I was primarily interested in this book because the author was a Jungian analyst, and recently I've become interested in Jung, the half mystique and half scientist. In the end the book delivers quite well.

This is a reference book for me! I will never stop reading it! This book has helped me form lasting components of my life philosophy.

I give this book three stars only because I found it at the most exquisitely resonant time, and Johnson's premise soothed my soul in the face of spiritual crisis. However, I found its style and structure frustrating to read -- it's a winding and repetitive monologue about the Jungian perspective on shadow, and it could have benefited from both an outline and a copy editor. I didn't leave with a lot of actionable tools to "own my shadow", but the ideas stay with me nonetheless. It's a short read, and worth it if it's calling to you.

p7
Some of the pure gold of our personality is relegated to the shadow because it can find no place in that great leveling process that is culture.

p 17
To make light is to make shadow; one cannot exist without the other.

p31
Unless we do conscious work on it, the shadow is almost always projected; that is, it is neatly laid on someone or something else so we do not have to take responsibility for it.

p36
Usually when you receive a shadow projection, your own shadow erupts and warfare is inevitable.

p48
It slowly dawns on us, if we are alert, that the middle ground is the best. To our surprise, the middle ground is not the grey compromise that we feared but the place of ecstasy and joy.

p81
...if you think there is a choice between any two alternatives you have not yet done your homework.

p114
To lose the power of confrontation is to lose one's chance at unity...

Amazing short book about the shadow and what part it plays in our psyche and spiritual emotional well being and behavior. He summarizes this very complex concept very concisely and accessibly. He goes on to address romantic love as the ultimate projection of our shadow and the most difficult learning ground of all. He also speaks to paradox as the beautiful intermingling of dualistic oppositional ideas (contradictions) and how embracing paradox is the ultimate goal and healer for our own internal wars as well as those in culture and religion. I was surprised and really appreciated how he ended the book by leaving the reader with this beautiful visual and tool called the mandorla. I recommend this short and very easy to read book if you are interested in shadow work and conscious living.

recommended for everyone

It was a good book for getting a Christian perspective on Yin v.s. Yang. The author seems to have made the assumption that the reader would be Christian and therefore is addressing the reader as such & assuming the reader has knowledge of ceremonial details pertaining to that faith (example: Catholic Mass). Other than that, it was okay...not my favorite.

I enjoyed this book, but sections 1 and 2 are far better than the third final section, Much of what was in the third section, felt like a stretch to me, as the writer brought into the discussion sacred geometry. I became lost upon the relationship between geometry, and the psyche. However, the first and second sections are excellent and well worth the time to read this very modest book.

This book is kind of uneven - there are bits that are potentially life changing in terms of changing one's perspective on being human, but some other stuff that's beyond woo-woo, especially toward the end. But the valuable parts are really great (to me). I wouldn't recommend it to many people I know though, because if you're inclined to write off anything that seems new-agey at all (as most people are) you wouldn't be very likely to reach/notice the good stuff I think. I did find myself craving more detailed info on the idea of the shadow. He does describe it, but in vague enough terms that I find it hard to figure out exactly what my own shadow would be. I guess that's what "inner work" is all about...

A very short book and disappointing. I'm interested in the idea of the Shadow but perhaps I should just be reading Jung.

This is a quick read and interesting look into the notion of understanding your 'shadow' and balancing it with your 'ego' - being ok with your 'dark side', understanding how you can project your shadow onto others, but the best is understanding that you have GOLD in the shadow too (it just sometimes takes others to show you that)!

I enjoyed this short read. It explores the importance of honoring the "shadow" within each of us and learning how to use it to balance us rather than shunning it, which throws us out of balance. It's based on Jungian theory and the use of metaphors is helpful in applying these theories to real-life.