Philosophies for Life 129: Carl Jung - 7 Shadow Clues That Reveal Your True Calling (Jungian Philosophy)
Dec 6, 2025
23:55
7 Shadow Clues That Reveal Your True Calling - Carl Jung (Jungian Philosophy).
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who believed that the human mind has two layers - the conscious, which is everything we’re aware of, and the unconscious, which holds the thoughts, emotions, and memories we’ve pushed out of awareness. And deep within that unconscious lies what Jung called the shadow - the hidden side of ourselves. We suppress these parts because, at some point, we learned they weren’t acceptable. Maybe we were told to stay quiet, to be “good,” or to hide our emotions - so we buried whatever didn’t seem to fit. But Jung believed that if we truly want to understand who we are, we have to stop running from those hidden parts and start listening to them. Because here’s the thing - your shadow isn’t just the darkness you try to hide.
It also carries your unlived potential: your creativity, your voice, your courage, your power - and often, the clues to your real calling. Jung’s philosophy is often referred to as “Jungian Philosophy”. He has also published multiple books like The Psychology of the Unconscious, Man and His Symbols, The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious, Modern Man In Search of a Soul, The Psychology of the Transference, Memories, Dreams, and Thoughts, and The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious. In this podcast, we’re going to explore 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling.
So here are 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling from the philosophy of Carl Jung -
01. Feeling Stuck, Numb, or Disconnected
02. Strong Reaction to Someone Else’s Behaviour
03. Repeating Patterns or Failures
04. Messages from the Dreams
05. Stories, Movies, or Characters You’re Drawn To
06. When Life Mirrors Your Inner World
07. Self-Sabotage and Avoidance
I hope you enjoyed listening to these 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling from the philosophy of Carl Jung.
Carl Jung, together with Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, is one of the 3 founders of psychoanalysis which is a set of psychological theories and methods aiming to release repressed emotions and experiences - in other words, to make the unconscious conscious. Jung was born in Switzerland in 1875 and died in 1961, leaving behind great works in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology and religious studies. Jung had Freud as a mentor for a good part of his career but later he departed from him. This division was painful for Jung and it led him to found his own school of psychology, called analytical psychology as a comprehensive system separate from psychoanalysis. If classical psychoanalysis focuses on the patient’s past, as early experiences are very important in personality development, analytical psychology primarily focuses on the present, on mythology, folklore, and cultural experiences, to try to understand human consciousness. One of the most important ideas of analytical psychology which Jung founded is the process of individuation, which is the process of finding the self - something Jung considered an important task in human development. While he did not formulate a systematic philosophy, he is nonetheless considered a sophisticated philosopher - his school of thought dubbed “Jungian philosophy”. Its concepts can apply to many topics covered in the humanities and the social sciences. A good part of his work was published after his death and indeed there are still some articles written by him that to this day have yet to be published. Some of his most important books are: “Psychology of the Unconscious”, “Man and His Symbols”, “The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious”, “Modern Man In Search of a Soul”, “The Psychology of the Transference”, “Memories, Dreams, Thoughts”, and “The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious”. Besides being a great writer and a researcher, he was also an artist, a craftsman and even a builder. His contribution is enormous and there is a great deal we can learn from his works.
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who believed that the human mind has two layers - the conscious, which is everything we’re aware of, and the unconscious, which holds the thoughts, emotions, and memories we’ve pushed out of awareness. And deep within that unconscious lies what Jung called the shadow - the hidden side of ourselves. We suppress these parts because, at some point, we learned they weren’t acceptable. Maybe we were told to stay quiet, to be “good,” or to hide our emotions - so we buried whatever didn’t seem to fit. But Jung believed that if we truly want to understand who we are, we have to stop running from those hidden parts and start listening to them. Because here’s the thing - your shadow isn’t just the darkness you try to hide.
It also carries your unlived potential: your creativity, your voice, your courage, your power - and often, the clues to your real calling. Jung’s philosophy is often referred to as “Jungian Philosophy”. He has also published multiple books like The Psychology of the Unconscious, Man and His Symbols, The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious, Modern Man In Search of a Soul, The Psychology of the Transference, Memories, Dreams, and Thoughts, and The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious. In this podcast, we’re going to explore 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling.
So here are 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling from the philosophy of Carl Jung -
01. Feeling Stuck, Numb, or Disconnected
02. Strong Reaction to Someone Else’s Behaviour
03. Repeating Patterns or Failures
04. Messages from the Dreams
05. Stories, Movies, or Characters You’re Drawn To
06. When Life Mirrors Your Inner World
07. Self-Sabotage and Avoidance
I hope you enjoyed listening to these 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling from the philosophy of Carl Jung.
Carl Jung, together with Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, is one of the 3 founders of psychoanalysis which is a set of psychological theories and methods aiming to release repressed emotions and experiences - in other words, to make the unconscious conscious. Jung was born in Switzerland in 1875 and died in 1961, leaving behind great works in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology and religious studies. Jung had Freud as a mentor for a good part of his career but later he departed from him. This division was painful for Jung and it led him to found his own school of psychology, called analytical psychology as a comprehensive system separate from psychoanalysis. If classical psychoanalysis focuses on the patient’s past, as early experiences are very important in personality development, analytical psychology primarily focuses on the present, on mythology, folklore, and cultural experiences, to try to understand human consciousness. One of the most important ideas of analytical psychology which Jung founded is the process of individuation, which is the process of finding the self - something Jung considered an important task in human development. While he did not formulate a systematic philosophy, he is nonetheless considered a sophisticated philosopher - his school of thought dubbed “Jungian philosophy”. Its concepts can apply to many topics covered in the humanities and the social sciences. A good part of his work was published after his death and indeed there are still some articles written by him that to this day have yet to be published. Some of his most important books are: “Psychology of the Unconscious”, “Man and His Symbols”, “The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious”, “Modern Man In Search of a Soul”, “The Psychology of the Transference”, “Memories, Dreams, Thoughts”, and “The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious”. Besides being a great writer and a researcher, he was also an artist, a craftsman and even a builder. His contribution is enormous and there is a great deal we can learn from his works.