The Shadow Effect
July 4, 2009 by admin
Filed under Blog, Latest Thoughts
Yesterday I met the best selling author Debbie Ford, and we discussed her new excellent new DVD “The Shadow Effect”. Many of the themes are similar to the ones I write about in The Magic of Groundhog Day and I was very impressed by Debbie’s commitment to helping people confront, understand, see beyond and integrate their shadow side.
The term Shadow is derived from Jung’s work and describes the unconscious, darker and repressed part of ourselves that we tend to deny. Debbie has developed this idea and created a coaching process that helps people deal with their shadows. Her view is that we all have a shadow and that “the gold that we seek is hidden within the dark”.
In Groundhog Day Phil Connors, like the Groundhog in the ceremony, has to see his shadow and then enter the darkness. He has to accept his shadow behaviors such as manipulation, greed, egotism and arrogance as he tries to control the time loop for his own gratification. Then he is completely absorbed into the darkness and his response is multiple suicide attempts. Once he accepts he can not even kill himself, he learns to come out of the darkness and into the light where he discovers compassion, meaning and love.
Debbie’s DVD includes wonderful footage from her workshops and some inspirational interviews with people who have been through the process of integrating their Shadow. As I watched this compelling process, I realized that everyone has their own shadow and that this is entirely normal. Moreover, I completely agree with Debbie that if we don’t embrace our darkness we will never find our light.
The Shadow Effect is an inspiring, moving and transformative movie. There are some unforgettable scenes such as the Golden Buddha story, and great contributions from famous writers like Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and Mark Victor Hansen. Above all, I loved the extraordinary interviews with the Holocaust survivor, the Child Abuse Victim and the Peace Activist. They exemplified how accepting the Shadow and practicing forgiveness leads to personal and spiritual growth.
So please watch the trailer and if you are serious about overcoming negative beliefs, low self-esteem and self-sabotaging behaviors I would thoroughly recommend that you treat yourself to a copy of this powerful movie. Now I have met Debbie and watched the DVD, I am convinced that her coaching process is life-changing and will lead to genuine happiness and fulfillment.
Yes Debbie is masterful! I write about the shadow in my Magic of Groundhog Day book when describing the main character, Phil Connor’s pleasure seeking behavior
“Have you wanted to know the future, and use it to manipulate people and events?
Have you ever imagined a life of unadulterated pleasure doing whatever you want with no consequences? Such desires are entirely natural, and part of what is often known as our “shadow side.” The eminent psychologist Carl Jung believed that we all have a shadow self that reveals our deeper emotions and intentions. In our everyday
lives, we learn for the most part to control these thoughts through self-discipline. Phil’s actions allow us to witness what happens when our shadow runs the show. He eats and drinks as much as he wants, amuses himself as much as he wants, and has sex as much as he wants. He is living the life you might have dreamed of, or might even have led at one time. He symbolizes the fantasy of our consumer culture: you can have whatever you want whenever you want. You can also see that this fantasy is a
delusion, for Phil’s fantasy turns into a nightmare, as it probably would for you too.”