Consider the aspects of your consciousness, as if they are sitting together, at an outdoor cafe on the French Riviera. You sit in one chair. You as your ego, that which you think you are, your conditioned mind. Anything that you believe about yourself that is a fear, judgment, belief or limit. Across from you, sits your Shadow side. Your inner demon, that which you think you are not. It may look like simply a very deep shadow, or it may take the form of someone you judge and reject. The Shadow is a reflection of the ego, the bigger the ego, the larger shadow it casts. They both represent your separation from the Divine, except the Shadow is the Divine that has taken on the task of reflecting your fears back to you, so you can choose love instead. For everything you believe you are, there is a belief of what you are not. Ego polishes its buttons of pride and illusions of holier than thou, because all flaws and negative judgments are projected onto the Shadow. The Shadow plays the bad guy, by reflecting it all back at you so you can see what you fear, and have the free will option to choose love and unity. In most awakened people the shadow is integrated through the discipline of seeing yourself mirrored as what you judge. With some spiritual awakening, such as Shamanism, it is not unusual for the Shadow to take a form, to be an inner teacher. A harsh trainer, whose sharp tongue teaches humility. You have to learn to love and accept your own shadow unconditionally, to integrate it and become self realized. To one side of you sits your Divine Beloved, your own unconscious mind which has a mind of its own. It is usually the opposite gender of your body. It is your soul mate, lover and guide. On your other side sits an invisible presence, the Witness. The eyes of your Soul, the aspect of you that is outside of duality, emotionless unconditional love
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