As a researcher of Applied Ethics, I was interested to explore the savage underlying nature that resides in all humans. Civilised life obscures, but this Shadow Self as Carl Jung called it is everpresent. It needs to be integrated and not repressed. I journeyed back to an otback where I lived for 18 months as a young man fresh out of college. My shadow self asserted itself and I did not cope. Now 40 years later, I returned and became reconciled. Return to the desert, Journey back to your heart of darkness And know the place for the first time. IN THE DESERT, YOU DON’T REMEMBER YOUR NAME In the city, we are surrounded by family, friends, creature comforts and all the social structures that we take for granted every day. In such a world we are one kind of creature. In the desert, we are another kind. There, you see that we wear civilization like a lycra body suit. It covers our original skin. But in the searing heat of the sun, this outer skin peels away, revealing our original self. The version 1.0 human. The person we were before we learned about ourselves in society. In the desert, there is deep silence. Listen long enough and the silence reveals something raw, something primordial. Being alone here is not like being alone in a forest. Surrounded by life all around, one can enjoy the solitude of the forest. But the desert feels devoid of life, a vacuum, and so it feels lonely and a little dangerous. It is liberating to have no societal restraints, no expectations. But it is also scary to be vulnerable in the face of the primordial chaos of the void that could any moment destroy you. Spend time alone in the desert and ideas and desires that have long been submerged in the primordial soup of your subconscious rise to the surface. Primitive thoughts emerge and sit obstinately on the beach of consciousness like an unruly denizen of the deep, or unwelcome party guest that refuses to leave.