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Summary: Life Changing
Review: THe Dark Side of the Light Chasers not only explains the process of healing, but gives you the exercises to transform your life. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve the quality of thier life.
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Summary: Clears your mind to let you understand more about yourself.
Review: A wonderful, well composed, writing that integrates concepts of others, but applies them in a sensitive, caring way. This young author is full of feeling, emotions, affection & love and certainly has much to contribute to those whose lives she tounches either in person or through her book. The steps she outlines need to be followed in order to appreciate what she wants you to accomplish. By using examples from her own life and that of her immediate circle of friends, the reader can tell what a warm, understanding person she must be. There are a lot of feelings and wisdom that can be used to help many others who are open enough to try something new.
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Summary: this book has given hope and a real ization of who IAM
Review: In reading the dark side of the light chasers It's allowed me to see who I AM .AND IT'S ALSO GIVEN ME A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT I CAN BECOME AS LONG AS I EMBRACE AND LOVE ALL OF MYSELF . THIS BOOK HAS GIVEN ME THE GUIDENCE AND SUPPORT TO DO ALL OF THAT. I WANT TO THANK THE AUTHOR FOR SHARING HER WISDOM THIS BOOK HAS GIVEN ME LIFE!
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Summary: Being the way you are
Review: There is nothing wrong with you! This could sum up the message of this wonderful book."The reason for doing shadow work is to become whole. To end our suffering. To stop hiding ourselves from ourselves. Once we do this we can stop hiding from the rest of the world" Learning to accept ourselves and uncover the aspects of ourselves that we thought were not acceptable yields many gifts: the gift of self acceptance and self love, as well as recognizing and owning the power that the previously deemed "unacceptable" emotions (or caracter traits) carry. I also loved the way she tried to be every person she discovered having judgements about. "What I discovered, whe said, is my potential to act like the people I had been most harshly judging" - A fun exercise to entertain you on your way to work or in the mall! If we don't resist what we discover about ourselves, but just see it without applying judgement to it, with neutral awareness, it will dissolve, tells us another book: "WORKING ON YOURSELF DOESN'T WORK" by Ariel and Shya Kane, which I highly recommend as a very good complement to "THE DARK SIDE" Another recommendation: "THE FOUR AGREEMENTS" by Don Miguel Ruiz - as it relates to uncover our shadow, not listening to our mind, ... and is altogether a wonderful book!
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: There are so many New Age "Self-help" books on the shelves that you can literally get lost, and every book begins to sound the same. This is the first book I've read in a long time that actually helped me. Of course, I read most of it thinking, "Sure, it worked for the author--her picture on the cover already tells you that she's got everything going for her, but what about the rest of us?" I also thought her exercises were too simplistic and would not work. I decided to try the exercise on the bus--meeting your sub-personalities. I was absolutely not expecting to see any imagery in my mind, since visualizing is difficult for me. I was amazed when a very clear& vivid image of a small, plain, mousey-looking woman with glasses stood up immediately on my bus & said hello. I realized that this was the image I have spent my entire life working to avoid, and talking to her was very enlightening. This book has helped me a great deal in accepting & even embracing all of the aspects of myself that I have worked so hard to eliminate. I highly recommend it!
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Summary: Helped me see the best in myself
Review: The Dark Side of the Light Chasers helped me to see the parts of myself that I didn't want to own, and that has helped me a lot. I learned how to embrace myself, and not judge myself anymore. There are just a few books out there that have really helped me a lot, and this is one of them.
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Summary: What we don't see in ourselves, we blame on others
Review: Are you someone who strives for perfection? Do you have a tendency to judge yourself and others harshly whether in silence or publicly? Do you find displays of weakness, carelessness, tardiness, laziness, pettiness, vulgarity, stubbornness, or stinginess really get under your skin and drive you crazy? Watch out, says Debbie Ford, in her slender and powerful book. The qualities we find most difficult to accept in ourselves, are the ones we see and react to most strongly in others. The message is simple and compelling: The path to wholeness and well-being is not about getting rid of our "bad" habits and creating a false identity out of "good" qualities that are easy to embrace. It's about relaxing into our humanity by creating a friendly space for the oh-so-human traits and qualities we've learned to disown as unacceptable to others. What we don't own becomes a blind spot. And we can't manage what we can't see. The premise is that we are a hologram; the entire universe is contained inside of us. After all, how can we recognize qualities we don't posses? It's not a new concept. The Dark Side of the Light Chasers offers a fresh and direct approach to working with our shadow, provides examples that are easy to relate to, and proposes a handful of powerful and transformational exercises. You may literally feel your shoulders and your anxiety level drop after doing the suggested work. You might find yourself reacting less and responding more creatively to personal and professional challenges.
