The Shadow Effect - Il Potere Del Nostro Lato Oscuro (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
I listened to this book as an audio book while I rode my stationary bike in the living room. I'm not against counting audiobooks on Goodreads, so I will. :PI very much enjoyed this book. It gave some great insight into the human psyche, and confirmed things about people in general that you were always hoping were true. We all have a dark side, and it threatens continuously to destroy us. The book was read by its authors, and it was well read and interesting. I thought Debbie Ford's voice was a little whiny, and I thought Marianne Williamson was too sure of herself by saying that if we never find God, we will never find our light. She came across as a little preachy and self-righteous. The message of the book is gold. It reaches out to you to let you know that your inner conflicts are part of a universal condition, and that was truly enlightening for me. My one problem with this book is that while it pulls the shadow into the light, it doesn't really focus on the removal of it from our lives. Okay, meditation was suggested, as was changing the way that you think...but neither of these are practical steps, and they seem overly simplified. Now that the shadow is 'out of the closet' so to speak, we need a practical follow-up book that gives us ways in which to move away from all of our negativity and fear. Isn't it strange, when you have a book on your shelf for quite some time, and suddenly the spine seems to glow and call out to you "pick me, pick me". This happened with The Shadow Effect, so it went into my travel bag when I was packing for a holiday last week. I then came across the author Marianne Williamson, but could not find the book title concerned, on line. Turns out, she is a contributing author in this book. What can I say about The Shadow Effect? Firstly, I think it should be a text-book in schools, especially Debbie Ford's explanation of projection - and how if we read all the people that really get up our nose, and why, we will discover that what we are finding so annoying, is something that we really need to bring out from the shadows within ourselves. Believe me, I have tried to disprove this theory all week, and I cannot. She is pretty spot on.This was a book, which after reading, I needed to pull my journal out, and then found myself writing for days. I found Deepak Chopra's section quite difficult to follow (but am seeing him live on 2nd August - so will be curious to see if he covers this material). Lastly, the opening chapter by Marianne Williamson, literally reduced me to tears. I have simply been plagued my whole life with my inability to reconcile mankind's ability to wreak such intense pain and suffering on each other, which is in such diabolical contrast to the extreme beauty and kindness I also know we have the capacity to be. These opposing sides of human nature at times cause me such despair that I can barely stand to live in the world. This book, for the first time in my life, literally offered an answer to this question, and a solution for humankind to recognise and accept both the light and the darkness inside us all, and to learn to read our own darknesses as the signposts that lead us back to the light, rather than 'badness' that we have to bury, hide, or deny, which ultimately causes us endless shame, and a lack of 'wholeness' and complete self-acceptance. To gain that of course, is the first step to ever finding real love and acceptance of everyone else.For me, this book was a revelation. Now I am off to watch the movie on line, and then probably to do the on-line course. I have never read anything that rang quite so true before. This is the sort of book I want to go out and buy a copy for every single person I know. I love their shadow selves already!
What do You think about The Shadow Effect - Il Potere Del Nostro Lato Oscuro (2012)?
Excellent book on the Shadow and how the shadow effects our daily lives. A must read...
—cviolet123
Haven't read a book like this in a long time. Good one to get you thinking again.
—Anarose
Very good 'self-help' type of book, can't wait to see the movie! :)
—jaymarie93
What a great book. Really learned a lot about myself.
—Carmen
