Romancing the Shadow
"Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a hidden shadow side: an impulsive, wounded, sad, or isolated part that we generally try to ignore. The Shadow can be a source of emotional richness and vitality, and acknowledging it can be a pathway to healing and an authentic life. We meet our dark side, accept it for what it is, and we learn to use its powerful energies in productive ways. The Shadow knows why good people sometimes do "bad" things. Romancing the Shadow and learning to read the messages it encodes in daily life can deepen your consciousness, imagination, and soul.” from "Romancing the Shadow," by Connie Zwieg, PhD., and Steve Wolf, PhD.
"The Shadow describes the part of the psyche that an individual would rather not acknowledge. It contains the denied parts of the self. Since the self contains these aspects, they surface in one way or another. Bringing Shadow material into consciousness drains its dark power, and can even recover valuable resources from it. The greatest power, however, comes from having accepted your shadow parts and integrated them as components of your Self.” – John Elder
Question for Comment: How might inviting “the shadow” into your conscious life disrupt the external
life you have built while it was banished? How might you reconstruct your life
after you let your “shadow” have a say in what your life looks like? Would it
be possible to include the shadow into your present life without its wrecking
chaos all over it? (If you consider yourself not to have a shadow, perhaps you
could talk about why not).
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I've long regarded O.S.C.'s theory that stories define people to be correct. fortunately or unfortunately, my stories relate frequently to the best storyteller I know, O.S.C. all of his characters have accepted shadows. viciousness, greed, ambition, that is often an intergratal part of their personalities, whether directly or indirectly. Peter constantly struggles to make sure what he is doing isn't needlessly violent, because he knows that shadow lurks in him somewhere.much of his life can be seen as an attempt to see just how deep his shadow is.learning by example, my own darksides are readily acknowledged, and in a very Peter like manner,I acknowledged a frequent flaw and try to fight it. this kind of acknowledgment of flaws can be disturbing, when someone says "you lied" and I say "yes."
also, I find the so called negitive characteristics are very helpful. ambition, talked about like some kind of eight deadly sin, is my best motivator. getting angry at things can actually give me bursts of energy that I can't get otherwise. and while everyone hates getting lied to, their protests about it seem to overlook that I can keep secrets better than anyone else I know.