Our “Shadow” is the collection of negative or undesirable traits we keep hidden—the things we don’t like about ourselves or are afraid to admit—secret hatreds, egotism, non-“PC” proclivities, forbidden sexual desires, strange obsessions. Jungian psychology holds that true self-knowledge is impossible without understanding these truths about ourselves. The surprise for most people is that, upon examination, these dark realities can actually be empowering: facing them and understanding what they mean enables us to live more creatively and fearlessly. Embracing our Shadow “stuff” also frees us from the impulse to project our own negativity onto others—and we become more acutely aware when theirs is projected onto us—so we automatically improve our interpersonal relationships too.

In this workbook, which “uses Jungian terms to present a new synthesis with many original applications,” David Richo looks for where and how the Shadow manifests in personal life, family interaction, religion, relationship, and the world around us. He shows how to use the gentle practice of mindfulness to work with our shadow side, and he provides numerous exercises for going deeper.

“We meet ourselves time and again in a thousand disguises on the path of life,” wrote C. G. Jung. Yet often we don’t recognize ourselves! Shadow Dance helps us recognize “how we get in the way of others and ourselves... Many books on spirituality recommend the letting go of ego. This book tells exactly how. Its purpose is not to inform us about the shadow but to help us taste it in bite-size chunks that surprise us by how nourishing they are.”

The practices in this book serve as an examination of conscience by our adult spiritual consciousness. That happens as we befriend our negative shadow. Such befriending also serves to awaken our inner liveliness as we activate and articulate our positive shadow with all its riches, gifts, and potentials. Both dimensions of our soul thereby receive equal attention and grant equal favors. They cooperate as partners in harmony. Befriending the shadow is a dance.

Also by David Richo is Unexpected Miracles: The Gift of Synchronicity and How to Open It.