Hello, my name is Samantha. I am a professional columnist. The purpose of my work is breathe life into hearts and pages.

Psychology of Halloween

Halloween is was originally a Pagan holiday but now a fun and frightful day to experience and try own new characters.Various teachers have explained  Halloween as the holiday about human biology and instinct(especially fear) and sheds light on our fight-or-flight response.Halloween can be a more safer approach for individuals who struggle with continuous fear or apprehension. Halloween can be a confined space to have apprehension and enjoy the unknown.Halloween not only represents death and rebirth but can also represent a humans unconscious mind.

 The unconscious mind represents all previous experiences and instincts.These can include our buried sensations, motivations and feelings we are not aware of but are included in our everyday choices.This is our survival part of our brain. Another portion of our brain is the amygdala. This part of the brain plays a major role in the emotion fear. Some fears are part of our biological makeup(most are learned) while others are more exciting to experiences. Our brain is programmed to pay attention to things that are more scary than pleasant due to our survival. Halloween is appealing to many individuals because it plays off of these instincts. The brain and body naturally like what it can relate to.

The six instincts are often presented in Halloween themed movies and costumes (part of basic human make up)are the following:

Rage

Fear

 Pleasure

 Creativity 

Hunger

Action

It is thought that one of the most powerful instincts is to seek. Humans are made to move forward. 

Dopamine is the messenger responsible for wanting to seek or pursue. We have a need to seek out water, food, shelter, or a mate to keep the human species moving forward. We can seek or hunt for new opportunities or gather new information for the benefit of ourselves ,  families and  communities. Many times instinctively we seek out the above because it is in out blood to fight for a good cause.We experience joy in food to continue to eat and nourish our bodies.We create and express to be seen in our community and take action to feel like we are moving forward.

Ego and identity or how we have constructed ourselves in the mind. It is developed and refined by pasted lived experiences. Identity is formed within one of multiple archetypes. An archetype is a pattern of thinking or blueprint of the psyche or the soul.It shapes our perception and behaviors. We can identify with an outer archetype and an inner archetype.Examples of of common archetypes are the following:

Magician

Outlaw

Explorer 

Sage 

Innocent 

Creator

 These above archetypes play a role in our worldly perceptions and deepest desires.They also play a role in our unconscious mind and identity.

Identity tells us what we like, dislike , and our main ‘personality’ that we present to the world. However , there must be room for our contrast or what our sense of self is NOT(or what we outwardly do not identify with). Our unconscious holds what we could potentially be or or deepest desires that are instinctual . This is part of the thrill of Halloween. People are wearing and dressing up as their alter ego or what their sense of self or identity rejects.

   Halloween is a symbol of the shadow. The term is very popular in the spiritual and psychology fields. As it refers to the counter parts of our persona . The shadow or shadow self(inner archetype )It is the part of ourselves that we do not show to the world. This archetype is the part of ourselves that society would reject or would go against our morals and values. Halloween could be a representation to explore these parts of ourselves in the means to not be afraid of them but also not act on our impulse. Whatever is in the conscious mind is in the light and therefore cannot control us blindly. 

Persona(outer archetype )is the contrast against our shadow. It is the blanket around our ego or what has gotten us the most acceptance in this lifetime. This is the assumed image of a person but not the real authentic person .Many individuals like to dress up as their persona as a way to enhance what how they would like to be viewed in the world. However, our persona, identity and unconscious mind is not all there is to being a human.

We need a deeper purpose in the greater picture of our lives. A sense of purpose is needed in a human being. Simply identifying with a job, career, or relationship status will not be enough. The best way to find purpose in ones life is to develop an inner moral compass that consists of responsibility that one would intuitively would like to volunteer to take on everyday. Everyone needs a sense of urgency, agency, and responsibility in their life.Part of having a sense of responsibility is facing our fears directly.

Responsibility will ground you when life times get tough.  You must take responsibility for your life and the values you have even if living through your truth makes you uncomfortable at first.Each of us have a shadow and a conscious mind.Each of us have a responsibility to not allow our shadow to take over. We can integrate it or make it included within us but not act on it.The safest people are the ones that are aware of their shadow or blind spot because they actively seek awareness.

Our shadow selves holding our highly driven emotional motives that can be considered violent. Halloween can be both celebrated or revered. It is a symbol of death and rebirth and motivates us to take responsibility for our faults or shortcomings. Without responsibility and awareness in one’s life we can be sure to diminish ourselves into the realm impulsiveness , aggression and violence.

However you would like to identify with this year for annual festivities remember that you are a mosaic of multiple selves living in mind.Your persona, ego, identity, shadow self, conscious and unconscious mind are included living as a human being. Your continuous actions, intentions behind those actions ,sense of responsibility and your power of conscious choice ultimate defines you as human. Allow all portions of you to be included in you and learn about the ebbs and flows of what it’s like to be a human being.

Yin

I crave a soft life.

One with spaciousness and ease.

I do not crave an easy life.

I crave a life with chapters titled ‘Give and Take.”

One where I can grow in self-love.

One where I can nourish and be nourished.

I wish to create a life of true connection and joy.

One where I can feel people included in myself.

Where I am included in others.

I can learn from others and others can learn from me.

I shall accept experiences that are painful.

They will always be included within me but I will no longer dwell in them.

My dwelling place is in growth, nourishment, sunlight, empowerment and empathy.

My holy place is learning what it is to have a community.

I can thrive in this place forever and have boundless information and influence.

I can learn to integrate and view myself as a mosaic. I am both dark and light.

Here in this place I will learn grace for myself and grace for others.

I Do Not Care

I do not care about the car in your driveway.

It does not interest me how many items of clothing you have.

Did you revive the broken?

Did you eat the desert without feeling guilty?

How many people you slept with is not important.

How many times a day do you notice the micro expression on people’s faces?

How many regrets have you gone to bed with?

When do you say “you are pretty?”

When have you held space?

It does not interest me what you do for a job or how expensive your rings are.

I really admire people who hold a zest and tenacity for life.

They are marvelous in their vulnerability and uniqueness.

They revive life and make it anew.

They create unlimited stories that could never be created in a bar or liquor store.

Their depth and uncanny ability to reveal their own scriptures inspire others to start looking at their own.