“When we first come in contact with our dark side, our initial instinct is to turn away and our second is to bargain with it to leave us alone. Many of us have spent vast amounts of time and money in an effort to do just that. Ironically, it’s these hidden aspects and rejected feelings that need the most attention. When we locked away those parts of ourselves we didn’t like, we unknowingly sealed away our most valuable gifts. The reason for doing shadow work is to become whole, to end our suffering, to stop hiding from ourselves. Once we do this, we can stop hiding from the rest of the world.

We must embrace our shadow in order to know the freedom of living a transparent life, so that we feel free enough to invite others into “our life—to let others know the truth about our finances, our pastimes, and our relationships—without being gripped by the fear that our public persona will come unraveled, exposing the person we’ve been trying hard not to be. When our precious energy isn’t tied up in hiding from or overcompensating for our self-destructive impulses, we are gifted with the clarity and the motivation we need to build an unshakable foundation for an inspiring future.”

Excerpt From: Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson & Debbie Ford. “The Shadow Effect.”