Owning Your Shadow and Paradox

I liked the short and deep book Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert A. Johnson. It advances my idea of yin yang balance. One must embrace their shadow. It aids, I’d say, in getting what you want, being authentic, and weeding out undesirable people, places and things. One thing he writes that is great is that, if one embraces their shadow, they can also have the most beautiful, powerful parts shown to themselves, and then revealed to the world. I will look more into that.

Below are some great parts of the book:

The center of the seesaw is the place or enlightenment. To me, this harkens to the central line of the yin yang circle.

It would have been “sheer genius” had Marie Antoinette honored a peasant task like milking a cow like her refined life, and may have stopped future events.

Page 8: “it is more disrupting to find that you have a profound nobility of character than to find out you are a bum. Of course you are both; but one does not discover these two elements at the same time." LOL

Rituals such as sacrifice, bloodletting, fasting and sexual abstinence safeguard the culture by paying out the shadow. We must integrate the shadow in modern times rather than sacrifice. Interesting…

Sometimes, the more refined our conscious personality, the deeper or darker our shadow. This may be true, I think, if one is not aware by mediating and working out. IF one never curses, I am suspicious.
Children sometimes carry the dark side of creative parents, like the proverbial naughty preacher’s child.

Events such as wars, economic crises, etc. represent a repressed shadow.

Page 26 The Christian cross was originally balanced horizontally and vertically. It mobilizes balancing: right, left, high, low. If one can do this, they are catholic or whole. Lucifer was cast away, but we can embrace “him”.

People used to be at the mercy of land and more connected to nature and sexuality. Now in cities (most of us), we are not as much connected.

To refuse the dark side may lead to black mood, psychosomatic illness or unconsciously inspired accidents.

George Bernard Shaw said that art is the only alternative to war. That’s great!

Page 31 “Unless we do conscious work on it, the shadow is almost always projected; that is, it is neatly laid on someone or something else we do not have to take responsibility for it. This is the way things were done five thousand years ago, and most to of us are still stuck in this medieval consciousness.”

Page 37 This is thought: ‘You can refuse a shadow projection and stop the endless cycle of revenge if you have your own shadow under conscious control.”

Page 40 “’Love’ is the one world in our Western tradition adequate to describe this synthesis of ego and shadow. Faust shows with great power that the redemption of the go is possible only as the redemption of the shadow parallels it. Faust’s character is filled out by the addition of his shadow. He is made whole by his encounter with Mephistopheles, and the same is true in reverse. Better said, neither ego nor shadow can be redeemed unless its twin is transformed.”

Page 43: “It is very puzzling to examine our capacity for projecting our best qualities. It is as if we rear that heaven might come too soon! From the point of view of our ego, the appearance of a sublime trait might upset our whole personality structure.”

Page 45: jack Sanford, Episcopal priest: “There are, in my view, two ‘shadows’: (1) the dark side of the ego, which is carefully hidden from itself and which the ego will not acknowledge unless force to by life’s difficulties, and (22) that which has been repressed in us lest it interfere with our egocentricity and, however devilish it may seem, is basically connected to the Self.”

Jung warned us that it would not be too difficult to get the skeletons out of the closet from a patient in analysis but it would be exceedingly difficult to get the gold out of the shadow.

Page 46: Two things go wrong if we project our shadow: First, we do damage to another by burdening him with our darkness – or light, for it is as heavy a burden to make someone play hero for us. Second, we sterilize ourselves by casting off our shadow. We then lose a chance to change and miss the fulcrum point, the ecstatic dimension of our own lives.

The Tao or middle way is a creative synthesis. Page 48: “One cannot stay very long in this middle place, for it’s a knife-edge, outside space and time. A moment of it is enough to give meaning to long stretches of ordinary life. India warns that if one touches that place fore more than a short time one will lose one’s orientation and die. There is a small danger of this to most of us, however.

Page 52: “…the most terrible things go on ceremonially in the Mass, but the altar rail is a container, and the priest, who is almost inhumanly close to the drama, is robed to protect himself from the too-great power of the event. He also does his rituals in the sacristy before and after the Mass, to protect himself from the superhuman force he has involved. Remember, a symbolic or ceremonial experience is real and affects one as much as an actual event.”

Creativity and vitality can come from accessing your shadow if correctly handled. If incorrectly handled, it can lead to destruction.

At times like a marriage breakup or being fired, we can take shadow energy and use it correctly.

Parrots learn the meaning of curses more easily than other words because they sense the energy vested in the curses.

If two people meet and there is a potential for a relationship, egos cause power wards. When the two can listen to each other, hear each other out, what they each say complements the other, and a mandala is formed. God is present in the unresolved conflict. I add: If there is a commitment to grow and develp with one another.

Many people say they are religious, but don’t’ have religious values in day-to-day life. Life is full of paradoxes: Love without power is insipid and weak. Power without love is cruel. You be (receive, yin) and do (action, yang). “We hate paradox since it is so painful getting there, but it is a very direct experience of a reality beyond our usual frame of reference and yields some of the greatest insights. Here is a list of paradoxical religious and practical values from pages 78-79.

