The Dark Side Of The Internet

By Bernhard Guenther

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

Carl Gustav Jung suggested that everything we feel about (or see in) another person is comprised of about 75% of our own “stuff” – our infamous shadow (i.e., the unconscious aspects of ourselves) – which we project, in either positive or negative ways, onto others.

In reality, such perceptions really have nothing to do with the other person. A more accurate indicator of an individual’s character and intentions are based on one-on-one interactions with them in real life, from a place of grounded awareness of self and the experiences which accompany that ‘work’.

As you can probably guess, shadow projection is even more amplified within the sheltered realms of the online world in comparison to “real” face-to-face interactions.

All of us can engage in shadow projection at any given moment, without exception. Ask yourself, how many times have you looked at photos of a person and projected qualities (good or bad) onto her/him that are actually completely off-base? How often have you been “attracted to” or “infatuated” with – or “repelled” and “offended” by – a person, based solely on the content of his/her posts or their appearance in pics? How often do we project emotions and “tone” onto other people’s posts that are not really there in the context of the content, but are merely arising out of our own unconscious shadow?

Consider, also, that the mood/frame of mind we are in (when an attempt at communication takes place) can distort the interpretation of that message. For example, a person who is sending an online text or writing a social media post may be smiling whilst doing so, and is offering it to others from a genuinely good heart-space, grounded in positive feelings; but the receiver/reader is on a different vibrational wavelength, and misreads the context of the content, seeing it as full of resentment, or perhaps finds it offensive – the misunderstanding, in such circumstances, is based on assumptions which are grounded in the reader’s own issues and stories.

Sometimes, when I’ve met people in real life with whom I had previously connected via Facebook, I can see how my perception of them (be it positive or negative) was off in parts, and I come to realize how much I had projected qualities onto that person – based completely on facebook interactions/posts/pics and nothing more – which were not true.

“The shadow is, so to say, the blind spot in your nature. It’s that which you won’t look at about yourself. …You can recognize who it is by simply thinking of the people you don’t like. They correspond to that person whom you might have been — otherwise they wouldn’t mean very much to you. People who excite you either positively or negatively have caught something projected from yourself…I don’t know whether you’ve had similar experiences in your life, but there are people I despise the minute I see them. These people represent those aspects of myself, the existence of which I refuse to admit to myself.”  – Joseph Campbell

Facebook (or any social media portal, and the internet in general) is a great tool to connect with people and share information, but understanding shadow projection – and how we really don’t see others as they truly are at times – is worth thinking about.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl G. Jung

Let’s be clear here: It’s ok to not “like” a person; nor is there any need to become “best friends” with everyone. However, if we get triggered by someone out of proportion (and attack him/her personally or engage in gossiping), then there is usually more at play than just the “other” person’s behavior and attitude. But even if we see “negative” traits in another person that are true (without us becoming heavily triggered in response), can we still come to a place of compassion and empathy about their demeanor? Most of the time, people who act this way are deeply wounded and hurt individuals, compensating for their low self-esteem (due to childhood wounding and other trauma) by lashing out or goading others into reactivity. By the way, I’m talking here about everyday people in everyday interactions, not full blown psychopaths or sociopaths who have no conscience.

“In shadow projecting, we split-off from and try to get rid of a part of ourselves, which is a self-mutilation that is actually an act of violence. In the act of shadow projecting, we disassociate from a part of ourselves and “split” (in two), turning away in revulsion from and severing our association with our darker half, as if we have never met it before in our entire life. We throw our own darkness outside of ourselves and see it as if it exists only in others. We then react violently when we encounter an embodied reflection of our shadow in the outer world, wanting to destroy it, as it reminds us of something dark within ourselves that we’d rather have nothing to do with.

“In the act of shadow projecting, we perpetrate violence (both psychic and/or physical) not only on ourselves, but on the “other” who is the recipient of our shadow projection. This act of external violence is nothing other than our inner process of doing violence to a part of ourselves changing channels and expressing itself in, as and through the external world. In trying to destroy our projected shadow in the outer world, however, we act out, become possessed by and incarnate the very shadow we are trying to destroy…

“Paradoxically, in descending into the depths of the unconscious in order to deal with the prima materia of the shadow, we are simultaneously on the path of ascending to the truly real, as we become introduced to the higher-dimensional light worlds of spirit.” – Paul Levy, Dispelling Wetiko

The following questions can help anyone to become more familiar with their shadow side (from “Knowing Your Shadow” by Robert Augustus Masters):

• What do I least want others to know about me?
• What do I tend to have a disproportionate reaction to?
• What am I offended by?
• What person keeps triggering or irritating me?
• What qualities of mine or others do I often feel aversion toward?
• Which emotions do I consider to be bad or wrong?
• Which emotions am I the least comfortable expressing?
• What am I most scared to openly express or share?

I want to make one point clear: There are limitations to the idea of shadow projection and its ramifications, which ties into the oversimplified saying: “when you spot it, you got it”, which is not always true. Sometimes, it is verifiable that we are merely projecting our own internal blind spots onto others, and it is actually our “stuff” which requires self-ownership and healing; but there are other times where it is not our own issues that we are pointing out in another person or situation; that we are, in fact, seeing the other person (or situation) clearly as he/she/it truly is, in good faith. The point is, it’s not a black and white circumstance, and discernment – as always – is paramount.

CONTINUE READING:

Previous articles by Bernhard:

• Hyperdimensional Manipulation and Anchoring a Higher Frequency
• Individuality and Limitations of 3D Thinking

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