Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche

A must read for anyone interested in Shadow Work Healing, understanding the Human Pysche, or follow an interpretation of Dr Carl Jung's work. Although the book is written two decades ago, it is still very relevant and reltabale.

This book is very easy to understand and is deals with a lot of philosophical aspects as well. It's a good read

I am in the midst of doing a lot of inner work and my therapist recommended me this book. I have been clinically depressed 3 times and always had this hidden intuition that something wihin me is gnawing and sucking my energies. I have got some answers to what it might be - my shadow. (Although, I would pay heed to one beautiful quote from the book - "Reality is not found in any single view of life, no matter how attractive that may be, but in the wholeness of our experience.") What's great: Johnson explains what the shadow means and how ignoring it is detrimental to our well-being. He presents loads of examples and insights on why that is the case and puts forth a convincing explaination of duality. The last chapter on Mandorla is particularly insightful. The book is concise and presents the ideas very eloquently. What it lacks: It lacks actionable strategies on shadow work. If that is your purpose of buying this book, don't. Overall: Loved the book. I think I will review lot of the insights presentd in the book frequently and definitely reread it.

The content points the very important reality of existence. It gives multiple examples to prove the point and to tell why knowing this is extremely important. The two main concepts that come are, The shadow I.e other side of us which is a lot of times unknown and disowned by us. The Conflicting nature of world. Where opposites exist for a free a reason. It's the God or nature whatever one calls, who creates it and no matter how much we deny but darkness exists along with light. And no one cam do anything about it. The correct approach is to lok at Conflicting areas through the lenses of paradox. And embrace it. The bok could have used simpler language in my opinion proving it more valuable, as it would connect with readers easily. Also there is nothing spoken about how to own the shadow and how to live with paradox. Mental models, thught frameworks, wht to do next etc. It speaks at length about shadow and paradox but, nothing about hoe can readers deal with it. Reading about swaming isn't enough. Tell me where do I start?

Love every bit of it.. very profound and deep. Though examples are there from across the globe, a more bent towards the Christianity. Having said so, the core or essence of the book keeps your glued and makes you think on the various aspects of life.

Amazing perspective on religion and culture and how equally important are both for a balanced life. The metaphor of light and shadow is well used to present this

This is a Recommended tool for those who are interested in understanding their psyche.

The author seems to be renowned in Jungian circles and this book on Shadow is widely recommended. This book is far from all those claims, if you already have some understanding about Shadow or Shadow Work you will be able to get through this book but it is definitely not for a complete beginner without any understanding of Shadow. The topics on Paradox in the second chapter 'Romantic Love as Shadow' went over my head, the author desperately tried to sound very spiritual or enlightened master but failed miserably. It is pretty common for certain section of people to adopt very snobbish ways when it comes to depth psychology especially Jung's work and I can only say all those who talk greatly about this book clearly understood nothing. Very disappointed and it is so damn expensive for such a booklet kind of book. If you want to understand about Shadow there are better books and even reading simple articles on internet is way better than this expensive useless manual.

This is an uncomfortable read for anyone who thinks at all about they own behaviour. Everyone has a shadow - that is qualities in their personality which they are not aware of and which they often project on to other people. Anyone we meet and take an instinct dislike to could be the recipient of a shadow projection from us. As human beings we tend to be very good at recognising other people's bad qualities while being totally blind to those same qualities in ourselves. The author makes clear that it is not just the unacceptable aspects of our own personalities which we project and we may be projecting qualities which could be of immense value in our own lives if we could only recognise and reclaim them. We need to accept all of our own personalities and characters or we will constantly find them coming back to bite us in unexpected ways. This is a lifetime job and most of it will never completely acknowledge all of our own qualities but we need to make the attempt. A thought provoking read.

A teoria apresentada segue a linha junguiana, do inconsciente, e mostra desequilíbrios psíquicos, tal como depressão, como uma oportunidade para se reavaliar escolhas e atitudes de modo a nos tornar mais completos como seres humanos e satisfeitos com a vida. A leitura reflexiva é um excelente exercício de autoconhecimento.

Clear concise information. Easy read and reread. Alot of complex information captured in a manner to make it accessible to all. I have this is the version via Kindle App highly recommend Van easily take notes highlight and save these for quick acess anytime to read/ re-read.

I just wrapped up this book. It's a pretty short read at approximately 120 pages, and you can easily finish it in one day. I read the reviews before purchasing, but I decided to buy it anyway I had just Robert Johnson's other book on active imagination and dream work, which is phenomenal. It completely changed my life, and I highly recommend it. When I saw comments complaining that this book focuses on Christianity or that Robert Johnson is trying to push his Christianity on you, I thought, "Okay, that seems strange, but let's read it anyway." I'm super happy I did. I'm not a religious person, but I know there's a lot of symbolism in Christianity and the Bible. Even Carl Jung references God often in his works. Robert Johnson makes these references not to push religion on you, but to help you understand the shadow through a different lens. He uses symbolism in the Bible to explain and emphasize the concepts. If you're really turned off by the Bible and religion, I highly recommend Jordan Peterson's YouTube series on the Bible. It serves as a perfect primer to this book, with approximately 17 hours of lectures explaining the psychological significance of the Bible and its stories. Overall, this book is another amazing work by Robert Johnson, and I highly recommend it. It feels like a gem that many haven't discovered yet, and quite frankly, I'm surprised there are negative reviews for this book at all.

Me interesan muchísimo las explicaciones del autor sobre el pensamiento de Carl Gustav Jung.