Meeting the Shadow: Jung's Discovery of Gold in the Dark Side - Dr Connie Zweig, PhD

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Within us, the dim cavern of the unconscious holds our forbidden feelings, secret wishes, destructive impulses, and creative urges. Over time, these “dark” forces take on a life of their own, forming the Shadow. A recurring theme in literature and legend, the Shadow is like an invisible twin, a stranger that is us, yet not us. When it acts out, we hurt ourselves or others.
As we bring it into awareness with shadow-work, it loses its grip on us and we experience deeper self-knowledge, greater authenticity, and greater choice over our thoughts and behaviors. We also discover that the contents of the Shadow are not all bad; even our undeveloped gifts, talents, and dreams lie dormant there–the gold in the dark side.
This talk will explore the formation of shadow in childhood, the common ways we encounter the shadow in life, and how to “romance” it, or make a conscious relationship with it.
The Shadow is not a problem to be solved; it’s a mystery to be faced.

Reading Recommendations:

Becker, Ernest. Escape from Evil (1985), Free Press.
Bly, Robert. Little Book on the Human Shadow (1988), HarperCollins.
Hillman, James. “Cure of the Shadow.” Insearch: Psychology and Religion, (1967), by author.
Jung, C.G. “The Problem of Evil Today.” Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1961), Random House.
Zweig, Connie and Jeremiah Abrams. Meeting the Shadow, (1991), Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.
Zweig, Connie and Steve Wolf. Romancing the Shadow, (1997), Ballantine.
Zweig, Connie. M eeting the Shadow of Spirituality, (2017), iUniverse.
Zweig, Connie. The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, (2021), Inner Traditions.

About the Speaker:

Dr Connie Zweig – The Weekend University

Dr Connie Zweig, PhD

Dr. Connie Zweig, Ph.D., is a retired therapist, co-author of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow, author of Meeting the Shadow of Spirituality, and a novel entitled ‘A Moth to the Flame: The Life of Sufi Poet Rumi’. Her new book, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, extends shadow-work into late life and teaches aging as a spiritual practice.

Connie has been doing contemplative practices for 50 years. She is a wife and grandmother and was initiated as an Elder by Sage-ing International in 2017. After investing in all these roles, she is practicing the shift from role to soul.