Your Future - The Shadow Effect Week 6

The Shadow Effect Week 6: Your Future

Oprah.com | June 06, 2010

For the past five weeks, you've explored the mysterious aspects of your shadow and how it affects key areas of your life. Now, it's time to shine a spotlight on your light side and reveal what brings out the best in you. In the final week of The Shadow Effect breakthrough plan, Debbie Ford guides you to dig deep within yourself to find that the qualities you admire in others already exist in you.

As Marianne Williamson shares in her book A Return to Love and reminds us in The Shadow Effect movie: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. You were born to manifest the glory of God that is within you. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

This week in The Shadow Effect breakthrough plan, let your entire light shine, embrace in yourself in the magnificence you see in others, and bask in the new and inspiring future that is waiting for you.

Focus on Your Light and Your Vision of the Future

Are you ready to examine your life with the intention of identifying some of your shadow behaviors? If so, find a quiet place to listen to the podcast. Keep a pen and paper nearby to take notes for self-reflection and growth, using the worksheet provided. Remember as you begin to face the blocks that have been holding you back that it's important to be kind to yourself and drop any self-judgment. You are doing deep work that will reward you in ways you have only imagined.

There are many ways to go into your shadow: through your thoughts, beliefs, behaviors and actions. This week, focus on finding your light shadow, the part of you that is shimmering, powerful, lovable and strong. Exploring your light shadow will allow you to illuminate an inspiring future and an amazing vision for your life.

Bring into your awareness someone you admire, who makes you happy, makes you smile and inspires you. What is the quality that you see in this person that you most admire? Courage? Authenticity? Strong will? The key is to find the light that is being reflected back to you through the people you admire. Once you open up to your light, you open yourself up to a future beyond your wildest dreams.

Listen to the future podcast.

Download and print out the worksheet.

Use the time this week to listen to the visualization podcast, review the worksheet and share your comments on your progress with the Oprah.com community or with the Shadow Effect Facebook group Debbie Ford has created to support you throughout the plan.

Explore More on the Shadow:
What is the shadow?
Get The Shadow Effect breakthrough plan
Can you identify the shadow working in your life? Take the quiz!
Watch The Shadow Effect movie trailer

Discover how to live your divine plan—watch now!

Try the shadow trick exercise

Debbie Ford is the New York Times best-selling author of The Dark Side of the Light Chasers and The Secret of the Shadow. Her other national best-selling books include The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse, The Right Questions, Spiritual Divorce and The Best Year of Your Life. She collaborated with Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson for their book, The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self (HarperOne). She is the founder of the Ford Institute for Transformational Training. Visit her online at DebbieFord.com.

Printed from Oprah.com on Wednesday, June 19, 2013