The Dragon

For many of us, the quality of the dragon is severely twisted and suppressed. In part, we use it against ourselves and against others, with all sorts of judgments and misinterpretations. From this arises what is called the “Superego” in psychology. The Superego is an accumulation of learned beliefs and judgments about ourselves that can severely limit our inner freedom and development. The Superego (also known as the conscience, inner critic, etc.) triggers shame and anxiety within us as soon as we dare to do things that lie even slightly outside the usual (permitted) boundaries. If you think of a specific situation and immediately feel overwhelmed by shame, then the Superego is at work. These are your internalized beliefs that something about you is wrong, embarrassing, stupid, bad, and therefore shameful. Shame is always a result of Superego activity. When the dragon (your inner, true heart’s power) is freed and the Superego is neutralized, shame no longer exists. Then there is an understanding for inadequacies, a recognition of ignorance, a heartfelt “objective” perception or assessment of a situation. To be human means to make mistakes, to not know things, to have limitations. The dragon nourishes itself on love and understanding and is guided by your inner wisdom. The Superego (conscience, inner critic, etc.), on the other hand, is a conditioning of your soul by your environment in the past; childhood and later. It is the internalization of viewpoints on – and judgments about – yourself. It wants to warn you not to go too far, to always stay nicely within the bounds of others’ acceptance. It wants to protect you from shame, disgrace, and isolation by “preventively” triggering feelings of shame and disgrace, which in turn massively block us.

To free your own inner dragon, we must first and foremost learn. Learn how and why we learned to belittle ourselves, to internally berate and shame ourselves. Learn how people tick, learn how we ourselves tick, discover what we yearn for, what makes us strong, what can ignite our enthusiasm. And we can learn to get out of the deep hole of self-doubt, shame, anxiety, and depression. Permanent strong attacks from the Superego can easily lead to depression. Most of us know nothing about this Superego. We simply think we are stupid, clumsy, embarrassing, ugly, etc. We believe in so much numbingly discouraging information that we internally collapse and become depressed.

The dragon is, of course, just an image. There’s no little lizard inside you. It’s a kind of archetypal image for a specific aspect of your soul. A very powerful one. Like a sleeping dragon. We will nudge this dragon together. We will gently awaken it through loving attention. Until it is your daily companion on all paths. This is possible. If you want it.