The Secret of the Shadow: The Power of Owning Your Whole Story - Hardcover

Ford, Debbie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062517821 ISBN 13: 9780062517821

Publisher: HarperOne, 2001

Synopsis

In The Secret of the Shadow bestselling author Debbie Ford shows us how to rediscover our true essence, which is hidden in the shadows of our own dramatic life stories. In her blockbuster The Dark Side of the Light Chasers Ford introduced us to our "shadow." Now she uncovers our "Story", the collection of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that prevent us from having all the love, happiness, and success we desire. She guides us to understand that bidden in the shadow of our stories is our magnificence, and our unique gift. The Secret of the Shadow shows that the stories we tell ourselves about our lives do not define who we truly are. In fact, they prevent us from grasping our purpose and potential. When we live in these stories we engage in noisy internal dialogues, self-defeating habits, and abusive behaviors. But once they are understood and processed, our traumas and failures, our pain and our discontent, will take us deep inside and return us to our Divine essence.

Our personal dramas contain important information and wisdom that can help us discover our essential selves and true purpose in life. The process of making peace with our stories requires us to identify, understand, accept, and embrace everything in our past that has caused us pain. In order for us to heal, we must stop chasing what Ford calls "the feel-good moments" and embark on the extraordinary journey of loving and embracing all that we are. The process outlined in this book offers us a way out of the never-ending cycle of pain and discontent. Whether we suffer from depression, ill health, a sense of unworthiness, arrogance, or low self-esteem, the road to heating is the same. This clear process (including action steps and contemplations in each chapter) will help you to discover your unique purpose and realize the fulfillment of your deepest desires.

As we make the inner journey of embracing our story and all its ingredients, we begin to see the life that lies ahead of us, a life that will give us the gift of our eternal selves.

About this title

About the Author

DEBBIE FORD (October 1, 1955 - February 17, 2013) is the national bestselling author of Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Secret of the Shadow, Spiritual Divorce, The Right Questions, The Best Year of Your Life, Why Good People Do Bad Things, and The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse.

From the Back Cover

In The Secret of the Shadow bestselling author Debbie Ford shows us how to rediscover our true essence, which is hidden in the shadows of our own dramatic life stories. In her blockbuster The Dark Side of the Light Chasers Ford introduced us to our "shadow." Now she uncovers our "Story", the collection of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that prevent us from having all the love, happiness, and success we desire. She guides us to understand that bidden in the shadow of our stories is our magnificence, and our unique gift. The Secret of the Shadow shows that the stories we tell ourselves about our lives do not define who we truly are. In fact, they prevent us from grasping our purpose and potential. When we live in these stories we engage in noisy internal dialogues, self-defeating habits, and abusive behaviors. But once they are understood and processed, our traumas and failures, our pain and our discontent, will take us deep inside and return us to our Divine essence.

Our personal dramas contain important information and wisdom that can help us discover our essential selves and true purpose in life. The process of making peace with our stories requires us to identify, understand, accept, and embrace everything in our past that has caused us pain. In order for us to heal, we must stop chasing what Ford calls "the feel-good moments" and embark on the extraordinary journey of loving and embracing all that we are. The process outlined in this book offers us a way out of the never-ending cycle of pain and discontent. Whether we suffer from depression, ill health, a sense of unworthiness, arrogance, or low self-esteem, the road to heating is the same. This clear process (including action steps and contemplations in each chapter) will help you to discover your unique purpose and realize the fulfillment of your deepest desires.

As we make the inner journey of embracing our story and all its ingredients, we begin to see the life that lies ahead of us, a life that will give us the gift of our eternal selves.

Reviews

In her latest book, the author of the bestselling The Dark Side of the Light Chasers decries that so many people have spent so much money in an attempt to gain deep inner peace to no avail. Presumably, Ford considers this treacly volume will be money well spent: employing stories both from her unhappy past and from the lives of people she counsels in her workshops at the Chopra Center for Well Being, she illustrates the steps she claims will lead a person to discover his or her "Divine truth." What initially sounds like the final answer in self-help books is in fact a sincere but cloying mix of Ford's spiritual views and suggested exercises that are all too familiar to dedicated soul-searchers. Incorporating perspectives from various religions, 12-step programs and pop psychology, Ford's advice urges readers to stop blaming other people for their own problems, take responsibility for their own actions and make amends to balance their "karmic scales." The final lesson here is that everything that happens is a blessing, no matter how painful or difficult it may be. Ford advises readers to "step outside" their stories the limited and limiting meanings they have given to events in their lives and to instead realize that they are "Divine" beings with a unique purpose in life and contribution to make. She makes it sound easy and therein lies the problem. (Jan.)Forecast: Ford's previous book, Spiritual Divorce, focused on applying her tenets in specific ways to a specific experience. While her relative fame will guarantee sales, this latest volume offers little more than the well-worn edict to find something good in all "bad" experiences.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

A divorced mother and recovered drug addict who currently teaches at the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, CA, Ford introduced her concept of the "shadow" (i.e., what's really going on in our lives) in her best-selling The Dark Side of the Light Chasers. Here, she builds on that concept, incorporating it into the idea of one's "story," or the set of negative attitudes and beliefs that prevent people from being happy. To free oneself from that baggage and discover the true self, Ford offers some sensible methods. Unfortunately, in doing so, she also annoyingly discounts other best-selling self-help titles and their key concepts, claiming that her competitors' ideas will only lead people to hide from the truth. Mystical and underlined with ying and yang ideas, her book is not groundbreaking, but it is written in an engagingly ethereal and poetic style. It has a place in public libraries, bookstores, and personal growth collections. Given the print and broadcast advertising campaign and Ford's connection with Deepak Chopra, there will be demand. Susan Burdick, Media, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062517821
• ISBN 13: 9780062517821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240