Philosophy of the shadows, I see it as an exploration of the subconscious parts of oneself. As I understand it, the experiences of an individual's life - because they are never erased – often form a sub personality. The earlier the experience, the deeper in the shadow it's ingrained. Exploring the shadow is learning to understand these sub currents that feed into who you are during the present, and in turn, how they drive you to secure a specific future. However, this is just one part of the overall view; the internal.
The other facet, the external, revolves around perspective. Reality in and of itself is one piece of the puzzle, perspective forming our own individual worlds full of meaning. This section of training focuses on working with the two fundamentals that form reality as we see it; our own and other peoples. Potential students will break down these perceptions and learning how they interact with reality.
We work to understand this in order to flow with our environment and encourage adaption, which allows us function more easily in the moment, enhancing our lives. Our understanding of perspective is what allows the shadow to see a more defined and global picture of reality, whilst maintaining balance allows us to work within the concepts without dividing them.
When I first looked into the shadows my view was largely dominated by sith philosophy; not the philosophy currently seen on the boards, but along the lines of emotion and application of power as a means of position. That perspective largely blinded me to other parts of myself, in doing so, it prevented me from seeing past my own needs and views. It limited my perspective, and prevented me from seeing clearly in a variety of ways that shut me off to other views that would have lead to growth. So,I was initially drawn to the shadows in order to balance those uneven parts of myself, hoping that I could move past surviving and begin really experiencing life.
My current perspective came from exploring the shadows roots, which I found weren’t so much warrior traditions or based on understanding duality and wholeness, but psychology. Soon, I found that my perspective began to shift from one of equalizing parts of myself, to learning to adapt to change and flowing with it. In order to do that I had to gain understanding of myself and the psychological studies of the shadow gave me a means to do so.
Upon first starting this path I largely viewed the aspect, similarly to that of other outsiders. I believed that the shadow aspect walked a thin line between duality; it's a common misconception, though far from the truth.
The strength of the shadow lies in letting go of the concept of duality. Duality suggests a form of separation especially when applied to the individual. We are whole, reality is whole. Although it's in our natures to break reality down into classifications in order to understand how the pieces interlock, there's a large problem with that; a lot of the time we get trapped in this perspective. Breaking down these barriers is one of core concepts we strive to impart onto students along this path, through our shadow tenets and our actions. Don't forget, the whole lies in the sum of its parts. It's important not to fixate only on the parts, and miss the bigger picture.
A student starting this path should expect one of the largest challenges they can face; the challenge of honestly with oneself, in that you wont be allowed to hide. No aspect can hand you understanding, but we can point you in a direction to explore and prepare you with many skills you'll find useful on your journey. The path is yours alone to walk, which will allow you to find your truth based on direct experience.
Students should expect that as individuals, each shadow has specific focuses that draw them here. We aren’t all looking for the same thing each is radically different; freedom, adaptability and totality are defining concepts of this path. A large part of your training lies in understanding the variety of perspectives and how they build on themselves. First, you will learn to break down and understand these perspectives within and apart from yourself, then later you'll work to understand how they're woven together in order to build a global system of understanding and awareness.
