Shadow Energies

The shadow is personal and universal at the same time: Everyone harbors a unique pattern of shame and guilt. Simple things like nudity, sexual intercourse, anger, and anxiety give rise to enormously complex feelings.

The human psyche was set up with a hiding place, and for most people that is totally necessary, given the enormous difficulty of facing one’s darkest impulses and deepest humiliations.

Although the term “shadow” is used most of the time to describe a hiding place for negative energies, you have the power to turn positive to negative and vice versa. The same incident can have no emotional charge for one person, yet be a source for anger and shame for another person.

Whatever is stored in darkness becomes distorted: Awareness, like fresh water, is meant to flow, and when it can’t, it turns stagnant. In your inner world, there are countless memories and repressed impulses. You do not allow these to flow, which is to say to be released; therefore, they have no choice but to stagnate.

Good impulses die for lack of being acted on. Love grows timid and afraid when not expressed. Hatred and anxiety loom larger than life. It is the primary property of consciousness that it can organize itself into new patterns and designs. If you don’t allow consciousness to go where it needs to, however, disorganized energy is the result.

The intensity of shadow energies is a way of getting noticed: Hiding something is not the same as killing it. Shadow energies remain alive. Even though you refuse to look at them, they aren’t extinguished – in fact their desire for life becomes all the more desperate.

Bringing consciousness to any energy diffuses it. Our shadow energies get stuck in patterns and habits. This doesn’t alter the general truth that if you bring light into the shadow, its distortions start to lessen and eventually are healed.

Adapted from The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2004).

Read more: Spirit, Deepak Chopra's Tips, shadow energies

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Linda M.

5:11AM PDT on Jul 22, 2011

thank you so much

send a green star

Free P.

8:36AM PDT on Jul 10, 2011

I'm really grateful for this article, it can make life so happier.

criss S.

6:08PM PDT on Jul 9, 2011

Thank you for the article.

Dot A.

3:33PM PDT on Jul 7, 2011

@Gaby D -Dear Gaby D may I add. You are dear in so many ways, and have a great desire it seems to do well in all that you do. I believe that. Whatever errors were done are irretrievable now. My guess is that there is something in your world presently which keeps on reminding you of 'the past' and this is the crux of your unending return to an impossible drama. The concept of forgiveness can be imagined as a rock tied to a string and place under water. If the string is untied and the rock is allow to drift to the bottom the string is no longer bound. We too need to feel this 'no longer bound' to what is making us drown. Asking for the Divine forgiveness means we know our human capacity to grasp all that is entailed is beyond our brain's calculations. Untie the string and let the rock loose. Release by forgiveness. It is a divine gift. - and focus more and more on the goodness you offer!

Gaby D.

11:32PM PDT on Jul 6, 2011

Goodmorning Deepak, hmm...now this is an interesting post. And interestingly few comments to it? After reading the post I truly hoped that someone out there would be able to shed some light on my question. "She shadow is personal and universal at the same time: Everyone harbors a unique pattern of shame and guilt." This is a biggie, because this is something that I have been struggling with. I have plenty of 'shadow energies' , memories of mistakes I made, shame and guilt over actions of the past. For me it is not so much that they 'hide' ..they are there all the time.... I do not think it is so difficult to forgive others for their 'mistakes' or 'supposed wrongdoings' ...I have a difficult time forgiving myself for some of my 'stupid decisions'. Decisions that still have an impact to this day! Not the little stuff ....so my question is: How do you actually deal with these shadow energies? How do you release them? I cannot turn back the clock. You write:" Bringing consciousness to any energy diffuses it. Our shadow energies get stuck in patterns and habits. This doesn’t alter the general truth that if you bring light into the shadow, its distortions start to lessen and eventually are healed.
Bringing consciousness to any(shadow) energy =memory that causes shame or guilt diffuses it.....trust me I am conscious of my 'shadows' all the time that does not seem to diffuse them. I do notice that it keeps you 'stuck' and would love to find a way to get this 'unstuck'. Wisdom

Kerry S.

4:11PM PDT on Jul 6, 2011

nice article! thanks

Olga L.

5:43PM PDT on Jul 4, 2011

I agree that love and affection must be expressed all the ways.

Loretta K.

4:05PM PDT on Jul 4, 2011

Whatever happens, call it good and go on, at the least,you learned something from it.

Shelly P.

3:33PM PDT on Jul 4, 2011

Thankyou!