• Explains why an encounter with the shadow is a painful but inevitable stage in spiritual development

• Explores how to recover from spiritual abuse or betrayal by a teacher or group, including breaking free of denial, projection, and dependency using psychology and shadow-work

• Tells the stories of many contemporary clergy and spiritual leaders who acted out their shadows in destructive ways, leaving their followers traumatized and lost

Within each of us is a spiritual longing that prompts us to unite with something greater than ourselves, to awaken to our unity with all of life. Yet, no matter the spiritual path we choose, we inevitably encounter our own shadow, those unconscious aspects of ourselves that we suppress or deny, or the shadows of our teachers and their secret desires about money, sex, and power. Meeting the shadow can derail the journey but, according to Connie Zweig, Ph.D., we can recover from loss of faith and move from spiritual naiveté to spiritual maturity.

Zweig examines the yearning that sets us on the path, showing how it can lead to ecstatic, transcendent experiences or to terrible suffering by projecting it onto an authoritarian teacher, priest, or guru who abuses power. She tells the stories of renowned teachers--Sufi poet Rumi, Hindu master Ramakrishna, and Christian saint Catherine of Siena--whose lives unfolded as they followed their spiritual yearning. And she tells the cautionary tales of contemporary teachers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Catholicism, who acted out their shadows in devastating ways, leaving their followers traumatized and lost. She explains how meeting the shadow is a painful but inevitable stage on the path to a more mature spirituality. She describes how to use shadow-work to separate from abusive teachers, reclaim spiritual authority, and heal from betrayal.

With guidance for both inspired seekers and disillusioned seekers, the author explores how to navigate the narrow path through the darkness toward the light, rekindle the flame of longing, and once again engage spiritual practice.

Connie Zweig, Ph.D., a retired psychotherapist and former executive editor at Jeremy P. Tarcher Publishing, is co-author of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow and author of the bestseller The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul. She has been practicing and teaching meditation for more than 50 years. She lives in Marina Del Rey, California.

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION
A Call for Spiritual Awakening
A Call for Shadow Awareness

PROLOGUE
My Longing for the Light
A Meditation on Up

PART 1
Before the Fall
A Guide for Faithful Believers

ONE
The Holy Longing

Awakening to Holy Longing

God Longs for Us as We Long for God

The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Sufi Poet Rumi

TWO
Longing for God
The Hidden Object of Desire

The Changing God Image: Involution or Down

The Changing God Image: Evolution or Up

The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Hindu Master Ramakrishna

THREE
Longing for the Human Beloved
The Search for Romantic Union

Beloved as Parent: The Psychology of Love

Beloved as God: The Archetypes of Love

The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Sufi Lovers Majnun and Layla

FOUR
Longing for the Divine Human
The Search for Spiritual Communion

Priest or Teacher as Parent: The Psychology of Spirituality

Priest or Teacher as God: The Archetypes of Spirituality

Priest or Teacher as Divine Human: The Teacher/Student Relationship

The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Christian Saint Catherine of Siena

PART 2
After the Fall
A Guide for Disillusioned Believers

FIVE
Meeting Spiritual Shadow
Darkness on the Path

Encountering the Spiritual Other: The Breakdown of Communion

Tales of Religious and Spiritual Abuse

SIX
Understanding Spiritual Abuse
Detecting the Patterns across Denominations

The Consequences of Spiritual Abuse

Who Is Susceptible to Spiritual Abuse?

Meeting the Shadow of Addiction

Death and Transcendence

MIDLOGUE
My Longing for the Dark
A Meditation on Down

SEVEN
Rekindling the Flame
Shadow-Work for Spiritual Abuse and Disillusionment

Communal Shadow-Work

Individual Shadow-Work

EPILOGUE TO THE NEW EDITION
Through the Shadow to the Light

Acknowledgments

APPENDIX ONE
The Association for Spiritual Integrity (ASI) Code of Ethics and Good Practice

APPENDIX TWO
The Code of Ethics for Insight Meditation Society (IMS) Teachers

Bibliography

Index

About the Author