The potential of music in personality development through the identification of the Shadow archetype

Abstract

Through the present study, we meet those who want to improve their mental and physical state by resorting to a pleasant and comforting activity, through a proposal to use music in a novel way. We will present the stages of this process whose main purpose is to identify the Shadow archetype explored by the Swiss doctor, psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, namely those aspects of our being that are more difficult for us to accept, expose or recognize. Compared to the persona archetype, which regulates the relationship with the outside world, the shadow archetype reflects those hidden features of the personality that are not shown to the world, which other people are not allowed to see, the negative side, the dark aspect of our personality. That's why, in addition to psychoanalysis, music represents a propitious, agreeable tool to bring out these aspects by simply resonating with the heard fragment or by rejecting it. The dark side (shadow) can also be equated with the personal unconscious discovered by S. Freud, and defined as the dark side of our ego. Verena Kast stated that there will always be in our psyche "something that is foreign to us and that needs to be integrated". The importance of this study lies primarily in identifying this dark side, then in becoming aware of these thoughts, fantasies, desires, impulses and emotions, but also of its role and power. For identification we will resort to the projection mechanism with the help of the mirror, a concept that we will expose in parallel. Once aware and accepted, the shadow, or these latent states that hide in the depths of our being, they can be transformed under certain circumstances into a powerful source of energy, into positive effects that enrich us, vitalize us and give greater authenticity to life our. In conclusion, we will exemplify how its energy can be used constructively, turning into a source of inspiration and creativity. Jung said that "no one can realize his shadow without showing an abundance of moral strength". Therefore, through this study we aimed to highlight a new potential of music, in addition to melotherapy practices, through which truly spectacular results can be obtained in the development of human personality.