| Title: | ownin your own shadow |
| Posted On: | 2007-11-13 13:41:20 |
The struggle is described as that where all the areas of our psyches that we ignore and discard and disown as being 'unpleasant' or 'the dark side of our character' sooner or later come back out of the closet, and depending on the degree of repression and denial, unless owned, can be projected with resultant destructiveness. In one very down to earth passage the book describes the polarities and mixed messages we experience in or lives e.g. in business it's important to win, but every Sunday we are taught that humility is important; and how the real work is not to adopt one end of the polarity over another but to embrace both to create a healthy vibrant dynamic paradox.
Your shadow is all of the bits of your psyche you don't like and don't admit to. Most of them are grim but one or two are the nice bits that you can't handle. Ignoring them doesn't make them go away but you do it anyway. This doesn't stop them demanding expression. Because you can't admit to them, you project them onto other people. You're seeing your own shadow when you look at others and so simultaneously fail to see them and yourself clearly. Result: general unhappiness and inauthentic living. The solution is to fess up, embrace all the bits you pretend aren't there, and take control of how you express them. You achieve this through balance and creative synthesis.
