Adam Kayce

Ever notice how certain times of the year have a certain “energy” to them? I’m not just talking about the obvious seasonal changes, either; my auspicious rhythms tend to revolve around birthdays (I just had one), school vacation times, tax season, and New Year’s. Maybe it’s just the whole “collective consciousness” thing, even though that can sound like it’s on the fringes between common sense and froo-froo philosophy. Wherever the meaning comes from, I sure notice the effects in my life, and I’m guessing a lot of you do, too.

As Autumn approaches, so do my urges to clean house

And as much as “cleaning” has been associated with the Spring, I tend to do a big cleanup and realignment of priorities in the Autumn. Maybe it’s the product of going to school every Fall from age 5 to 35 (K-college, then grad school and teaching seminars). Or maybe I’m getting ready for hibernation; who knows.

On my docket now are reviews of two products I’ve promised to do, but let slide in the face of busy-ness and upheaval. That’s not to diminish the value of the products, by any means; I thought they were great, each in their own way, and in their own intended use. (Okay, enough jabbering – on with the show!)

The Shadow Effect

Thanks to CK Reyes and Michelle Vandepas at Conscious Livelihood, I got a copy of Debbie Ford’s The Shadow Effect, which I was excited to see because even though I’d heard many good things about Debbie and her work over the years, I’ve never really had the chance to see her approach to healing up close. (For those of you who don’t know it, I was an energetic healer and intuitive for over ten years.)

The Shadow Effect is the video I wish I had when I was working as a healer. Debbie takes a very “normal people” approach when she explains how our inner voices and patterns, despite our best intentions, can slow us down and sabotage our progress in all sorts of ways. To be honest, I was afraid this would be an overly New-Agey production, but it was something I could show my parents, and they’d get it completely. And that’s the ultimate litmus test, isn’t it?

The amazing thing about the movie is not just the celebs that appear (from Deepak Chopra to Marianne Williamson), or the exceptional production quality, or the normal-ness of the language and processes used to get inside your own head and debug your life. What blew me away was that they have made a “Special Interactive Edition” of the movie that, much like The Secret, covers all the groundwork you need to understand what they’re saying… and a second version that’s filled with guided processes and exercises that take it from conceptual to experiential and practical. The second DVD is a full 40 minutes longer than the first, and walks you step-by-step through the same kinds of awareness-based healing techniques I learned when I went to my healing school.

I admit, I was pretty nervous when I heard the title, “The Shadow Effect”, because I thought it would be all about embracing the darkness within, and using its power to feel strong (yes, I’ve seen people out there doing that work, and way worse). Luckily, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, it gently shows how our “shadows”—the parts of us we’ve been told aren’t valuable, or wanted, and yet still exist within us—shouldn’t be feared or pushed away, because they hold the key to a much greater understanding and acceptance of who we are. And, as we are able to come to terms with the experiences we’ve had and how they’ve shaped us, a whole new world of possibility opens up.

In short, if you’re someone who is just getting started on your personal growth journey, or is interested in learning more about how to deal with your own issues that you know have been tripping you up in your life, then I recommend you check out The Shadow Effect, because it was made for you.

The Shadow Effect is available in DVD format, as well as a watch-it-online format, but I’d recommend getting the Special Interactive Edition, for all the reasons I mentioned above.

Or, You Can F#@% Therapy

On the other end of the spectrum is an e-book called F#@% Therapy, which is perfect for people who are either skeptical of all the self-appointed gurus they see on Twitter these days, or just want a no-nonsense approach to living a better life, without all the fluff.

Covering a whole slew of topics from clutter to procrastination to “keeping up with the Joneses”, as well as the programming we’ve had drummed into us since we were kids, F#@% Therapy is an approach that’s actually more soft and gentle than you’d think, given the title (once you’ve become desensitized to the F-bombs, that is).

Again, I was surprised by what I found inside, because based on the title, who knows what to expect? In the author’s own words,

F#@% Therapy isn’t for everyone–it’s for the people that’d never ever read a self help book.

At the same time, though, I wouldn’t discourage folks like me who’ve been around personal development for years, and are tired of the fru-fru, woo-woo bull**** that’s waaay too prevalent these days, from getting their hands on a copy and taking a look.

Because there’s a lot out there on the interwebs these days that requires you to adopt an entire philosophy in and of itself, or commit to a monster-sized program just to see results (much the way GTD can feel for newcomers to the productivity world). But it can get exhausting to continually adopt new entire paradigms just to get stuff done.

I see F#@% Therapy as a wake-up call to all the garbage, over-thought, for-the-sake-of-itself drivel in the self-help market these days. It’s a straightforward approach that doesn’t claim to be anything other than what it is, and in that way, it’s refreshing.

So, what kind of cleaning up do you have to do?

If you’ve been feeling a need for greater self-exploration, or doing some internal house-cleaning, then these just might be some possibilities you’d like to look more into.

Image by moogs.
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, not all of which are mine. Use ‘em, or not, I don’t mind either way. Be free!

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• Getting Help Where You Need It: Meditation
• Why It’s Always Time to Learn Something New
• How To Do Amazing Things
• Why It’s Not About The System You Use.