Religious Values Practical Values

losing winning
outgo income
fasting eating
passivity action
giving earning
selling all and
giving it to the poor owning
poverty possession
repose activity
celibacy sex
observation decisiveness
obedience to authority freedom
duty choice
obedience democracy
meditative sharp
consciousness consciousness
ecstasy sobriety
vision focus
belief that less belief that more
is better is better

The Brain and Meditation

Most people know that meditating, taking a break from a busy schedule and focusing on the now in a grateful mode, is good for them. A similar peace for me can be found in Nature or after a hard workout. But there is something special about meditation, when you can get into it, and you are in that altered state of being, much like when you awake or lie on the beach, and are half-asleep.

Scientists have been doing experiments on yoga and the brain. They have found that the brain continues to learn at a rapid rate into middle age, and may not reach its peak in young adulthood. If one practices focusing their attention on the breath or a mantra, the brain restructures itself. In the journal Neuro Image in 2009, Luger et al. published findings on how gray matter in the brain increases after meditation. The brain in these areas becomes more efficient or powerful. The brain can focus in other areas after mediation. Vispassana or reality now medication increases attention in the moment, and prevents times we are absent-minded and may have accidents, etc. This can save lives in areas such as surgery or driving!

Some studies showed a decrease in gray matter or activity in the amygdala, an area of the brain responsible for stress. A study by psychologist Barbara Frederickson et al. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed that mediation increases compassion. We feel more connected as One.

She writes that the goal of mediation is not to get rid of or to obsess with unpleasant thoughts, but to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and learn to move through or process them without getting stuck. it's about being real and expressing your emotions, while you also observe yourself, to me. Your thoughts and emotions can give you a clue as to who you are and what you want...but you want
to use them for that, and to be still underneath it all. Meditation, yoga and exercise are a part of that.

Information for this blog post was obtained from Kelly McGonigal's Your Brain on Meditation in Yoga Journal.

Disclaimer: None of the above information can be taken as a substitute for advice from a medical professional such as a physician.

My third book, Pocket Guide to Fitness, is available on www.louizapatsis.com, http://www.authorhouse.com, www.bn.com and http://www.amazon.com. If you look up my name on those Web sites, you will find my other books The Boy in a Wheelchair and Life, Work and Play: Poems and Short Stories.

Bargain Hunting at Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, Queens

Why would I include a shopping post on this blog? There are several reasons:

1. It is a spiritual quality to accept where you are.
2. Saving pennies as well as spending on luxury while being grateful can both be spiritual experiences if you are present.
3. New experiences and new outfits can be acquired in a grateful, appreciative and loving context.

I live in Jamaica, Queens. Many people would not go there because it is not the best neighborhood. Yet again, it is not the worst. A house of one of the original signers of the Constitution, Rufus King Manor, is located on Jamaica Avenue and is a museum. Parson Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue and other streets have been around since the 1700s, as have some churches and cemeteries there. Old maps hang on the wall of the Rufus King Manor museum. There are many minorities there and some people may be scared to go shopping. Since the days of Giuliani, however, there is a decreased crime rate. A police precinct is nearby.

I am unemployed, at least at a steady job, right now. I did need some new spring and summer clothes. I chose to do some shopping on Sunday. After feeling badly about some past events almost all of Saturday, I was presently and gingerly in the moment while shopping on Sunday. I had a $1.00 "icy". I could not decide on the flavor so I took a mixture of cherry, coconut and blueberry. I enjoyed it and did not go in stores until I finished. It was hot, yet not muggy, and many people were probably at the park or beach, so it was not too crowded.

I wanted to go home and make an early movie, but I chose to keep my bags at a security check-in at one store, and keep walking. I found nothing more on one side of the street. The bus was not coming to come back out East, so I perused the stores. I found the sandals that I was looking for: black ones with few straps, not the usual ones stores have these days that have many straps and are often ankle-high, or have a strap between the toes -- not for me. I also found three tank tops in two shades of blue and black.

All in all, I spent about $100.00 and bought:

• three tank tops
• a cute black top I will wear many times
• two skirts
• two pairs of shorts
• two pairs of pants
• sandals

My job was done and I felt great. I wore my black top, leopard skin pants and new sandals on the subway. I had two ladies who had gone to a free jazz concert at the large Queens central library on Merrick Street ask about them. I showed them the receipt with the store address. They had not wanted to venture to Jamaica Avenue.

Now on to modeling since I can sell cheap sandals from Jamaica Avenue without even trying...

Great Quotes

Mine: Imagination, Intuition, Intention

Rudyard Kipling If you don't get what you want, it is a sign you did not want it enough.

Madam Curie Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe we are gifted for something.

Kobi Yamada We all know our ideas can be crazy, but are they crazy enough?
Antoine de San Expery You give birth to that you think.

