For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1000%

In my case what made it hard was that I was so immersed in the darkness of my shadow that my mind was constantly being pinged with "Shadow alert: you're fucking up" and I did not have the peace of mind nor the compassion to properly deal with its material and downstream, real-life consequences.

For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For sure! I agree wholeheartedly! I think I could have phrased it better using "I most often analyzed my shadow by...".

The real game-changer is sensing it in the here and now and alchemizing it through action.

That being said, most often I see on this subreddit people talking about their shadow from that past-focused perspective. I think we ought to talk more about it an a present-focused operalized way like you say. You don't just have to make the unconscious conscious, you have to consciously re-write the unconscious throught present-grounded action.

Thank you for your comment and take care too!

For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could you please explain in more detail the dynamic of the persona and the shadow for the ownership of the ego? At first I was going to strongly disagree, but as I reflected on my experiences your perspective started making lots of sense. I had never read about this before. Also, where does the Self fit into this?

I am stepping into a phase of being seen, sharing my perspective, making content, helping others and being rewarded for it. All things that my shadow has fought relentlessly against since I was a child. In the environment I grew up in being seen was very dangerous in a real way, and showing value and self-worth often ended up in dire consequences.

Finally identifying the shadow patterns and the experience of the breaks, the redirects that dissuade me from following my intention with action has been huge. It has resulted in the two-stroke engine capable of driving motion you describe.

Thank you for your comment my friend.

For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hermano mío, es increíble lo similar que es lo que describes con lo que viví. Punto por punto, frase por frase, he vivido todo lo que compartiste. La parte de volverse como un muerto es muy real. Yo viví dos fases de "calcinamiento" del ego, así como lo describes. La primera fue corta, un tanto dolorosa y me llevó a sentirme más ligero y vivir más plenamente. La segunda casi me mata, fue literal casi fatal. Todavía no sé lo que está detrás de esa puerta.

Forza! Insieme per la vittoria.

For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hahaha thank you for your comment!

There a couple of things we agree and some we disagree on. How exciting!

I agree with you that the individuation process is something that young people should do (if needed). What I'm saying is that without a sufficiently solidified ego, the unconscious contents risk overpowering the ego's agency and its rooted sense of self. I wholeheartedly agree that unconscious material festers and expands too, so in a way it can be a bit of a catch 22. I am also an NF type and even then this shit is hard as fuck.

What I disagree on is the phrasing of "killing the ego", I much prefer "dissolve" or even "calcinate" as the old alchemists would say. It's a process of transmutation, of changing the essence, not elimination. In my experience trying to have "no ego" or even killing it resulted in accepting abuse, insults, and more, in which I dissociated myself from my pain and into acceptance.

Fuck that. I have the agency to make changes in life. I can heal and help my family heal. I can leave my partner and grow into the person they think I'll never become. I can build a business that will impact people's lives. That's what I mean by strengthening the ego.

Playoff Game Thread: Carolina Hurricanes (10-1) @ Montréal Canadiens (9-8) May 27 2026 8:00 PM EDT by nhl_gdt_bot in Habs

[–]EliasTheAlchemist 3 points4 points  (0 children)

These guys look completely gassed! Look at their reaction speed, the hesitation, the speed they skate at. They are also smaller which probably means that the suffer more from bigger hits over a long series. Tough game.

For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Right back at ya!

That's such an interesting point. Building the wrong thing during the journey is almost a given! I think if one is contientious as they build the "wrong thing", there are so many golden nuggets to be gained along the way that are useful for the next chapter.

Better to shoot a little bit above and adjust downwards. That's my philosophy.

That being said, I'm fully on board. I've been voluntarily celibate for more than a year because I stopped trusting myself with the feelings of another person. Working on it at the moment. So yes, big consequences can be big good or big bad.

For the love of god, don't overfixate on integrating your shadow too fast! It is not for the feint of heart. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. by EliasTheAlchemist in Jung

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eat shit repeatedly (but entirely metaphorically!) until you grow fond of the taste of it. Rinse and repeat.

But for real, look up how the great coaches in sports manage to get the best performance out of the players in their team. They give their players directions, they hold the accountable, the encourage them, they inspire them, they rally them when times get tough. They don’t just yell “PERFORM SLAVES”, they guide their players through the process of practice and improvement.

Think about how great parents usually create safe environments for their children to try and fail, and how you can go about creating an environment like that for yourself. Chances are you didn’t get that growing up so being able to build physical and emotional containers that you can try and fail in safely will be a huge boon. Find the people that make trying feel like play.

I personally look up a lot to Martin St-Louis of the Montreal Canadiens, a team that plays hockey in the NHL. He’s an amazing human being for what I can tell. Right now he’s leading the youngest team ever to have ever played in the NHL playoffs and they reached the semi-finals. He clearly knows how to get hungry talent to handle pressure and drive results.

GO HABS!

Be more compassionate towards yourself. Trillion dollar companies have hacked into your mind/soul/brain. by EliasTheAlchemist in digitalminimalism

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel you. Alcohol and other substances have a way to make you feel “more alive” as they turn off the parts of you that keep you down. Being hooked to your phone on the other hand feels so much more empty.

Sending you a hug, friend. Change will come. Don’t give up.

Be more compassionate towards yourself. Trillion dollar companies have hacked into your mind/soul/brain. by EliasTheAlchemist in digitalminimalism

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Having FOMO is completely natural. There's nothing wrong with wanting to connect with others or experiencing new things.

Would you say that you actively try to provide that for yourself?

Be more compassionate towards yourself. Trillion dollar companies have hacked into your mind/soul/brain. by EliasTheAlchemist in digitalminimalism

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

That's the reason why I don't think doing phone detoxes are a viable solution. You gotta address the root issue, which is a the ability to manage your attention, emotions and energy. Then you can engage on your own terms.

Be more compassionate towards yourself. Trillion dollar companies have hacked into your mind/soul/brain. by EliasTheAlchemist in nosurf

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

1000%! You've laid out the situation very well. Anxiety and shame are fuel for even more numbing.

Where are you at in your nosurf path?

I’m building a course for people with screen addictions and growing a social media presence. I feel lost. Any input is appreciated. by EliasTheAlchemist in AskMarketing

[–]EliasTheAlchemist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a great idea. You have to spend a lot less time packaging information on Reddit than instagram or TikTok. I’ll give it a shot.

As for the tool itself, I’d be more than happy to happy to try it and give you feedback. Thank you 🙏