I Albion come into this vibration now and we wish to direct our thoughts (for a few lessons generally speaking) about the subject of the Human Shadow. There are times when one word like shadow will be used to mean the same as Phantom, or Astral Body or Etheric Body, so I Albion explain to yourselves carefully just exactly what we are speaking about when we refer to the Shadow. Of course the term itself is not original to ourselves at all. It suits the definition we understand, so appropriately we have adopted the use of that term.
There would be two levels (two perspectives if you will) that one can look at the Shadow in search for meaning. The first is a very simple thing. Every human being has a positive side and a negative side. The positives and negatives have been referred to as masculine and feminine, good and evil, if you will, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. So, there are many different ways, using Philosophy and Religion, that the two distinct parts of a Human Self are recognized and accepted as reality. But, one must truly go beyond such a cut and dry definition, so that more can be gleaned about the Shadow Nature.
The second point that we would add to that is that all Human Beings are multi faceted in their nature. (All of you are quite familiar with that statement.) We are certain that through your daily life experiences, you have experienced the complexity of your nature. So, rather than just stop and say “some of my nature is good and some is not,” let’s say that all aspects of a person have a role, serve a purpose, and have a power that is distinct and unique unto it. And it is only when that collective is viewed, that one can say that’s a Human Being in wholeness and entirety.
There would be two levels (two perspectives if you will) that one can look at the Shadow in search for meaning. The first is a very simple thing. Every human being has a positive side and a negative side. The positives and negatives have been referred to as masculine and feminine, good and evil, if you will, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. So, there are many different ways, using Philosophy and Religion, that the two distinct parts of a Human Self are recognized and accepted as reality. But, one must truly go beyond such a cut and dry definition, so that more can be gleaned about the Shadow Nature.
The second point that we would add to that is that all Human Beings are multi faceted in their nature. (All of you are quite familiar with that statement.) We are certain that through your daily life experiences, you have experienced the complexity of your nature. So, rather than just stop and say “some of my nature is good and some is not,” let’s say that all aspects of a person have a role, serve a purpose, and have a power that is distinct and unique unto it. And it is only when that collective is viewed, that one can say that’s a Human Being in wholeness and entirety.
It’s a very good idea (we think a useful one) to segment out various aspects of a Human Being. Seek to understand the Ego and of course the Soul and the Emotional Body and the various levels of the Mental Body and on and on. That’s a way of learning, but I Albion consider the best way to learn is two ways. One way is to experience it, feel it. Feeling equals experience, experience gives way to intellectual knowledge, intellectual knowledge (hopefully) will lead to intuitive wisdom, which is true understanding. The second way (and we think it is a very, very valuable way) is to be able to identify the shadow in a partnership. In a group like this there is a shadow that one can see in other people much more quickly and realistically than they can be about themselves.
I Albion have decided to take sort of a different approach to the subject of the Shadow. This approach we think will be most useful about what the World and Humanity are experiencing during these particular times on Earth. I Albion have said in the past that the teachings (sometimes they are Philosophical, sometimes Metaphysical, sometimes Religious) have a mind of their own. The teachings are a Collective Consciousness of facts. Facts brought about by true experience. Therefore (because of the times existing today that you all must experience) we have decided to offer some ideas, some thoughts to ponder, experiments for you to engage in , that will be of benefit to you if they are followed through with properly. There is no particular way that is the right way to learn something. There is no particular bit of knowledge that is the total truth of something. So keep complexity and multifaceted in mind as we speak. Very well.
The Shadow as considered clinically is the most ancient part of a human Being. If you will notice in the Biblical Scripture for example, (and this is true for more than just the Bible) the story of Adam and Eve is a very important story. It can be taken as a fabricated tale in order to explain reality and truth. It can be taken literally, because it does at the very least represent Human Experience. This is knowledge, truth based on Human Experience.
The part of the story we wish to bring to your attention is when Humanity (Adam and Eve) are being defined in the first book of the Bible, they are not so much defined and therefore not so much known for their virtues. In fact, can you think of a virtue --creative, artistic, virtuous, kind-hearted, compassionate -- any of those words that are used to describe Adam and Eve? They, as we have said, embody the earliest of men. Rather we see the negative of Eve giving into the temptation and eating of the tree of life and Adam following suite. And so it shows weakness in regard to the inability to resist temptation and (more likely true) the desire not to resist the temptation in order to gain the experience that is in and of itself tempting. It also shows that Adam and Eve are punished for their desires, punished for their misbehavior, if you will, and punished for disobeying what is presented as the will of God. Well you know the story and I Albion know the story. To see how you look at it, it might be a good idea to go back and re-read the story, so you are familiar with it before we put it in the perspective we are going to discuss.
