An Amazing Shadow Workshop from SeattleIntegral

One of the many, many things I love about SeattleIntegral is that we get to do some really cool shit with some really cool people! This weekend's Shadow Play Workshop, facilitated by the incredibly warm and light-hearted Linda Nicholls, also featuring a 90-minute live teleconference call with Ken Wilber on the shadow, is a perfect example.

In this all-day workshop, Linda approached Shadow Work in a playful manner, turning what could be gruelling, painful work into a fun, light day with many aha! moments, brought to light by the excercises, role playing, and "games," making us aware of the paradoxes that shadow presents, and also aware that shadow isn't necessarily our "enemy," but possibly even a friend, and vital energy in need of transformation.

In one scenario, we were paired with another attendee, and had to create a "movie script" for each other, placing that person as a "hero," or "heroine," in the script we created for them. There were some incredibly funny scenarios created, and then the tables were turned on us when we were told that we then had to assume those roles ourselves....a great lesson in projection, and great fun.

No small part of the impact of the day was our live 90-minute call with Ken. Ken was as warm and personable as he is on Integral Naked, or in private conversation. You get a totally different picture of him in conversation than is possible in his books, as wonderful as they obviously are. His humor and compassion really shine. After a few warm up greetings, I asked Ken to tell us why shadow is the main impediment to our growth. Rather than tell you about it, I hope to have a recording of the call posted soon. What I will share with you is how much of an impact the portion on Group Shadow, a particularly nasty thing, had on me and how I will try approach group activities with an increased awareness of the possibility of my, and the group, shadow butting in and wreaking havoc.

The event was a great introduction to shadow work, and I'm guessing all of the attendees will be just a little less shy about taking the next step: some personal shadow work with a qualified integral therapist....I'm looking for names....all the good ones I know (like Venita) are my friends!