Facing the Shadow: A Daylong Exploration of how we relate to Practice with the Shadow

photo: Temple of Wat Yai Chai Mongkol in Ayutthaya, Thailand - from enso-on @ flickr.

Check out the next Young Adult Dharma Council event ...

Facing the Shadow :A Daylong Exploration of How We Relate to Practice with the Shadow
with Kate Janke & Donald Rothberg

Saturday, December 5, 2009
9am - 4:30pm
@ the Insight Meditation Center, Redwood City, CA

For Young Adults, Ages 20-35

Come join us for a day of practice and experiential investigation into our shadows—dark and light, individual and collective—and how “shadow work” can be a major part of our spiritual practice! Carl Jung spoke of the shadow of the individual as “the ‘negative’ side of the personality, the sum of all those unpleasant qualities we like to hide.” Yet, he thought, the shadow also carries energies and insights necessary for wholeness. Through shadow work, we can reduce the shadow’s destructive potential by bringing darkness to the light, and light to the darkness. In a similar way, the Buddha would often invite Mara, a personification of greed, hatred, and delusion, in for tea, like an old friend.

We will also explore the collective or cultural shadow, which often drives groups and organizations (including religious and spiritual ones!), cultures, and societies. It manifests in a number of ways, for example, in the residues from not fully resolved or acknowledged past historical suffering (such as slavery) or in collective ways of forming “enemies” or targeting certain groups for negative treatment.

The day will include meditation, talks, conversation, and experiential exercises, all with an emphasis on supporting each other as a community as we deepen our practice and understanding.


The Young Adult Dharma Council (YADC) is a monthly gathering of young adults, who come from around the San Francisco Bay Area, from all different traditions. The purpose of these meetings is to empower young adults in their Buddhist practice by creating a community of peers, share in rich discussion about practice, and envision together how we can support each other in bring the Dharma into our lives and communities. For more information email Kate Janke.