When I first heard the title Dark Side of the Light Chasers, I must admit I was skeptical. The title evoked images of people wishing to discredit lightworkers and bash the New Age movement in general. Fortunately I was wrong. Debbie Ford's book deals with the shadow in all of us: our tendency to project outward that which we deny within.

As lightworkers, many of us wonder why we can't maintain a consistent level of love, joy and compassion in our lives. We may go along for days, full of light and love, when suddenly, something or someone upsets us, and we feel the opposite. Ford explains that this is our shadow surfacing and gives a number of valuable exercises and techniques to assist us in integrating these "dark" aspects into ourselves.

Shadow work is not a new concept. A whole branch of psychology, based on the beliefs and theories of psychoanalyst Carl Jung, has focused on shadow work as a major tool for personality transformation. Ford's easy-to-follow book gives the reader an opportunity to understand how and why the shadow develops as well as the tools to integrate it without the help of a therapist. She shows us we can love those aspects of ourselves we have denied, judged and rejected by discovering how they have served us and how they may indeed be our strengths.

I remember reading the message of the entity P'taah (channeled through Jani King): "Embrace the feelings and align the judgments - that's how transmutation happens". It sounded simple and resonated with me as the true path to personal integration, but I had great difficulty in figuring out exactly how to go about doing so. How do we align our judgments? Ford's book presents us with concrete steps to help us embrace those aspects of ourselves that we judge in others. That is the key to alignment.

Ford takes the concept one step further in that she also gives techniques for embracing all that is good in ourselves. Too often we are taught to repress our light as well as our shadow sides. The author expresses this beautifully, in her own words:

"It's time to unleash your passion for yourself. And finding love for all of who you are is a complex task. It should be easy and natural, but for most of us it's the most difficult job we will ever encounter. If you've been working for a long time and haven't been able to fully love and embrace all of who you are, don't be discouraged. This is our biggest assignment. It is the assignment we were sent here to fulfill."

I personally gained insights into my responses to others from reading this book. One thing I realized was that my initial reaction to the title was simply a projection of my own fear that there are people out there who want to discredit lightworkers. Was I judging? Or was my reaction a discernment of the "reality" out there? Take a look at this book and decide for yourself!