Now, if there is lack of virtue, there is tension. There is this irresistible submissiveness to temptation. It is the Shadow of Eve, it is the Shadow of Adam (listen to our words very carefully) the Shadow of their relationship. A relationship obviously composed of two people. Yes a relationship is an entity unto itself. If you are in a relationship (we are not just talking about marriage or commitments, we are talking about friendships, relationships of any sort), don’t overlook the fact that if you have an enemy, you are in a relationship and often it is an extremely horrible relationship.
Now, think about it, when the Shadow is brought forward, it makes Humanity need a keeper, you see. They need to be watched because their weakness will lead them (and did lead them in the story) to give it to evil. And so, inability to resist is seen as an inherent human weakness. It shows that Humanity, although it is said to have free will, from the perspective of Adam and Eve story, that truth may not be so. For God gave free will, but when free will was utilized (in the case of the story, temptation was not resisted) God judged and punished and, in the worst case scenario, banished Adam and Eve from Paradise.
Paradise (the Garden of Eden) suggests to the reader a perfect place. It is a place where there is no sorrow, no death, so a virtual Paradise. When we think of Paradise we think of perfection. Yet at the very center of this story there is a serpent. The tempter, the serpent, is very charming, and he is able to entice Adam and Eve, through free will, to give in to temptation. How can a tempter exist in a place of perfection which suggests all good? That’s the teaching that all of yourselves have been brought up to believe. You were taught that Eden was Paradise and yet at the center of Paradise (you need to take it a step further) there is the great tempter. Paradise is not all good or all bad, so therefore if it is not all good or all bad, it has to be both. Because you know by common sense, by experience, by the very nature of your soul, that good and evil existed side by side in the Garden of Eden.
Just in passing, I would like to say that the tempter takes the form of a serpent and the serpent is part of the animal kingdom. In other parts of the Scriptures, there is a note that says something like “and man shall have dominion over the animals.” And so that has relegated animals to be lower than Human Beings and therefore their lives are less valuable. Just a thought that lets you see this still applies today in the mind of the masses.
Very well. We assume now that we have made ourselves clear enough to say that it is Adam and Eve’s Shadow Selves that are at the center, the very core of this scenario. That would say that the Shadow is the dark side of one’s nature. That it should be feared because it cannot be controlled and once it is let out of its cage, its inner sanctum, it causes one to say and do things that are inappropriate, harmful, and hurtful. Well if you look at it this way (and we accept that we are looking at the Shadow side of those people in the story). then look at your own self. Those in this Circle of Light look at yourself in the role of Adam for a moment and those who are feminine look at yourself in the role of Eve.
Based on the story, it would be saying to all you who are feminine that Eve has courage. The courage of non conformity. Not even God Himself can lay down a rule and is satisfied that the rule will be honored. It says that Eve is the cause of the problem, not the effect, but the cause of the problem. And so that says that female energy, womanhood, all those things are evil. They are wrong and harmful.
On the other hand there is Adam. The male in society, worldwide, down through history has been put into the role (and sometimes has fit into the role quite nicely) as decision maker, if you will, defender of family, home, and environment. But, Adam has a weakness in that masculinity. The weakness could be defined as simple curiosity. “I want to see and experience and know what Eve does. Or it could be a little more complex than that. It could be that Adam is seduced by the actions of Eve. So, he too lacks courage to step forward and stand by the rule that has been set up and he too disobeys.
So, the message is, if a man does what a woman seduces him to do (we assume that you know we are talking about something negative) then the man is not really to blame, but the man is not a man because of this weakness. And so the result of that through out human history is man should not cry. They should not express their emotions through tears. Men should not show their hurt, they should not display their weakness. On the contrary, men must go beyond normal strength, beyond normal stamina, if you will, and resist temptation, no matter how that temptation presents itself, period.
