Shadow Work for Racism

In this post, we’ll be going over ideas about shadow work for racism.

First, let’s quickly go over what shadow and shadow work is.

What is Shadow Self & Shadow Work?

Your shadow self, or shadow, is the side of yourself you have no awareness of. It holds all the qualities you disowned during your formative years.

Although you learned to repress these qualities and push them outside of your awareness, they still live underneath the surface.

They unconsciously guide your actions and are the unseen cause for many of the troubles in your life.

Shadow work is the intentional practice of becoming aware of your unconscious shadow and integrating these neglected qualities into your being—becoming whole.

This is a process of building self-awareness, self-acceptance, and universal Love.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
Carl Jung

NEXT READ: Everything About Shadow Work (Comprehensive In-Depth Guide)

Shadow Work for Racism

The first thing worth mentioning is that many people out there experience shame for being the race that they are.

Sometimes this is an acknowledgment of their own racial history, and other times this comes from projected racism.

For example, some black children have felt shame when their history class goes over American colonial slavery or even the slavery in Africa that goes on today.

Or young white people who have grown up to accept all races but feel ashamed for being white because of other people’s racism projected onto them.

If you’ve been on social media, then you may be aware of people with distorted psyches who believe you “can’t be racist towards white people.” So they say disgusting things about white people.

That’s racist.

However, the racists don’t see how they are racist because that’s generally how racism works.

What is a Racial Complex?

A complex is an unconscious bundle of expectations, beliefs, and emotions tied to a specific subject.

I typically use the phrase “image in the psyche” to refer to complexes. But I think for this topic, it’s worth going more into complexes in-depth.

A complex is an unconscious phenomenon that activates when we get in touch with its subject matter.

By the nature of the unconscious, it’s pretty difficult to pinpoint the details of someone’s complex because it is inherently outside of one’s awareness.

This is why we have a tendency to forget our complexes even after we’ve recognized them.

For example, you can claim that you are not racist but get tense and wary when a member of a certain race enters your store.

This behavior can be unconscious, and the emotions attached to a racial complex can possess you to act a certain way when a particular race is around despite being convinced by your ego that you are not racist.

Examples of a Negative Racial Complex

Here are a few examples of behavior where someone’s racial complex is activated:

Rushing to help a person of a specific race over a person of another race
Assuming that engaging with a person of a particular race will be a bad or unprofitable experience
Keeping an eye out for a specific race when it’s night out

Keep in mind that a complex can be a springboard for your shadow.

So when a person’s racial complex activates, they can project their own shadow onto the target individual—which activates that individual’s shadow.

This can start a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For example, if you see me, a brown man walking in public at 6 feet tall, and you have a complex that assumes I would be a danger to you—

You will project this expectation onto me, which activates my shadow and makes me unconsciously cautious towards you.

I’m a pretty laid-back dude. But even I will get overly attentive if I pick up a weird vibe from you.

Quick Fix for a Better Outlook on People

Here is a trick I discovered a couple of years ago that helped me make a better impression on other people.

When you anticipate that you’re going to talk to somebody, recite the following in your head:

The next person I see is the nicest person I have ever met.

You’ll find yourself smiling at the person with a welcoming attitude.

This is helpful for consciously and momentarily “overriding” certain unconscious beliefs; “The world is trying to dominate me,” “People cannot be trusted,” “All (sex/race) are trash,” etc.

You’ll be surprised by the results.

Examples of White Privilege & Racial Discrimination

If you are white, you should be aware that while some of you feel like you will be welcomed and helped at an establishment, minorities often feel they are under surveillance and uninvited.

Personally, I live in California, so it doesn’t happen to me often, but there are times where I enter an establishment and I feel the air get thick in the space between myself and the employees.

Granted, although my personal sense of style and presence brings me attention, I’m still able to disarm any tension when I speak.

I am what you call whitewashed. So when you hear me speak, you can pretty much tell I come in peace.

Black people can also rely on changing the way they speak to be perceived as non-threatening and acceptable to white people. This is typically referred to as “code-switching.”

There’s also a disparity between races and their “sense of deservedness” for the things they want in their lives.

This can be due to racial complex activations that can criminalize another race at a given moment. While at the same time egoically wanting to believe that other races aren’t being as marginalized and discriminated as they say.

Check out Shadow Work for Anger.

Shadow & Racial Complex

The idea of shadow is inherently associated with “Other,” or that we do not identify ourselves with.

Sharing a world with races that are not your own makes it very easy for you to project your shadow onto “Other” because the differences are so explicit:

They look like this
They speak like that
They are …

This is how we get caught up in stereotypes. It’s also why we aren’t even surprised when a person lives up to a racial stereotype.

Many people forget that we are all capable of expressing any stereotypical racial quality.

Human beings are too complex to be categorized in such an absolute way.

How to Build Awareness of Your Racial Complex

Here are tips to help you build self-awareness:

Ask yourself questions about why you act a certain way around a race. By being genuinely curious and open to the idea that you’re carrying unconscious material towards a race, you will slowly uncover your complex. Consider that maybe you don’t understand other perspectives and how your life can be different from another’s. This takes deep introspection and compassion.

Understand that your racial complex won’t go away. That doesn’t mean everyone is racist, and that’s how it’s gonna be forever. Instead, it means you can become more aware of injustices and make an effort to know yourself more deeply, indirectly resulting in a better relationship with your complex. Essentially re-associating your complex with positive expectations and qualities instead of any negative ones you may be carrying.

Check out my brief video Why Judging is Self-Sabotage.

Find creative works of art that tackle matters of racism. Chances are you have Netflix in your home. I recommend looking at sections like Black Lives Matter. Be open to the ideas and perspectives they bring forward. Examples: Two Distant Strangers, Fruitvale Station. Since complexes are tied to emotions, it helps to introduce feelings of compassion to your complex.

It takes Love and acceptance to integrate anything you consider “Other” into “Oneness.”

Here are some resources I recommend:

A Light Among Shadows is a guide to self-love and being that helps you overcome negative self-talk, instill genuine self-acceptance, and overcome self-hate and resentment by making sense of people’s level of consciousness and your spirituality.

Shadow Work for Beginners Series helps you beat negative patterns and beliefs, integrate your shadow, heal your inner child, reclaim your projections, build emotional maturity, and take back your life by becoming whole.

Shadow Work for Relationship Series helps you heal your attachment style, navigate relationship issues, and build a healthy, mature relationship.

Advanced Shadow Work is an ongoing publication with continued in-depth insight and practical advice you won’t find anywhere else on the internet for practicing shadow work, self-awareness, inner healing, spiritual development, and more!

Approved Tools

Tarot Cards (incl. Manifestation Manual ebook) provide insight and intuitive guidance for personal growth and decision-making.

Chakra Crystals (incl. Ancestral Healing ebook) can bring balance and harmony to your mind, body, and spirit.

Book of Shadows (incl. Shadow Work Journal) is your own special journal that you fill up with your energetic intentions as you scribe your own inner practices to be passed down to others.

Subliminal Bundle uses different hypnosis tracks to subconsciously improve your health, love life, motivation, self-love and much more.

These products are not affiliate links, we do not get a commission when you purchase these tools. We are supportive of our partnership with Sinful Goods for offering small websites a chance to promote their brands.

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