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The orthographic shibboleth
The orthographic shibboleth: language psychology, the shadow, error, self-expression, group identity, and the function of unusual style.
1/22/2025
Rubric
Shadow and Light
A rubric about the interaction of opposites in human experience and their integration as a source of development and resilience.
Human beings are creatures living between opposites such as good and evil, body and spirit, passions and conscience, creation and destruction. These poles are not defects or mistakes; they are important forces whose interaction produces movement, growth, and a deeper understanding of self. The task is not to eliminate contradictions but to learn to see them as interacting forces. Dialectical perception allows one to hold the tension between poles, find new meanings, and turn conflict into a resource for development.
Key ideas
- •interaction of opposites
- •tension as a resource
- •struggle of opposites
Practical application
Applied as a foundational vector of dialectical-existential therapy (DET). In therapeutic analysis: helps identify inner poles (values/impulses, ideals/desires, responsibility/freedom) without reducing them to “right” and “wrong,” but by exploring their dialogue. Useful when working with ambivalence, guilt, shame, anger, conflicting decisions, and crises. Visual metaphor: “Shadow and Light 🌓” — not a struggle, but a dynamic in which both poles are necessary for wholeness and movement.
Key ideas⌄
- •interaction of opposites
- •tension as a resource
- •struggle of opposites
Practical application⌄
Applied as a foundational vector of dialectical-existential therapy (DET). In therapeutic analysis: helps identify inner poles (values/impulses, ideals/desires, responsibility/freedom) without reducing them to “right” and “wrong,” but by exploring their dialogue. Useful when working with ambivalence, guilt, shame, anger, conflicting decisions, and crises. Visual metaphor: “Shadow and Light 🌓” — not a struggle, but a dynamic in which both poles are necessary for wholeness and movement.
Rubric articles
Self-Flagellation as a Form of Pride
Self-flagellation and pride: self-devaluation, vulnerable narcissism, the punitive introject, negative therapeutic reaction, and a path from punishment to responsibility.
1/19/2025
Shadow moods
Shadow moods: Anton Kolhonen reflects on shadow and light, personal experience, and the psychological work behind inner change.
1/15/2025
The child as container
The child as container — a post about containment in psychotherapy, therapeutic contact, transference, countertransference, and the capacity to hold intense emotion.
1/12/2025
Tales of the North Wind
Tales of the North Wind: nine connected essays on the psychological shadow, self-criticism, defenses, inner crises, and possibilities for transformation.
1/8/2025
Evil Frees Us from Darkness and Suffering
A post about evil, darkness, and suffering as inner images: how encountering the shadow side can deepen self-understanding and open a path toward genuine liberation.
5/27/2024
Shadow and Light🌓 Dark and Light Side of Personality
Notes from the Underground
Personal notes on the alternation of light and shadow: how ups and downs, loneliness, and fear shape inner resilience.
6/23/2021
Shadow and Light❗️ Top Ideas
The Drawn Script
A look at Berne’s script paradox: how the drive for freedom and struggle can become a trap and call for shadow integration.
4/7/2021
Shadow and Light🔂 Patterns
To Each Their Own
A reflection on life script and the inner conflict between mission and the desire for warmth, asking about the cost of choice and an unlived life.
3/8/2021
Shadow and Light🔂 Patterns
Why Good People Do Bad Things: Understanding the Dark Sides of Our Soul
A psychological analysis of the dark side of personality: why “good” people can be cruel and how integrating the Shadow supports development.
8/6/2020
Shadow and Light🌓 Dark and Light Side of Personality
War and Peace: The Heterogeneity of Cognition
A philosophical and psychological text about war and peace in a person, the heterogeneity of cognition, inner conflict, compassion, and the acceptance of diverse life experience.
4/15/2020
Love leads us, and need drives us!
Love and need are seen as two different sources of movement: deficit pushes, and surplus leads. The text shows how their combination forms freedom and personal resilience.
11/19/2019
Shadow and Light🌓 Dark and Light Side of Personality
Power and Light, Chaos and Darkness
A poetic text about the opposition of light and darkness, inner conflict, and the search for freedom through love and fear.
6/23/2016
Shadow and Light🌓 Dark and Light Side of Personality