Society has evolved to the point where there is such confusion about the gender roles. You know exactly what we are talking about. Women are supposed to be one way and yet they are not these days and men another way and yet they are not. There is no need to elaborate on this point. You see it all around you and possibly in yourself every day.
Let’s look at this from the perspective of relationship. Adam, a weak man, and Eve, a weak woman with all the characteristics we have been talking about, it all boils down to not being able to resist temptation. Therefore if you take the energy of those two people and you put them together, what do you come up with? Very simply you come up with the fact that this relationship has no power to overcome adversity. Both are banished from the Garden. Both suffer the consequences. It does not matter who caused it. Both experience the shame of being banished, of not following the will of God, and on and on.
So therefore, what kind of a relationship can these two people experience? If you look at the details of the story, it was a weak relationship, a relationship that was doomed to fail. And so divorce in your culture is 50%, has been for years. Relationships that last for more than 5 or 10 years are considered extraordinary. Relationships where one is not supportive of the other are common. And there are many other examples we could give.
Now you will say, “but Albion, you are talking about the negatives,” this is terrible, I don’t want to focus on negativity like this.” Yet, that is what you are led to focus on in the story of Adam and Eve. We want you to understand men and women and the relationship they form is suffering from the weakness that the Shadow gave in, and disobeyed, and was banished, it caused all of that.
We would like all of yourselves to look at your friends or family members and see their Shadow Side operating in their lives. Maybe you see a person who is improperly motivated, a person who is fearful about standing up for who they are and therefore lacks courage, a person who is confused about their sense of purpose and direction in life, or a person who feels unloved and therefore feels unworthy and unloved and unacceptable in society. It is so easy to see the Shadow in that person and that the Shadow is running their lives.
And then look at one’s self in the same way. That is where there is difficulty and that is what we are going to elaborate on in the next week’s lesson. In today’s society, we don’t care about the ancient past, or the future which has not even occurred, but about right now. And in today’s society that difficulty is manifested (in the Seekers of Truth, New Age Community, or whatever you wish to call it) as the unwillingness in some cases, inability in most, to be nourished by the Spiritual Path and to be made a better person. The reason is very simple. It is because so many of the New Age Teachings (which are nothing more than modern versions of ancient teachings) say “I don’t want to deal with my shadow side, my lack of courage, me fear or me doubts. I don’t want to have to spend years of apprenticeship to some Guru. I want to learn and know now. I want to buy my Spirituality so to speak,” (although no one would say it in just that way).
And so, there are all of these paths that have become available in the last 100 years which make it seem as if one can by-pass dealing with one’s Shadow. You see when one truly gets on a Spiritual Path (we didn’t say Religious Path), one’s Karma, one’s Shadow, one’s fears and doubts that have long been suppressed (sometimes even from another life time ), come to the surface. That is fearful, that is painful and very difficult. To deal with the Shadow in another person when the issues are easy to see and one has clear ideas about what should be done is easy, but it is not the same for us you see as individuals.
When we come together again we want to address this issue of what Scott once called “to add water and stir Spirituality.” Ha, Ha, Ha. So, we will do that and you will see that even if you don’t identify yourself as one looking for a shortcut to illumination, you have done precisely that on many occasions and in many ways in the past. Only through what is known by what has already occurred, can the future be predicted. Because nature is cyclic, and Humans are a part of nature, it will occur again. An opportunity to break the cycle is a tremendous opportunity to step forward in self awareness.
Yes? Very well, God Bless yourselves.
First published March 12, 2007
(c) Copyright Page Bryant, 2007 & 2011. All Rights Reserved. Image courtesy of iStockphoto.com.
I Albion have decided to take sort of a different approach to the subject of the Shadow. This approach we think will be most useful about what the World and Humanity are experiencing during these particular times on Earth. I Albion have said in the past that the teachings (sometimes they are Philosophical, sometimes Metaphysical, sometimes Religious) have a mind of their own. The teachings are a Collective Consciousness of facts. Facts brought about by true experience. Therefore (because of the times existing today that you all must experience) we have decided to offer some ideas, some thoughts to ponder, experiments for you to engage in , that will be of benefit to you if they are followed through with properly. There is no particular way that is the right way to learn something. There is no particular bit of knowledge that is the total truth of something. So keep complexity and multifaceted in mind as we speak. Very well.
