Shadow Work: A Spiritual Path to Healing and Integration

Wadleigh (Forgiveness), director of the Planned Happiness Institute, provides a lucid guide to healing the “rejected parts of yourself.” According to the author, “traits, desires, and emotions that we may find uncomfortable or unacceptable” become “shadows” that live in the subconscious and can get redirected toward others in the form of judgment or anger. By healing these shadows, readers can make room to “receive the... blessings that the Universe is constantly trying to show you.” That process involves analyzing how shadows were created (often through formative traumas), using “affirmative prayers” to “shift our internal view of ourselves,” and establishing such healthy habits as meditation. In cogent prose, Wadleigh gently guides readers through her program while making clear that assuming personal agency is the first and most important step toward meaningful change (“All efforts to place responsibility outside ourselves by blaming another for our situation... weaken our resolve. When you take responsibility, you are in alignment with your personal power”). Seekers will be eager to embark on this spiritual yet practical path to greater self-acceptance. (Sept.)