Leo, will you ever make an episode on shadow work?

[AtheisticNonduality]

This is probably a topic a lot of people need assistance with since it can be quite painful, and a lot of academic psychologists have poor understandings of it. Eliminating the unconscious by becoming conscious of it, then integrating the good and eliminating/expelling the bad, is a process people will have to know about if they're on a path of self-development. And if they start doing it unconsciously, as in their unconscious unravelling itself, they'll have no idea what's happening and might be overwhelmed. Maybe talk about your methods, and your past and future work here. Since you've previously said you planned on becoming less "obnoxious and arrogant" in the future.

[JosephKnecht]

The things you can't accept about yourself, you disown them. 

When you disown them, you forsake them to live in your shadow. 

Try to work on the things that you can't accept about yourself. Try to accept who you are.

All the things you have buried in your shadow, bring them to the light of your awareness. 

Only when you realize that there is nothing but Light, your shadow will disappear. 

[AtheisticNonduality]

@JosephKnecht Some things can only exist in the dark: a lesser quantity of light.

[aklacor727]

He mentioned in a recent video it is coming ??? ? can't wait

[Leo Gura]

Just realize that you are everyone, and then there won't be a shadow

[Rilles]

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Just realize that you are everyone, and then there won't be a shadow

Oh thank god... That annoying shadow keeps following me around... I cant get rid of him

[Yog]

This is basically what you are looking for. @AtheisticNonduality

There is way more to it than this ofc.

Would be great to see another, more in depth video with touches of politics, culture, collective shadows ect, that's for sure

The episodes on fear are also quite relevant, or any episodes that cover ego-work. Remember the shadow is the butt of your ego, anytime you talk about ego, you talk about a shadow. Its simply the "negative" (*-1) of your identity.
 

Personally what I have found to be a good method that prevents creation of shadows is to approach everything you encounter in a way that when you process it, you end up with a paradox.

You see why the thing that is represented in the way it is to you, is true, see why is it extremely false, hit it from many perspectives early on. In a way its applying radical open mindedness + radical skepticism + many added other neutral perspectives that are not even concerned with the issue at hand, see it from that angle.

What you did there suxs for the ego and is something it finds very hard to make an identity out of. It cant plug it into its matrix and grow, because its a paradox. The ego likes things to be straight and certain.

I also have something that is almost a rule : Before you get the right to disagree on something, you need to earn it by completely agreeing with what has been stated to you. Everyone speaks their truth, no matter how different and twisted it may seem, you need to see the way it is before you can have any opinion on it. This ofc also prevents shadow creation and works in sync with what I said previously.

Edited October 23, 2020 by Yog

[Megan Alecia]

@Yog Love this! Thanks for reminding us of this video. 

 

[Thought Art]

So much of Leo's work is about shadow work...

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by Thought Art

[Yog]

@Megan Alecia  Enjoy!

[ivory]

I see a ton of people asking about shadow work on this forum. I think it's because they want to make personal development more complicated than it is. Which is exactly what shadow work is... an overly complicated model for personal development. People who do shadow work are the most lost and confused people I have come across in spiritual circles. That said, shadow work is a form of depth psychology. There's a guy in michigan who writes about depth psychology in detail. He's the only guy I've come across who makes "shadow work" relatively easy to understand and apply. You can check out his work here: WHY WE SUFFER

[AtheisticNonduality]

@ivory You haven't done much shadow work then. Or you don't have much shadow.

[cigologic]

18 hours ago, ivory said:

There's a guy in michigan who writes about depth psychology in detail. He's the only guy I've come across who makes "shadow work" relatively easy to understand and apply. You can check out his work here: WHY WE SUFFER

Why We Suffer saved my life. I spent years meditating, then a few years in therapy with slow progress, then I found that blog. It's kinda weird, I intended to post more about it and now when I am more active it's mentioned.

Peter Michaelson maps the subconscious and at the same time provides the tools that make applying conscious awareness to those twisted parts of the mind quite straight forward. I most definitely recommend to read a few articles of his for shadow work, though I didn't really call it that way, I can understand that that is exactly what he helps with. The concept of inner conflict is very useful. I think this article about meditation is a good start as it contrasts meditation with depth psychology and has a few links to some of his best pointers.

Edited October 25, 2020 by cigologic

[ivory]

@AtheisticNonduality I was initially drawn to shadow work but ended up becoming obsessed, confused, and exhausted. I used to date a therapist and she told me that many people fall into the same trap. She also mentioned that shadow work was really only suitable for creative types such as artists. I'm not sure why, but whatever. In any case, I have yet to find anyone that has a solid understanding of shadow work in order to apply it effectively. I personally believe that modern western psychology is more effective and straight forward. But, people don't want simple, they like to make things difficult.

@cigologic Wow, it's awesome to meet someone else who was impacted by Peter's work. It's really helped me understand deep rooted unconscious beliefs, my tendency towards passivity, and how the critic operates. And yes, it's not exactly shadow work, but it is related in the sense that it focuses on the unconscious. But as I said previously, it's much more straight forward than the Jungian alternative. Depth psychology is by no means comprehensive. It doesn't help you clarify personal values or address existential concerns like CBT or ACT does. Nor does it incorporate a mindfulness or body awareness practice. I'm not sure if there is a comprehensive system out there, but if one were to experiment with different modalities in a skillful manner, one could tailor a set of skills and practices to meets the individual needs.

[AtheisticNonduality]

On 10/25/2020 at 4:43 PM, ivory said:

She also mentioned that shadow work was really only suitable for creative types such as artists.

Ah, okay, makes sense.