Title: The Shadow Effect
Tags: self-help, counseling, shadow, dark side
Blog Entry: I just got my hands on the new book by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson titled "The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self." I had been getting some crazy messages from my guides, found this book, started reading and there on the pages were the words and symbols my guides were giving me! I have only made it through Deepak's part so far but it is a powerful read. Some of things I already knew but never knew how to practice and his words really resonated with me. If you are being asked to do any sort of shadow work at this time, this could be the book for you. I use examples from my life to hopefully give someone who is guided to the courage to face their shadow. As Deepak puts it "The shadow isn't a fearsome opponent, but a worthy one" although we often see it as fearsome...lol! We all have that dark, shadow side and it creeps up at the most inopportune moments. The anger, the hurt, the fear, the societal labels, us vs. them attitudes, the everything negative we suppressed or had put on us as part of the collective unconscious becomes part of that shadow. Facing it, taking responsibility for it, and owning it are the hardest things we have to do in our spiritutal growth but yet it's necessary to become the whole person we were meant to be. To be free of the effects of the shadow and the fear, judgement and anger that comes with it is living life as we're supposed to, being our true selves and liberating beyond imagination. I think we've all had those moments of bliss and accepting ourselves as we are but many of us (like me!) go back to beating ourselves up, not feeling worthy, taking anger out on someone who didn't create it, etc. I know I have alot stuffed down in that unconscious part of myself, my shadow. Job loss and an abusive marriage are just part of what colors my world today. The key is being present in the now and noticing when those feelings of fear and inadequacy are creeping up from down below. Those aren't me but their mine and I can identify from where they came. I can then own them, feel them, heal them as they are a part of me that needs help. Currently, the job loss is coming up to be felt and healed. This has created some feelings that nothing I do is right and paranoia. Man, never knew that was there so strongly! This opens up a whole new compassion for myself and, ultimately a compassion for others. So not only am I healing myself of the fear and paranoia, but I'm finding a way to deal with other's bad behavior knowing full well where it's coming from. There anger and fear is not about me, it's about their shadow. On the flip side, it doesn't mean I allow it either but there are healthy ways of dealing with that which is really a topic for a whole different blog on healthy boundries. It's really a delicate balancing act. Another big challenge presented to us by our shadow is the need to morally judge which is caused by hate, anger and fear. The hate, the anger, the fear of what others are doing should be our trigger that the shadow is at work. Whatever we morally judge, hate, fear is a part of us that needs to be healed. Say someone having sex outside of marriage angers you. Guess what? Having sex outside of marriage is part of your shadow and something you've suppressed. Deal with it and don't judge it. For all you know, the person having sex outside of marriage needs it as part of their soul growth so heal it within yourself and let them have their journey. For me, I can't stand grandiose self-promotion so I know that grandiose self-promotion is part of me and something I suppressed. I've always been told it was wrong to shout from the mountaintops how great you are. So working on that will alleviate that anger. In fact, just writing about it and feeling it helped me feel better and removed some of that need to judge. It's amazing the way this works. I would be remiss if I didn't touch on positive thinking and the fear of karma from negative thoughts or actions. Positive thinking is great and affirmations are proven to help rewire the brain. But the danger is that we unknowingly suppress the negativity which helps feed the shadow. Been there, done that! I think the key is to not suppress but allow the feeling, own it, realize your human, heal it, then change the thinking based on what triggered the feeling. The Universe and karma will love you for it! Facing our demons or our shadow can be painful but the rewards are many on our spiritual growth path, not just for us but for others. Ultimately, all of the work we do on our shadow helps everyone through the collective unconscious and collective conscious. Deepak goes into a scientific explanation of the collective unconscious in the book but suffice it to say, it's just like the collective conscious. I can't wait to get into the next two parts written by Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson. But my guides were at me to write this blog and share at this point in time. Blessings to all! Shannon
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