A Friend of mine gave me this book several years ago -she thought it was amazing and that I’d get a lot out of it. I took a look at it and nothing about it grabbed me so I put it in a drawer and that’s where it sat year after year.
Then one day I felt like I really needed something new, something to move me forward and I remembered this book—I took it out and for the next 3 days I could not put it down—I read it from cover to cover. Everything in it spoke to me. It felt like the perfect gift at that moment.
The Dark Side of the Light Chasers is a powerful guide to help you reclaim your power, creativity, brilliance and dreams by actively embracing the sides of yourself you dislike or deny.
Debbie Ford, the author contends that everyone possesses the entire range of human traits and emotions "the saintly and the cynical, the divine and the diabolical, the courageous and the cowardly" When we try to deny or hide those aspects that we think are not acceptable to others—our dark side– we also end up hiding much of our brilliance and our light.
Ford offers advice on how to recognise your shadow side and how to confront rather than reject the seemingly undesirable parts of yourself. It is only by owning every aspect of yourself that can you achieve harmony and "let your own light shine". She explains. "The purpose of doing shadow work, is to become whole. To end our suffering. To stop hiding ourselves from ourselves. Once we do this we can stop hiding ourselves from the rest of the world".
A fabulous book for anyone whose ready to take a good honest look at themselves. I highly recommend it.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
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There are many things I like about Ford's book, including her definitions of shadow, projection, and other terms. I would caution readers of her work, however. She has taken some of Jung's ideas and discarded others, and I believe some of her exercises can have a somewhat negative effect. She does not separate impulse from behavior. That is, if the impulse goes through your mind to murder someone, then in her book you are a murderer. It's Jung's belief (and mine) that there's a huge difference between an impulse and carrying it out. If you haven't actually murdered someone, you aren't a murderer, period. And looking yourself in the mirror and telling yourself you're a murderer will have an effect on the part of you that can rightfully say, "No I'm not!" The net effect will be an increased resistance to change because that part of you will eventually fight you tooth and nail. I've written a book about shadow, "Practically Shameless," which I believe more accurately portrays Jung's beliefs about the shadow and can reduce your resistance to change rather than increasing it.
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