Midweek Bonus Post - exploring the mystery

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.
                     
Diane Ackerman
A Natural History of the Senses

Picture received (or you could say taken) at Buddhist Nunnery Garden in Hong Kong, March, 2013.

Projectile Vomiting - #76

Living by ourselves makes it easier to maintain an undisturbed Shadow.

It is easier to hide our less-than-savory parts when they are not triggered by an other who lives with us 24/7.   


Regardless of our living situation, it is not unusual for unknown parts of our Shadow to burst forth from their dim container.  

To compare spewing the contents of our Shadow to projectile vomiting may seem overly dramatic.  

We project all manner of things outside of ourselves. We project the traits we dislike about ourselves and we project the positive characteristics of which we don't feel worthy.  

The character traits we have squirreled away in our Shadow are not recognized as being a part of us - we only see these traits in other people when the defense of projection is in action.   

Projection is our friend. 

Why? 

If we are smart, we can use projection as an internal detective. We can track down the contents of our Shadow by watching who we have strong reactions to. When we feel an intense dislike or an intense liking for someone - we can be pretty certain that projection is in action.   

Are you brave enough to claim your Shadow parts? Do you recognize when psychological projection is in action? Share with us in the comments section. You can find it by clicking on this link: www.NickyMendenhallexploring the mystery.blogspot.com 

Tune in next week............

Exclusive Shadow Sighting - #75

 

Our Noble Nervous Nature - Midweek Bonus Post

"Curiously people resist the noble aspects of their Shadow more strenuously than they do the dark sides.

It is more disrupting to find you have a profound nobility of character than to find out you are a bum."*

Or so writes Robert A. Johnson. Do these pronouncements ring true for you personally? for others? What noble aspects of your Shadow do you ignore? Do you protest when someone gives you a compliment? What could possibly be disruptive about being informed you have a noble character?  

Visit www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com  and let us know how you feel and what you think about Johnson's statements. 

*Quote from Owning Your Own Shadow (1991) Robert A. Johnson

Princess Meets The Shadow - #74

The first six years of my life, I was the adored only child. Mom outfitted the two of us in black floor-length satin skirts before preparing candlelight dinners to serve my farmer father. Alas, his world view didn't involve dressing for dinner. 

I believed my mother was perfect. The oceanic closeness we shared fulfilled all my needs. 

Then four siblings crashed the party.

At age six, I lost only child status in the real world.  My primitive brain, however, didn't lose "only child" programming. Primitive brains guard patterns for decades so true to form, the yearning for oceanic closeness and a feeling of being special has been part of my life.  

This desire made its home in the root cellar of my Shadow.  

Now instead of rooting around aimlessly in my shadow, I choose to retrain my brain! When the familiar yearning to be special makes itself known, I remember its origin. My conscious adult self (or we could say my neocortex) calculates the limitations of oceanic closeness and celebrates the joys of separateness.  

It is difficult and painful to muck about in in our shadow and redecorate our own self. We much prefer pasting our wallpaper on someone else.

What can you learn from an exploration of your Shadow? Please share with us in the comment section.

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

After 25 Posts - What Do We Know About Shadow? - #73

We have learned that imperfections and unrealized talents reside in the Shadow.  

Personally, the more I learn about the Shadow, the more intrigued I become! We humans are complex!  Exploring the multi-purpose, multi-chambered Shadow, we discover how foolish it is to search for perfection. 

It is fruitless to expend our energy trying to be perfect. If we are wise, striving to establish one-on-one relationships with our imperfections and hidden talents is our #1 focus. These are the intimate inner relationships that foster a feeling of well being. 

Think of the difference between (1) wanting to be special and (2) knowing you want to be special. If I want to be special and don't know that I want to be special, it is likely my requests for special treatment will take the form of demands. I will have a sense of entitlement and not even know it.  

Years ago on a tour of India a woman in our group proudly declared: "I never take the first hotel room that I'm offered!"  (The Shadow knows!)

Tune in next week for an example of how I am moving a resident of my Shadow condominium into assisted living.

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

Midweek Bonus Post - Using the Shadow

"How is your shadow--your honorable shadow?" 

This was a customary greeting between friends in Japan, a recognition that what we reject is as important as what we embrace.

I walk with my shadow behind me, sometimes ahead, and often to the side. It is my capricious companion: visible, then hidden, amorphous. 

A shadow is never created in darkness. It is born of light.

We can be blind to it and blinded by it.

Our shadow asks us to look at what we don't want to see. If we refuse to face out shadow, it will project itself on someone else so we have no choice but to engage.*

These lines are from When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams. Subtitle: "Fifty-four Variations on Voice." 

I love the idea of greeting what we reject and realizing its importance. How can we begin to do this?

exploring the mystery wishes you a Happy Fourth of July!
                                                  Nicky Mendenhall