Your Shadow

[MeditationMann]

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and I am still unable to completely figure it out, but what is our shadow from a spiritual standpoint?

To my understanding our shadow is representative of our fears, anxieties and all of the things that are holding us back. Therefore, we need to step into our shadow in order to become who we are supposed to be (based off the Jung's theory). Is this the same thing as our actual shadow (i.e. the reflection from our body in the light)?

Also, I have heard of shadow people that exist on another dimension different than ours and we can often see them when we experience sleep paralysis. Because in this state we are caught in between the shadow realm and our realm. I have been told that though these "people" that we are seeing do not exist in our realm they do in fact exist. But they will not harm us and are merely here to observe us and only sometimes influencing us if they need assistance.

Does anyone know of the connection between these two things and can you shed any light on what exactly they are from the spiritual realm and how they affect us on the physical realm?

[Bluefirephoenix]

What my teacher refers to as shadows are also called thoughtforms. It doesn't matter if it appears as an entity or just a cloud of emotion. These are things that we generate. They are a type of being as well as a sub being. They surround us. He describes it as a cloud that surrounds our spirits. The primary function of the shadows is to protect our beliefs. ( not what we want to believe)

Much of my spiritual training has been learning to discern the difference between shadow and " truth"  It turns out the only real truth is love and unity. It's difficult to grapple with. I tend to hear them more than see them.  Once you realize you are generating the form then they will dissipate.