Falling Short of the Mark

spirituality Apr 09, 2020

With so much more time on our hands, I am sure that some of us may come up against ourselves, the parts of us we may have shelved with our previous busy lives. A philosopher and psychologist, Carl Jung, coined the phrase "the shadow self" which is the unconscious 90% who we are. This constant intrusion of our "subconscious workings" can often make us feel like there is something fundamentally wrong with us, that we are always falling short of the mark.

Carl Jung expanded on the idea from Sigmund Freud, who first start to explore the powerful undercurrent of our subconscious mind and how it has the ability to drown us in a sea of confusion. Our entire life history, the influences of others, our own thoughts and emotions, our false beliefs, is all a part of the subconscious undercurrent.

During that time in history, there was also a seeming rise in what was called "hysteria" (out of control emotionally charged behavior) which Freud who proposed was caused by the memory of trauma which the patient fails to confront because it will cause them too much mental anguish, can be “converted” into physical symptoms. (the conversation 2017)

Though the degree to which our lives have been hampered varies in all of us, but rest assured, all of our lives do contain aspects that we often feel uncomfortable confronting. The emotions that trickle up from our unconscious mind can often be tied to the events of our past, our perceived failings, mistakes. Regardless of how we try to make headway in our current reality, there is a constant reminder from the subconscious mind of our unworthiness to be, "happy, wealthy, healthy, loved"...

What is missing from our life that so many of us should feel this way? Listening to some of the great academic and philosophical minds of our time, they point to a loss of cultural or spiritual practices, which for our entire existence created a buffer against the often dangerous undercurrent of our subconscious mind. These practices began to wane in the 20th century which was an era of unfathomable bloodshed.

What I have been able to glean from the great thinkers and spiritual leaders of our past and present is that "we always fall short of the mark", speaking to the impossibility of perfection, but our practice of forgiveness of ourselves and of others was one of the keys that unlocked our true potential. I think this was the power behind the Christian philosophy of the forgiveness of sins, which understood that this was an important key to our mental and emotional survival.

Forgiveness can set us free from the undercurrent of our subconscious mind, reconnected us with others around who truly care for us, and give us the freedom to begin to live our lives fully. And we can start by forgiving ourselves and others for "falling short of the mark".

www.davidgilks.com

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Author

David Gilks

Mindset Expert

David Gilks is a well-respected mindset coach, poet, successful entrepreneur, awarded competitive natural bodybuilder, chartered herbalist and MEDP (medical exercise program director). He holds advanced training in Neurolinguistics and is the founder of the I AM Project. For more than two decades, he has taught clients from numerous backgrounds all over the world how to gain true mastery in all aspects of their life.