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Shadow on the Path : Clearing the Psychological Blocks to Spiritual Development

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The Shadow lurks, unpopular as ever. In the spiritual scene, great emphasis is placed upon spiritual experiences and rhetoric abounds, however, how many are actually willing to engage the problematic shadow as it obstructs our true progress? People who have been involved with a teacher or group can go for years without looking at their chief weakness, or shadow, and when it rears it's ugly gargoyle face they may end up leaving the Work, or projecting much of their own negativities onto the path, or their Teacher.
This is an excelleant book!
It looks closely at the Shadow and it's various ways of manifesting along different stages of the way. The author builds a solid foundation for his exposition by starting with an examination of psychoanalytic notions of the ego, in the works of Freud, Jung, Reich and Miller, and progresses to notions of ego in different spiritual traditions. It is a useful fusing of psychology and spirituality that illuminates and reminds us as to what the nature of the spiritual path is about. Where Ken Wilber proposes "orienting generalizations" in his developmental scheme from birth to transpersonal existance, Fedorshak gets into the more specific gritty details of the contours of the gradations of the path and the pitfalls of shadow encounters in individuals, as well it's manifestations in groups, spiritual communities and spiritual teachers. This is a much neglected area of crucial concern to all of us seriously concerned with soul making and desiring spiritual help from others, as well as the issus arising when considering spiritual communities and teachers. A book to be studied seriously.

I just really wanted to thank V.J. Fedorschak for writing this book. I came across it at the perfect time and recognized myself throughout the book. It is so nice to know that what I am going through is not actually unique but well-documented. Very informative and compassionate. Thank you for your service!!