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Tag Archives: shadow

Jesus Exposes the Shadow

Shadow Work in the Gospels

Carl Jung Shadow Work in the Gospels Wednesday, November 24, 2021 Father Richard describes Jung’s concept of the shadow and how it is present in Jesus’ teachings. The ego wants to eliminate all humiliating or negative information in order to “look good” at all costs. Jesus calls this self an “actor,” a word he uses… Continue Reading Shadow Work in the Gospels

The Shadowlands of Domination

Christianity and Empire The Shadowlands of Domination Tuesday, October 19, 2021 Facing Christianity’s entanglement with empire building means learning how to incorporate the “shadow side” of reality. This is necessary and yet exceedingly difficult to do, which is why Richard returns to the subject of the shadow so often: Western civilization has failed to learn… Continue Reading The Shadowlands of Domination

Shadow Work: Weekly Summary

Shadow Work Saturday, June 19, 2021 Juneteenth Week Twenty-Four Summary and Practice Sunday, June 13—Friday, June 18, 2021 Sunday The movement to second-half-of-life wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who… Continue Reading Shadow Work: Weekly Summary

A Necessary Negativity

Shadow Work A Necessary Negativity Friday, June 18, 2021 True spirituality, that which invites us to ever deeper levels of transformation and love, does not insist on “staying positive” all the time, but on “staying true” to the journey. Drawing on the wisdom of both the Sufi mystical tradition in which she was raised as… Continue Reading A Necessary Negativity

Learning in the Shadows

Shadow Work Learning in the Shadows Thursday, June 17, 2021 Usually sometime around midlife, we come to a point where we’ve seen enough of our own tricks and we come to feel that my shadow self is who I am. We face ourselves in our raw, unvarnished, and uncivilized state. This is the shadowland where… Continue Reading Learning in the Shadows

The Shadow in Christianity

Shadow Work The Shadow in Christianity Wednesday, June 16, 2021 We can patiently accept not being good. What we cannot bear is not being considered good, not appearing good.—St. Francis of Assisi If you are willing to bear serenely the trial of being displeasing to yourself, you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of… Continue Reading The Shadow in Christianity

Living the Shadow

Shadow Work Living the Shadow Tuesday, June 15, 2021 All God appears to want from us is honesty and humility. There is no other way to read Jesus’ stories of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32) or the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14). In each story, the one who did wrong ends up being… Continue Reading Living the Shadow

Embracing Shadow and Light

Shadow Work Embracing Shadow and Light Monday, June 14, 2021 We all identify with our persona/mask so strongly when we are young that we become masters of denial and learn to eliminate or hide anything that doesn’t support it. Neither our persona nor our shadow is evil in itself; they just allow us to do… Continue Reading Embracing Shadow and Light

Unveiling the Shadow

Shadow Work Unveiling the Shadow Sunday, June 13, 2021 This week’s meditations focus on unveiling the shadow self, an essential concept in my work that comes from Swiss psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961). It always needs initial clarification and definition. Let’s begin with the personal shadow. During the first half of our lives (and for… Continue Reading Unveiling the Shadow

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