Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path: The Dance of Darkness and Light In Our Search for Awakening.

Why are we drawn to charismatic religious and spiritual teachers? What do we unconsciously give away to them? How can we reclaim it for our own treasury?

In every tradition, saints and poets speak of the soul’s search for the beloved, the seeker’s yearning for the divine, for the Self beyond ego. This holy longing is a secret feeling with many disguises, leading us to pursue a higher union in spiritual practice, religious discipleship, even romantic embrace. It guides us to timeless wisdom and transcendent experiences. But it also can go awry when we project the divine onto a therapist, teacher, priest, guru, rabbi, or roshi who is all too human – who has unhealed wounds, undeveloped empathy, or authoritarian tendencies. In effect, a woman or man who has a shadow. If he or she abuses power-- sexual, financial, or emotional coercion -- we feel the shock of betrayal, our innocence lost, our faith destroyed.

Today we have witnessed many contemporary teachers of Buddhist, Hindu Hasidic, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant groups act out their shadows in destructive ways, leaving their followers traumatized and lost. But the tools of depth psychology and spiritual shadow-work can help us recover and rekindle the flame of longing in our souls. Based on her new book Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path, which extends #MeToo into the spiritual arena, Dr. Zweig will explore the mystery of archetypal projection and offer spiritual shadow-work for both inspired and discouraged spiritual seekers.