The Shadow as considered clinically is the most ancient part of a human Being. If you will notice in the Biblical Scripture for example, (and this is true for more than just the Bible) the story of Adam and Eve is a very important story. It can be taken as a fabricated tale in order to explain reality and truth. It can be taken literally, because it does at the very least represent Human Experience. This is knowledge, truth based on Human Experience.
The part of the story we wish to bring to your attention is when Humanity (Adam and Eve) are being defined in the first book of the Bible, they are not so much defined and therefore not so much known for their virtues. In fact, can you think of a virtue --creative, artistic, virtuous, kind-hearted, compassionate -- any of those words that are used to describe Adam and Eve? They, as we have said, embody the earliest of men. Rather we see the negative of Eve giving into the temptation and eating of the tree of life and Adam following suite. And so it shows weakness in regard to the inability to resist temptation and (more likely true) the desire not to resist the temptation in order to gain the experience that is in and of itself tempting. It also shows that Adam and Eve are punished for their desires, punished for their misbehavior, if you will, and punished for disobeying what is presented as the will of God. Well you know the story and I Albion know the story. To see how you look at it, it might be a good idea to go back and re-read the story, so you are familiar with it before we put it in the perspective we are going to discuss.
Now, if there is lack of virtue, there is tension. There is this irresistible submissiveness to temptation. It is the Shadow of Eve, it is the Shadow of Adam (listen to our words very carefully) the Shadow of their relationship. A relationship obviously composed of two people. Yes a relationship is an entity unto itself. If you are in a relationship (we are not just talking about marriage or commitments, we are talking about friendships, relationships of any sort), don’t overlook the fact that if you have an enemy, you are in a relationship and often it is an extremely horrible relationship.
Now, think about it, when the Shadow is brought forward, it makes Humanity need a keeper, you see. They need to be watched because their weakness will lead them (and did lead them in the story) to give it to evil. And so, inability to resist is seen as an inherent human weakness. It shows that Humanity, although it is said to have free will, from the perspective of Adam and Eve story, that truth may not be so. For God gave free will, but when free will was utilized (in the case of the story, temptation was not resisted) God judged and punished and, in the worst case scenario, banished Adam and Eve from Paradise.
Paradise (the Garden of Eden) suggests to the reader a perfect place. It is a place where there is no sorrow, no death, so a virtual Paradise. When we think of Paradise we think of perfection. Yet at the very center of this story there is a serpent. The tempter, the serpent, is very charming, and he is able to entice Adam and Eve, through free will, to give in to temptation. How can a tempter exist in a place of perfection which suggests all good? That’s the teaching that all of yourselves have been brought up to believe. You were taught that Eden was Paradise and yet at the center of Paradise (you need to take it a step further) there is the great tempter. Paradise is not all good or all bad, so therefore if it is not all good or all bad, it has to be both. Because you know by common sense, by experience, by the very nature of your soul, that good and evil existed side by side in the Garden of Eden.
Just in passing, I would like to say that the tempter takes the form of a serpent and the serpent is part of the animal kingdom. In other parts of the Scriptures, there is a note that says something like “and man shall have dominion over the animals.” And so that has relegated animals to be lower than Human Beings and therefore their lives are less valuable. Just a thought that lets you see this still applies today in the mind of the masses.
Very well. We assume now that we have made ourselves clear enough to say that it is Adam and Eve’s Shadow Selves that are at the center, the very core of this scenario. That would say that the Shadow is the dark side of one’s nature. That it should be feared because it cannot be controlled and once it is let out of its cage, its inner sanctum, it causes one to say and do things that are inappropriate, harmful, and hurtful. Well if you look at it this way (and we accept that we are looking at the Shadow side of those people in the story). then look at your own self. Those in this Circle of Light look at yourself in the role of Adam for a moment and those who are feminine look at yourself in the role of Eve.
Based on the story, it would be saying to all you who are feminine that Eve has courage. The courage of non conformity. Not even God Himself can lay down a rule and is satisfied that the rule will be honored. It says that Eve is the cause of the problem, not the effect, but the cause of the problem. And so that says that female energy, womanhood, all those things are evil. They are wrong and harmful.
