“UNCOVERING OUR SHADOW

When we find ourselves obsessed with aspects of other people’s shadows, it is only because they have touched one of our own. We are used to thinking that we cannot see ourselves unless we are looking in a mirror—but this is true only on one level. The fact is we can see ourselves in living color by taking note of what we observe in other people. We are designed to project onto others the qualities we can’t see in ourselves. It’s not a bad thing. We all do it all the time. Projection is an involuntary defense mechanism of the ego; instead of acknowledging the qualities in us that we dislike, we project them onto someone else. We project them onto our mothers, our kids, our friends, or, even better, some famous public figure we have never even met. Whatever we judge or condemn in another is ultimately a disowned or rejected part of ourselves.”

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