Secret Desires < Pro >

For others, the desire is secret because it feels incompatible with who we think we are. The dedicated accountant might harbor a secret wish to run away and join a circus; the devoted parent might dream of a month of absolute solitude. These desires don't make us bad people; they simply make us complex. They are the parts of our identity that have not been given permission to breathe.

Sometimes, our desires clash with our identity. A highly disciplined executive might secretly crave a life of total unpredictability and artistic chaos. The Three Tiers of Hidden Longings secret desires

In the silence that followed, she knew that she had uncovered a part of herself that she never knew existed. The cabinet, with its secrets and mysteries, had revealed to her the depths of her own desires, and in doing so, had set her free. For others, the desire is secret because it

Carl Jung famously spoke of the "Shadow Self"—the unconscious part of our personality that the conscious ego does not identify with. Secret desires are often residents of this shadow. And as with anything repressed, they do not disappear simply because we ignore them. They are the parts of our identity that