Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Shadow Effect - DVD Review


I saw that Debbie Ford, Deepak Chopra, and Marianne Williamson were featured in this informational movie. That peeked my interest. I respect all of those people and value their opinions, even if I don't always agree with them.

I watched the trailer on youtube. (click here)

Okay, now I knew I had to see this movie. I followed Debbie Ford on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/debbie_ford ) and watched to see what she was talking about. Debbie is full of joy -- and sometimes hot air. Her life is exactly how she has created it - and that works for me. I may not live as she does -- but I can take the lessons she teaches and apply them to my life. She tweeted:

It's the work of a spiritual warrior to tell yourself the truth and shine light on the darkness of your past. Where is your light shining?

What you can't be with, won't let you be...

If you're in worry,concern or hopelessness;the shadow of fear has taken over your consciousness.BUST yourself & choose the vibe of faith


Any good twitter'er will tell you to see who someone is following, then follow them. So I followed Deepak Chopra (www.twitter.com/Deepak_Chopra) Here's a few of his tweets:

The mystery of love defies logic."The heart has reasons that reason does not know".

On a tombstone: I was where you are. You will be where I am

It is I who am the light. I am the ALL. Split a piece of wood,and I am there. Part the stone, and you will find Me Gospel of Thomas

Still, I wasn't totally compelled to spend hard earned money (note that phrase for later*) on a DVD about my shadow.

Then -- I received an email requesting that I review the DVD - and write about it. I quickly filled in the form and waited. Three days. It was in my mailbox. No kidding, three days.

There were two dvd's in the case - I chose to watch the shorter movie first. Frankly, that was the smart move.

So what is the shadow effect? A simple definition would be: your dark side that is controlling how you think. Huh? Let me explain a little more. We all have secrets. Things we are not very proud of and keep in the dark. They could be actions we committed, thoughts we think, even bad behavior. The premise is these secrets drive us and pop up when we least want them to. That is the shadow effect.

What you resist, persists. If you try to ignore it, it will find it's way to the surface. Sooner or later, you'll get to deal with it. Sometimes and often - more than once!

I slept on what I saw - and then took a Sunday afternoon and watched the second DVD. This movie was broken into sections with workshops in between. I'm still working on what I learned about myself. I believe this just might be an ongoing process. It's not easy facing your demons and bringing them out into the light. It is, however, life changing.

The biggest lesson I learned? The lesson of projection. What you are thinking about someone else (he's stupid, she's a bitch, I hate her) - is often really just what you are thinking about yourself. And it's tied into your shadow - and you are probably hiding from yourself. Deep - I know.

You can order the movie here . Or buy the online version here.


Featuring as guests in The Shadow Effect
Deepak Chopra
Website: http://deepakchopra.com/

Marianne Williamson
Website: http://www.marianne.com/

James Van Praagh
Website: http://www.vanpraagh.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JamesVanPraagh

*hard earned money -- that was a shadow effect for me. I had the thought of making money always tied into working hard for it. Like I didn't deserve it unless I worked really hard for it. So I could never spend money because I worked too hard to 'fritter' it away. I thought that I could not always work hard - one day I'd be old and unable to work hard. Then where would my money come from? Can you see how this would create a crazy shadow over my thinking and how I spent money?

4 comments:

MichelleVan said...

Deb I first started looking at my shadow when Debbie Ford wrote her first book about 10 years ago - And guess what. I've still got them! I've got lots of shadows, I'm selfish, egotistical, opportunistic, they didn't go away... what has happened is I just shrug and notice how they also serve me when I accept that as part of who I am.

The other cool, (or not so cool) part is that I'm still learning about the Shadow, and myself, 10 years later.

Deb Brown said...

Michelle -
I hear 'ya! I've been on a personal development journey for 20 years. Here's a tip (for those of you just starting the trip): It never ends, so you might as well enjoy the ride. Just when you think you couldn't possibly learn any more, get any better - BAM - you get hit with more unbelievable information. So sit back and enjoy your journey!
Thanks Michelle for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

I wasted $23 (DVD, S+H) for a shallow infomercial with almost no information, this was just a commercial for Debbie Ford's classes. It is not exactly a revelation that we have a "dark side." Plenty of other new-agy cliches await on the DVD - like you project onto others what you don't like about yourself - WOW - never thought of that! ! And the production was so cheesy; stupid re-enactments and truly overbearing corny music blasting through the entire thing. The music is what made the whole DVD seem somewhat humorous, since every sad story was accompanied by truly corny music, every triumph accompanied be corny triumphant music. The filmmakers knew they had nothing and so they thought they would fool people into thinking they were actually seeing something by putting in really loud self important music. The music attempts to "project" what we are supposed to feel, talk about "projecting! There was nothing to this movie - what a waste, don't waste your money!

Deb Brown said...

Wow! such a strong position. I get it that you didn't like the music, thought the message was missing and you feel you wasted your money.

I think we are all in different places in our journey in life. The movie, mostly, worked for me. It apparently did not for you.

@debworks