The Shadow side is a unique aspect of Force study. It puts no boundaries on the Force like the light and the darkside do. It is all encompassing in the respect that the shadows do not strive to become one with the "light" or "dark" side of the force while keeping the other aspect at bay. Rather, the shadow adept realizes that there are no sides and therefore, all one needs is to find a balance and a harmony with the Force.
Keeping this balance with the Force is not an easy task. One must first find a balance within themselves (inner balance) and also a balance with everything around them (outer balance) before they can fully connect themselves with the Force. This takes much introspection as well as re-evaluations of everything they have come to believe. Introspection's and re-evaluations are part of the process know as unlearning. Unlearning can be thought of as "taking everything that you know to be true and throwing it out the window". This is much harder then it sounds, and could possibly be the hardest step in becoming a Jedi. After the Shadow student lets go of all that was known they begin their journey of seeking knowledge about themselves and attaining inner and outer balance.
When looking within, the shadow student attempts to understand every facet of their emotions and personality. The student must look at who they are now and what roads have brought them to this place. They must also look at their emotions and how these emotions interact with the students everyday life. By this I mean, is the student controlled by their emotions, does the student disregard them, or does the student respect their emotions without letting the emotion determine the outcome of a situation? The third is the connection that we strive for with our emotions, we don't want to completely disregard are emotions because they hold value and help us evaluate a situation. However, we do not want to let our lives be run by these emotions either because letting our emotions lead us takes away our judgment, our objectiveness, and in the end our self confidence. What a Shadow strives for is the balance, as with all other aspects of the shadow path, between the two.
They other process that the student must work on, either after sorting out inner balance or more likely concurrently with inner balance, is how they interpret their environment and other people. In this process the student must learn to be open-minded and understand about different perspectives. The shadow must never jump to conclusions, but rather should let things happen and adapt to the events that occur. Probably the most important thing the student must learn is to avoid assumptions. By drawing assumptions the Shadow jedi looses perspective and may in turn make the wrong decision. The student must also learn that there are many different points of view and that more then one of them may be right for any given person and any given situation. Once the students can understand and evaluate themselves and their surroundings balance is attained. This is not the end however; the next step is keeping the balance, which requires the Shadow to constantly adapt to their changing emotions and surroundings. Adapting is the key aspect of the Shadow Jedi they must become accustom to evaluating and changing to whatever situation presents itself.
For Adapting to work the Shadow must be balanced and at peace with everything. This allows the Force to guide them and leaves them open to all possibilities that might arise. Here the Shadow Evaluates the situation taking into account their own emotions, the emotions and possible actions of others (remembering of course not to jump to conclusions) and their surroundings. In a sense the Shadow Jedi has reached a state of equilibrium in which their ability to adjust, learn, and stay in balance has all become a subconscious process. Their minds are free, as are they.
In the end A Shadow Jedi can be considered unbreakable. They are confident in their actions and their ability to adapt to any event, and they have the ability to do anything that interests them. They are not held back by anyone or anything, no matter what they decide to do with themselves it will be done. For they know themselves and they have complete confidence in there actions. A true Shadow adept finds Balance, Peace, and a "Happiness" or Contentment with life. At this point the Shadow Jedi can fully connect with the force and a new balance is attained. A connections… No, a oneness with the universe, as it were. In this state the Shadow can keep a balance within all things and know that no matter what happens in life good or bad it was meant to happen and the force will guide them through it all. Understanding this the Shadow adept is able to move on from the bad things that happen in their lives and fully enjoy the good things in their lives. A Shadow Adepts life is one of True freedom and Contentment.