Dark side of the moon

“Nobody can fall so low unless he has a great depth. If such a thing can happen to a man, it challenges his best and highest on the other side; that is to say, this depth corresponds to a potential height, and the blackest darkness to a hidden light.”
-Carl Jung

Have you ever gazed at the moon at nightfall or examined it through a telescope? Although what we see is the portion that illuminates the night sky, we are aware that there is a dark side to the moon too.

There’s a dark side to us too- dark parts that can be acknowledged, or dark parts that we would want to relase. We all experience feelings of jealousy, anger bitterness and resentment. And it is part of the human condition to experience fear- fear of failure, of success, of intimacy, fear of going broke, of abandonment, of being unlovable, fear of the unknown, of growing old, of being alone, of being with someone, and the fear of losing control.

False Self

Some of us have spent a long time building a protective armor made out of thought patterns and behaviors that aren’t necessarily aligned with our authentic self. Some of these behaviors may be self-sabotaging or destructive in our efforts to numb any pain. These parts that are not aligned with our true selves may be called our False Self, and they are parts that we might prefer to purge- parts that are insecure, greedy, dishonest, manipulative or selfish.

It might be reductive to believe that unconditional self-love is only accepting the lightest, brightest parts of ourselves. Some of us can experience a lot of guilt for who we are- some may feel ashamed for feeling too much or for accomplishing enough. The most challenging part about witnessing the dark side of ourselves is getting in touch with what we may see as forbidden and unacceptable. This would allow us to understand which parts of us are hurting and need love, and what we want to let go of.

We don’t want impulsive or destructive parts of ourselves—insecurity, fear, greed, and addiction—to control our behaviors. However, recognising these repressed emotions and traits allow us to take back our control.

What would your dark side say if it could speak? What would you reply? You can be honest with it and tell it how you feel. Is it hurting and needs care? Or is it a part of yourself that you would like to let go of? You can decide what you’d like to do with it- how would you like to release or reconcile it?