On the other hand there is Adam. The male in society, worldwide, down through history has been put into the role (and sometimes has fit into the role quite nicely) as decision maker, if you will, defender of family, home, and environment. But, Adam has a weakness in that masculinity. The weakness could be defined as simple curiosity. “I want to see and experience and know what Eve does. Or it could be a little more complex than that. It could be that Adam is seduced by the actions of Eve. So, he too lacks courage to step forward and stand by the rule that has been set up and he too disobeys.
So, the message is, if a man does what a woman seduces him to do (we assume that you know we are talking about something negative) then the man is not really to blame, but the man is not a man because of this weakness. And so the result of that through out human history is man should not cry. They should not express their emotions through tears. Men should not show their hurt, they should not display their weakness. On the contrary, men must go beyond normal strength, beyond normal stamina, if you will, and resist temptation, no matter how that temptation presents itself, period.
Society has evolved to the point where there is such confusion about the gender roles. You know exactly what we are talking about. Women are supposed to be one way and yet they are not these days and men another way and yet they are not. There is no need to elaborate on this point. You see it all around you and possibly in yourself every day.
Let’s look at this from the perspective of relationship. Adam, a weak man, and Eve, a weak woman with all the characteristics we have been talking about, it all boils down to not being able to resist temptation. Therefore if you take the energy of those two people and you put them together, what do you come up with? Very simply you come up with the fact that this relationship has no power to overcome adversity. Both are banished from the Garden. Both suffer the consequences. It does not matter who caused it. Both experience the shame of being banished, of not following the will of God, and on and on.
So therefore, what kind of a relationship can these two people experience? If you look at the details of the story, it was a weak relationship, a relationship that was doomed to fail. And so divorce in your culture is 50%, has been for years. Relationships that last for more than 5 or 10 years are considered extraordinary. Relationships where one is not supportive of the other are common. And there are many other examples we could give.
Now you will say, “but Albion, you are talking about the negatives,” this is terrible, I don’t want to focus on negativity like this.” Yet, that is what you are led to focus on in the story of Adam and Eve. We want you to understand men and women and the relationship they form is suffering from the weakness that the Shadow gave in, and disobeyed, and was banished, it caused all of that.
We would like all of yourselves to look at your friends or family members and see their Shadow Side operating in their lives. Maybe you see a person who is improperly motivated, a person who is fearful about standing up for who they are and therefore lacks courage, a person who is confused about their sense of purpose and direction in life, or a person who feels unloved and therefore feels unworthy and unloved and unacceptable in society. It is so easy to see the Shadow in that person and that the Shadow is running their lives.
And then look at one’s self in the same way. That is where there is difficulty and that is what we are going to elaborate on in the next week’s lesson. In today’s society, we don’t care about the ancient past, or the future which has not even occurred, but about right now. And in today’s society that difficulty is manifested (in the Seekers of Truth, New Age Community, or whatever you wish to call it) as the unwillingness in some cases, inability in most, to be nourished by the Spiritual Path and to be made a better person. The reason is very simple. It is because so many of the New Age Teachings (which are nothing more than modern versions of ancient teachings) say “I don’t want to deal with my shadow side, my lack of courage, me fear or me doubts. I don’t want to have to spend years of apprenticeship to some Guru. I want to learn and know now. I want to buy my Spirituality so to speak,” (although no one would say it in just that way).
And so, there are all of these paths that have become available in the last 100 years which make it seem as if one can by-pass dealing with one’s Shadow. You see when one truly gets on a Spiritual Path (we didn’t say Religious Path), one’s Karma, one’s Shadow, one’s fears and doubts that have long been suppressed (sometimes even from another life time ), come to the surface. That is fearful, that is painful and very difficult. To deal with the Shadow in another person when the issues are easy to see and one has clear ideas about what should be done is easy, but it is not the same for us you see as individuals.
When we come together again we want to address this issue of what Scott once called “to add water and stir Spirituality.” Ha, Ha, Ha. So, we will do that and you will see that even if you don’t identify yourself as one looking for a shortcut to illumination, you have done precisely that on many occasions and in many ways in the past. Only through what is known by what has already occurred, can the future be predicted. Because nature is cyclic, and Humans are a part of nature, it will occur again. An opportunity to break the cycle is a tremendous opportunity to step forward in self awareness.
Yes? Very well, God Bless yourselves.
First published March 12, 2007
(c) Copyright Page Bryant, 2007 & 2011. All Rights Reserved. Image courtesy of iStockphoto.com.