posted May 04, 2010 02:15 PM         

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Light-Chasers-Reclaiming/dp/1573227358

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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review

We know the shadow by many names: alter ego, lower self, the dark twin, repressed self, id. Carl Jung once said that the shadow "is the person you would rather not be." But even if you choose to hide your dark side, it will still cast a shadow, according to author Debbie Ford. Rather than reject the seemingly undesirable parts of ourselves, Ford offers advice on how to confront our shadows. Only by owning every aspect of yourself 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."

As threatening as shadow work may seem, it is often very effective in creating transformation. Ford's step-by-step guidebook is modeled on a highly successful course she developed about embracing the shadow. Ultimately, she helps readers illuminate the gifts and strengths that lie within the shadows. Although this works sound vague, clouded in dark metaphors, Ford manages to make it clear and specific. She has the writing gifts of a successful seminar leader--inspirational, trustworthy, and able to convey murky material with grace and ease. --Gail Hudson

posted May 04, 2010 09:29 PM         

"Thy character shows many a beautiful side, and many an ugly flaw. Thou hast to thank for both, for they are the result of thy previous experience and thoughts....

...The karmic powers, however, beheld all thy deeds in former lives, and all thy most secret thoughts and feelings, and determined accordingly thy present self and thy present mode of life...

...My spectral form is woven out of thine own life's record

...As a form visible to thyself I will never for an instant leave thy side, once thou hast crossed my Threshold.

...Seek not, then, to cross this Threshold until thou dost feel thyself entirely free from fear and ready for the highest responsibility. Hitherto I only emerged from thy personality when death recalled thee from an earthly life; but even then my form was veiled from thee.

...thou has formed me, but by doing so, thou hast undertaken, as thy duty, to transform me....

-the guardian of the threshold

The student's preparation must aim at enabling him to endure the terrible sight without a trace of timidity and, at the moment of the meeting, to feel his strength so increased that he can undertake fully conscious the responsibility for transforming the beautifying Guardian.

the second warning:

Only the esoteric student learns what it means to be entirely cut off from his family, national, or racial spirit. ...
...For everything inculuted by education completely melts away when the threads binding will, thought, and feeling are severed..
...Utter darkness, relieved only by the rays issuing from the Guardian himself, unfolds before the student...

"step not across my Threshold until thou dost clearly realize that thou wilt thyself illumine the darkness ahead of thee; take not a single step forward until thou art positive that thou hast sufficient oil in thine own lamp. The lamps of the guides whom thou hast hitherto followed will no longer be available to thee."

posted May 06, 2010 01:16 PM         

I'll check it out, thanks. I know I've come across some of his interpretations before. I've read a lot of astrology books. I'd recommend Jan Spiller to you. I want to read more Jeffrey Wolf Green, myself, but I'll put Lewi on my list.

posted May 06, 2010 01:28 PM         

I think my path is different.

You might want to skip my thoughts
because they may not be useful,
but only confusing to you,
on the path you've chosen.

For what they are worth,
and for whom they are meant:

Nobody prepares for the next step.

Nobody is ever ready for that.

If it's an authentic awakening,
there's no preparation for it.

Everything you relied upon
is thrown into chaos.

How do you prepare for that?

You don't.

All efforts to prepare
will be rooted in the old,
not the new, way of seeing.

You can't prepare
to see things a new way.

You just trust.

You give yourself to it.

And it gives you back
Something Else.

A new self.

If it's an authentic step.

posted May 06, 2010 05:02 PM         

I see from your post that you sense (and perhaps know firsthand?) the overwhelming experience of spiritual awakening. I agree. It is so 'other' it can't be explained.

Maybe the disagreement here is the result of mismatched definitions? 'Preparation' is not merely explanation. Preparation places the student in the correct state, by which he will more properly assimilate the newfound information and experiences.

In this sense, preparation is not only possible, it is essential. Without preparation, firsthand spiritual knowledge will be misunderstood at best ... and possibly even cause harm. It might require many years to undo that sort of damage.

posted May 06, 2010 08:21 PM         

It's one reason why I liked the saying from Magic: The Gathering (*), "Those who fear the dark have never seen what the light is capable of."