You must go into the dark in order to bring forth your light. When we suppress any feeling or impulse, we are also suppressing its polar opposite. If we deny our ugliness, we lessen our beauty. If we deny our fear, we minimize our courage. If we deny our greed, we also reduce our generosity. Our full magnitude is more than most of us can ever imagine. If you believe that we have the imprint of all humanity within us, as I do, then you must be capable of being the greatest person you ever admired, and at the same time capable of being the worst person you ever imagined. This book is about making peace with all these sometimes contradictory aspects of ourselves.
What do you see in other people that you object to most strongly? I'm talking about the feeling of blood pressure rising, the knot in the stomach, and a bad taste in the mouth. These reactions are not intellectual. They are very physical in nature. Jot down everything that annoys you in others for a week, Ford advises. Be as specific as possible. "People come into our lives to restore our wholeness." When we notice a strong emotional reaction to an individual or a situation, it's a clue that what's going on is all about us and not really about the other person. If someone "gives" us a headache, whose problem is that anyway? And who needs to take the aspirin? The greater the reaction, the more resistance is likely to come up to owning it in ourselves. At first, it may seem impossible to see this complaint residing at home in you. Keep playing with it. After you've been successful in finding examples of the objectionable trait showing up in your own behavior, shift your perspective by noting the gift it has given to you. Do you judge others for cowardly actions? When you were once laughed at as a "wimp" because you ran away from a confrontation, did you resolve to develop the courage to stand up to similar situations? Maybe refusing to put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation was actually the most responsible choice. Seen in that way, cowardice became the motivation to work at developing strength of character, wisdom, and courage. Seeing the value or the lesson learned allows what was rejected to be reintegrated into a larger whole.
Mild shock and dismay are the words I would use to describe my own discovery as I examined a situation in my own life. I found myself becoming increasingly impatient and judgmental with a family member for his bitterness. He just couldn't let go of the past. Bitterness was a quality I was pleased to note was completely absent in my DNA. I could readily let go of old hurts and disappointments. But, of course, I eventually had to admit that in taking this critical and blaming attitude to my relative, I was embodying the very qualities I was objecting to. I was like looking into a mirror and seeing my shadow side reflected back. It took a while to get there. I can now see that my bitterness and resentment were actually resulted from having given too much of myself in certain situations. I was reacting to the injustice of that. I had to take responsibility for setting limits that felt right to me. Having recognized that, I'm no longer "owned" by my reactions. I am better able summon a measured response. Ironically, I don't feel so bitter anymore.
But it's about more than just owning the negative. Strangely enough, the same formula also works in the reverse. Again, It's not just the undesirable qualities we reject. It's often the most positive qualities we most vehemently resist seeing at work in our lives, preferring instead to see them reflected in the heroes we admire -- be they relatives, sports figures, movie stars, or world leaders. How easy it is to see yourself as tender, nurturing, creative, artistic, wise, courageous, patient, compassionate, and attractive? If you were willing to recognize and honor these things in yourself, what would might be asked of you? Now that's a sobering notion!
Everyone benefits when we embrace the least and most desirable aspects of ourselves. When we give ourselves ourselves permission to be fully human, we can better appreciate the humanity of others. When we react less, we're able to see situations more clearly because there are fewer opinions and judgments standing in the way. That allows us to maintain the perspective that allows us to respond to them appropriately. We can also set an example of what it means to be fully human. As leaders, its our very humanity that can make our example most compelling and inspirational. How willing are you to explore and inspire others with your own vulnerability? To truly touch the core of our magnificence requires that we become acquainted with and befriend our darkness. We must own the complete spectrum of ourselves. If we don't, we'll continue to attract people and situations that mirror what we refuse to recognize as ourselves. Humility is the mark of the wise and compassionate leader. It's the openness and willingness to see the strengths and limitations that lie in each of us.
Enjoy!
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: Attention self help addicts! When you read this book by Debbie Ford you will come to a point where you will lay the book in your lap & say to yourself, "I think I'm finally getting it." I have read so many self help books that took me so far but lacked the substance that this book gives graciously. "The Dark Side of the Light Chasers" will give you insight on the whole(ness) picture of human nature/cause & effect in a clear and inspiring way. Want to get to know yourself & learn specifically what it is that you need? All you have to do is learn how to read yourself; the answers have been there all along. Before spending hundreds of dollars on therapy or counselling, open your heart & read this phenominal, life changing book.
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