May 28--More Shadow Thoughts

I have neither the right, nor the responsibility, to judge others. 
--AA Daily Reflections, May 28

Whenever... any true believers, are too anti anything, we can be pretty sure there’s some shadow material lurking somewhere nearby. Zealotry often reveals one’s overly repressed shadow.  --Richard Rohr

    Having lived in Kansas for over 40 years, these quotes remind me of the whack-job minister and extreme zealot, Fred Phelps, who made it his mission in life to protest/torture/revile gays. I'd bet he had enormous homosexual desires that he covered with zealotry. Oh, but, wait--that's not mine to judge!

    Shadow-work, getting to know both our dark and light aspects, leads to living in integrity, at peace with oneself, thereby supporting the global peace we all desire. We have to do it individually--it cannot be legislated or enforced. It can be quite unpleasant wandering through one's personal "muck," but the freedom on the other side is worth the effort. The result is described by Connie Zweig and Steve Wolf:

Looking into the darkness or living with shadow awareness is not an easy path…. Rather, to live with shadow awareness we follow the detours; we walk into the debris, groping our way through dark corridors and past dead ends. Shadow-work asks us to turn in that direction.

It asks us to stop blaming others.
It asks us to take responsibility.
It asks us to move slowly.
It asks us to deepen awareness.
It asks us to hold paradox.
It asks us to open our hearts.
It asks us to sacrifice our ideals of perfection.
It asks us to live the mystery.

We suggest that you relate to the shadow as a mystery, rather than as a problem to be solved or an illness to be cured.

    I like the idea of exploring the mystery rather than fixing something.

        Leta