Julia Child The more you know the more you can create.

DT Suzuki I am an artist of living -- my work is the art of life. Pablo Picasso If you want to draw, you must shut your eyes and sing.

J M Keynes The difficulty is not so much in developing new ideas, as in escaping the old ones.

Robert Lewis Stevenson For God's sake, give me someone who has brains enough to make a fool of himself.

Isaiah 43:19

This is from this month's Forbes magazine. Someone must have bought me a subscription. I did not order it nor agree with everything in it. In the back page, they have memorable quotes, and always one from the Bible.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not yet know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

This reminds me of possibility, as is "shown" at Landmark Education. You can always create something new from a quiet mind and brave soul. Or a miracle from yourself or God can always spring forth, like a new tiny leaf or branch from the trunk of a spring tree.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote

This is inscribed on the wall of a church in Manhasset, New York. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

This may be easier said than done: Be in the present, as Eckert Tolle writes in the The Power of Now, not past regret or sadness, or future worry.
Be strong no matter what the circumstances.

The Transcendent Function by Carl Jung

Many things in life, as Lao Tze wrote, are a function of a yin yang balance: light/dark, female/male, up/down...We are all familiar with the yin yang symbol. Months ago at a Meetup Ken Wilber New York City lecture, I helped organize this program after I was gifted a DVD of The 16 Ways, which features the movement practice Dylan developed. Within five minutes of watching the introduction Dylan Newcomb, a professional dancer who trained at Julliard and is well versed in Integral Theory, gave a talk and display of different energetic ways of being and moving. In them, elements of yin were in yang and elements of yang were in yin in different amounts beyond the traditional symbol. Look him up online. This friendly get-together at my favorite café in New York City, Dante, reminded me of Lao Tze, Wilber and Newcomb.

Jung brings to the forefront how our unconscious and archetypes guide us, whether we know it or not. Through meditation, movement, and relationships, we can uncover our hidden desires, problems, etc. often; others see our shadows and point them out to us. As Harville Hendrix writes, if we are committed in a relationship where we each bring up for the other what we need to complete from childhood, we grow even more than in religion. Both members of the relationship have to be committed to stay and grow.

Other blog posts in the future will expand on some of these elements.

From the article:
• Active imagination can bring forth the unconscious. This is true in art. A great dance teacher, Pearl Lang, pupil of Martha Graham, and cofounder of the Alvin Ailey school, said “Don’t’ think. Dance.”
• Consciousness inhibits the unconscious, which sinks to being hidden.
• Consciousness is directed. The unconscious contains fantasy combination that have not attained threshold intensity. I thought; Perhaps people drink or take drugs – to let their inhibitions go. I think if one is not hooked or harming others and it is not in excess, it may be all right.
• Sips of the tongue come from the unconscious expressing itself.
• Analysis may show us our blind spots.
• The dream or fantasy is to be analyzed as a symbol, not semiotically.
• Dreams may show us our unconscious because the conscience is not there as much with its inhibiting energy. I believe this but not 100 percent.
• The conscious is sometimes needed to direct or inhibit the unconscious. I say: There goes that yin yang balance again. At different times, you may need different elements of each. Examples: Upon choreographing, you need your imagination to run wild, and your conscious to have you make specific steps and time.
• People are often bored and attribute it to the weather (sound familiar) when they are not connected to their unconscious desires, etc.
• There may be a “general, dull discontent, a feeling of resistance to everything, a sort of boredom or vague disgust, and indefinable but excruciating emptiness.” LOL
• Make yourself go in or process your emotional mood first...in and then out...this is great. Often people avoid it by excuses, drink or drugs, small talk, etc. instead of delving in it, really feeling, having an inquiry with themselves and then starting to express and create as in art or talking about it to a good listener.

From the get-together:
• You can look up his essay online. I will touch upon it here and upon the elements of the get-together that stood out for me.
• Christianity can be an attachment.
• Society favors consciousness and reasons, so those related jobs, like accountant or doctor, tend to pay more.
• Perhaps some mental illness or violence is “due to” not having a healthy out for emotions
• Irrational intuition can be a bridge from the subconscious to the conscious
• If you create a vacuum, as in mediation for a few seconds, blind spot, Self and self, and imagination can emerge.
• We can have personas if we are aware of them and not always taken by them
• A good intuition can arise when the conscious and unconscious energy are balance. I say it may be partly hereditary and experiential as well. The energy part may be more than one-third responsible for the good intuition.
• The unconscious and ego must be balanced.
• We can listen to see how much (and if) of another person’s perspective is true.
• Mythological assumption or mythologems, exist in our collective unconscious. As a woman, I can fall into the persona or sexy, diva, motherly etc. instead of having a balance of each as is true in the moment.
• “Consciousness is continually widened through the confrontation with previously unconscious contents, or – to be more accurate—could be widened if it took the trouble to integrate them.”

The transcendent function is the bringing together of opposites.