Posted by Phil St. Romain on May 09, 19101 at 11:53:05:
In Reply to: The Shadow and Spiritual Development posted by Diana on April 09, 19101 at 03:48:55:
: What happens to the shadow aspect of a person as they develop spiritually? Wilber seems to indicate that we all develop at different rates and in different areas. So, does the overall shadow diminish? Or does the shadow in certain areas diminish? Or does the shadow stay alive and active in some areas but diminish in others?
: What about the guru/master/teacher who is spiritually evolved but socially undeveloped? Or the guru/master/teacher who is spiritually evolved but, yet, violates the trust of his/her devotees/students? Are they really spiritually evolved at all? What role does the shadow play in the lives of the "masters" after they make claims of spiritual evolvement? If we put this in a Christian context, did Jesus have a shadow?
You want ALL these questions answered?
Well, first, Jesus had a shadow to the extent that he was human as we are and had undeveloped aspects of the unconscious. A shadow is not necessarily a sinful thing, only undevelopment. So, Jesus must have had to learn to integrate his unconscious feminine side as all men do, and other archetyes as well. Only, to do so in a state of perfect union with God must have been a great advantage.
Now, RE: enlightenment and the shadow: of course the latter still exists! But the enlightened persons sees it more clearly and doesn't have identity collapse into it. It can still affect behavior, though, and so we shouldn't be surprised when we see enlightened people doing some pretty dumb things--esp. in the area of addictions.
Enlightenment does mean that skills are not needing to be developed, and this includes social skills. Poor social skills might sometimes be interpreted as ill-intent, and that would be a mistake.
The way I see it, there are three separate, but related journeys:
1. spiritual - to union with God
2. metaphysical - dev. of powers of chakras
3. psychological - individuation
Some people have gone further in one than the other. To have gone far in #1 and 2 doesn't mean one has resolved the shadow issues which are at the heart of project #3.