pain that they are trying to avoid, this can relate to what they have experienced and not integrated as an adult and during their formative years.

Final Thoughts

If someone is filled with self-hate, a sense of unworthiness and being unlovable, for instance, trying to change the exte
al world can allow them to receive a lot of attention and approval. By feeling so empty and emotionally malnourished, attention from others will be vital.

But, no matter what they do or where they go, what they are unable to acknowledge will be mirrored back to them in one way or another. The ‘good’ that they do ‘out there’, then, will be undermined by what they are unable to face within themselves.