Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path:

In every tradition, saints and poets speak of the soul’s search for the beloved, the seeker’s yearning for the divine, for the Self beyond ego. This holy longing is a secret feeling with many disguises, leading us to pursue a higher union in spiritual practice, religious discipleship, even romantic embrace. It guides us to timeless wisdom and transcendent experiences.

But it also can go awry when we project the divine onto a therapist, teacher, priest, guru, rabbi, or roshi who is all too human – who has unhealed wounds, undeveloped empathy, or authoritarian tendencies; in effect, a woman or man who has a shadow. If he or she abuses power-- sexual, financial, or emotional coercion -- we feel the shock of betrayal, our innocence lost, our faith destroyed.

Today, we have witnessed many contemporary teachers of Buddhist, Hindu Hasidic, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant groups act out their shadows in destructive ways, leaving their followers traumatized and lost. This can be viewed as a mythological moment of ordeal or dark night of the soul.

Suffering spiritual disillusionment, we can learn to apply the tools of depth psychology and spiritual shadow-work to help us recover and rekindle the flame of longing in our souls.

This presentation explores personal and archetypal projection, spiritual bypassing, as well as the evolution of consciousness, the nature of awakening, and the role of the Shadow.

Based on my book,
 Meeting the Shadow
on the Spiritual Path:
The Dance of Darkness and Light
in Our Search for Awakening

We will explore why we are drawn to charismatic leaders, what we unconsciously give away to them, and how to reclaim it for our own treasury.

•

“Most spiritual traditions have a dirty little secret: when you surrender to an authority, you will face the dark side of human nature. At last, this book explains why and how to recover.” ― Aaron Kipnis, Ph.D.

•

Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path:

A Depth Psychological Exploration of Spirituality

with Connie Zweig, Ph.D.

Thursday • May 2, 2024

4-6pm Pacific / 7-9pm Eastern
Session will be available via video recording

•

Connie Zweig, Ph.D.

Connie Zweig, Ph.D. is a retired Jungian therapist and coauthor of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow. Her award-winning book, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, extends her work on the Shadow into midlife and beyond and explores aging as a spiritual practice. It won the 2022 Gold COVR Award, the 2022 Gold Nautilus Award, the 2021 American Book Fest Award, and the 2021 Best Indie Book Award for best inspirational non-fiction. Her recent book, Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path is available now. Connie has been doing contemplative practices for more than 50 years. She is a wife, stepmother, and grandmother. Now, after all these roles, she’s practicing the shift from role to soul.