No, not the 1994 American superhero film, ‘the shadow‘, directed by Russell Mulcahy, where the superhero is able ‘to cloud men’s minds’. (Although they both have that in common.) But the shadow that we all have: “Everyone carries a shadow,” Jung wrote, “and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” Jung also believed that “in spite of its function as a reservoir for human darkness—or perhaps because of this—the shadow is the seat of creativity.”; so that for some, it may be, ‘the dark side of his being, his sinister shadow…represents the true spirit of life as against the arid scholar’.
“The first step in defeating the shadow is to abandon all notions of defeating it. The dark side of human nature thrives on war, struggle and conflict. As soon as you talk about ‘winning,’ you have lost already. You have been dragged into the duality of good and evil.” ~ Deepak Chopra…
That’s a quote from The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self, by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson.
A blogger mate of mine, over at Listen to Me Thunder, recently wrote about strengthening the relationship between shadow and self:
“It requires much introspection, self-examination, and a desire to know oneself completely without any of the ego defences blurring reality. It is in fact, part of the process of personal growth; the uncovering of all of the layers that prevent you from knowing who you really are. It means removing the rose-coloured glasses and seeing things in a real way. Including those things that are simmering in the dark, way down below. It means coming face to face with your shadow, saying hello, and negotiating some sort of agreement. “
Self-knowledge is everything. When we become who we really are, darkness no lover has a hold over us. Here’s to having a strong sense of self and having an awesome relationship with our shadows… You can read more about the shadow in another post here
- And thanks to Listen to Me Thunder for blogging: The Shadow – The Dark and The Light!
Or you can read more on the shadow, over on Amy Witkop’s blog, here.
Hey! Thanks for the re-blog!
L
That’s okay. I enjoyed reading it so much I had to re-post! I’ll be following your work, great quality writing too! 🙂