InnerSelf.com - Daily Inspiration:
Your shadow self is the part of you that stays unknown, unexamined, and out of the light of your conscious awareness. It is the part that is denied or suppressed because it makes you uncomfortable or afraid. Whatever doesn't fit your image of your ideal self becomes your shadow.
We are so disconnected from our darkest inner realms that it would be impossible to discover what lies there if it weren't for our "projections." These occur when we subconsciously cast our shadow on to the world around us, which then reflects it back to us. If you always see angry people all around you, your shadow self has suppressed anger, even if you don't feel angry. If everywhere you go, you are aware of sad people, then chances are that you are suppressing grief. Your shadow self will draw to you people who share the same shadow.
If you want to see the nature of your shadow, be aware of your judgments about others. If you observe something it is not a projection, but if you judge it, it is. If I am unreasonably upset and offended by someone's whining/rudeness/selfishness, etc., I need to look carefully within to see if I have exhibited these qualities in the past, am doing so now, or have the capacity to demonstrate them in the future. If, when I've acknowledged their existence within me, I accept these qualities, I won't be deeply offended by someone else who has them.
EXCERPTED FROM the InnerSelf.com article:
Facing Your Shadow
by Denise Linn.
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