The Shadow Self

[Belle]

I didn't know where to start this thread ... so hope this fits. Also couldn't find a thread on it.

Well, so I've come across the concept of our shadow self. We all have it and it is something that is represented by a scaly creature, a snake, a dragon, a lizard.

I'm on the wrong side of someone with a very powerful energy and whilst talking about him at my home in some considerable distress, I was aware of the shadow self of him in my home. I was aware of something resembling a red molten liquid - like a volcano, the roar of a tyrannosaurus rex (not that i have heard one), and this huge anger. It's not the first time I've been aware of this and when talking to someone I was advised that we all have a shadow self and the key is knowing our own shadow and managing it - rather than denying it and keeping it locked away. It needs to be known so that it can be managed and to prevent further karmas being built up by creating damage. I'm puzzled by this whole concept but it seems to make sense to me - do others have an experience of a shadow self, do others know what to do when presented with a shadow and how do we know and manage our own shadow?

Real shadow work does not leave us intact; it is not some neat and tidy process but rather an inherently messy one, as vital and unpredictably alive as birth. The pain it brings up is the pain we’ve been fleeing most of our life; the breakdowns it catalyzes are the precursors to hugely relevant breakthroughs; the doors it opens are doors that have shown up year after year in our dreams, awaiting our entry. Real shadow work not only breaks us down but also breaks us open, turning frozen yesterday into fluid now. – Robert Augustus Masters

http://beyondmeds.com/2012/09/08/shadow-work/

Darkness Shining Wild: An Odyssey to the Heart of Hell & Beyond: Meditations on Sanity, Suffering, Spirituality, and Liberation -


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkness-Shi...7187627&sr=1-1


Also may be an idea to read some Jung.

Carl Jung - Shadow Projection -

http://youtu.be/zMHqqXYaB8g

The Self -

http://youtu.be/kAPyRryK1HY

Eh, I have mixed feelings about what is typically labeled "shadow self." There are at least half a dozen ways of labeling it and describing it, and as usual with metaphysical topics, there is no agreement and each is on their own in determining what the concept means to them. The term does originate from Jungian psychology, but new agers and occultists alike have appropriated the term for other purposes that don't necessarily fall in line with its original conception. I've never been one for either Freudian or Jungian theory, so the way "shadow" is described in those contexts feels... off to me, for lack of a better way of putting it.

That said, I have had experiences which you could label under that designation. I can't say that it has ever taken such a... whimsical form, but I don't see why it couldn't for others. I disagree that it needs to be managed, particularly for the reasons stated; then again, this whole new age "karma" concept is not part of my religion. I tend to look at "shadow" work as treading LHP; working with that which is taboo and forbidden. It's not something you need to do, and it's not for people who are faint of heart. If you don't have a high degree of self trust and confidence, working with "shadow" or "demons" be they inner or otherwise is not recommended. Some doors are better left closed. If you are not prepared to handle self-destruction or other-destruction, just don't. For most people in our culture, meditating on murder would be an example of shadow work. Not something most people want to (or should) open a doorway to, and with good reason.

[Xan]

Some people dramatize the shadow self with intense scary images, but it really just consists of lingering negative emotions from the past... unfaced and therefore unhealed and not yet released.


Xan

Thank you for sharing. Very interesting.

[Belle]

Thank you for the thoughts, interesting insights. I am learning learning and the shadow of another I believe can connect with the fear of our self. So, if we overcome the fear of another, then we don't get to be harassed by their shadow, it depowers it.

I still want to find my shadow so I can teach it, or work with it rather than be defined by it.

[Xan]

To find your shadow, just look into any thoughts and reactive emotions, any contracted feelings and sensations that aren't light and lightness.


Xan

Not everybody's shadow is "dark." For those who already embrace darkness, their shadow consists of fluffy bunnies and sparkly rainbows. No, I'm serious. They're more disturbed by whitelighters than serial killers.

Originally Posted by Belle

Well, so I've come across the concept of our shadow self. We all have it and it is something that is represented by a scaly creature, a snake, a dragon, a lizard.

I do not have this concept inside me, regardless of what you believe via what someone advised you about.

I'm on the wrong side of someone with a very powerful energy and whilst talking about him at my home in some considerable distress, I was aware of the shadow self of him in my home. I was aware of something resembling a red molten liquid - like a volcano, the roar of a tyrannosaurus rex (not that i have heard one), and this huge anger. It's not the first time I've been aware of this and when talking to someone I was advised that we all have a shadow self and the key is knowing our own shadow and managing it - rather than denying it and keeping it locked away.

Or it can simply be that your mind works intently with images,
translating incomng data from your experiences into vivid imagry to assist you when trying to make sense of the experience,
and it's not a literal scaly creature, a snake, a dragon, a lizard or whatever image other people advise it is.

It needs to be known so that it can be managed and to prevent further karmas being built up by creating damage.

Nor do i have the concept of karma inside me.

I'm puzzled by this whole concept but it seems to make sense to me

If it makes sense, you can't be puzzled by it.

- do others have an experience of a shadow self, do others know what to do when presented with a shadow and how do we know and manage our own shadow?

I do not subscribe to the concept/belief/theory of a shadow self.
It offers nothing of value or functionality in my journey.