Examination of our shadow self is directly related to our beginning to take responsibility for our dissociation projections—in short, to our beginning to truly grow up.

Examination of our shadow self is directly related to our beginning to take responsibility for our dissociation projections—in short, to our beginning to truly grow up. We begin to move beyond our shadow selfs victim-consciousness, the tendency to blame the world for our struggles, and the tendency to see in others what we most dislike about ourselves.

This part of the ten stages is often characterised by experiencing the emotion of grief, and allowing ourselves to truly grieve painful incidents from our past that we may have long buried. Repressed or with-held pain keeps us dry and contracted. These dissociated knots of pain need to be dissolved via permitting ourselves to truly experience the pain with awareness, as opposed to avoiding it with endless distractions, narcotisations (mind-altering substances like drugs or alcohol, including excessive T.V. watching), or endless other forms of dissociations. In many cases the stage of dissolution is forced on a person by unexpected accidents or illnesses. If a right attitude is brought to bear on such apparent misfortunes, overall maturing and growth will inevitabaly result.

A key to the stage of Dissolution is the awakening of passion, and the harnessing of the energy of emotional pain toward an object of creativity. We do not just passively witness the reality of our inner pain; we redirect its energy, wedding it to our authentic personal desires and constructive aims. In so doing we are participating and aiding in the dissolving of our false shadow self. We are using the energy freed up by letting go of old, stale dissociated coping strategies, in the service of re-aligning our life in the direction of our child withins purpose.