You're as Sick as Your Secrets: A Review of "The Shadow Effect" Movie

"Life is making peace with our divinity and humanity," states Debbie Ford, the producer and facilitator of the movie, The Shadow Effect: A Journey from Your Deepest Thought to Your Greatest Dream." According to the documentary, whether we're aware of it or not, we have secrets hidden in "shadows"-attitudes, behaviors, memories, and beliefs -aspects of our being we often deny and need to integrate into our wholeness as human creatures. The documentary film offers a pathway to awareness about how to heal our lives using our shadow as an ally.

The movie illuminates the purpose and affects shadows have on individuals, communities, and societies based upon the opinions and experiences of Debbie Ford, who created and conducts Shadow seminars and workshops worldwide; a number of VIP professionals in the self-help, motivational, inspirational, mental and spiritual wellness arena (Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Dr. David Simon, Mark Victor Hansen, ), and "ordinary" people who have heart-warming success stories to share about their experiences with shadows.

The cast gives the film a balanced perspective so the viewer doesn't get an overwhelming feeling of experts marketing the workshop. Indeed, the most compelling contributions are shared by people giving personal testimonials about shadows that kept them in fear, guilt, shame, anger, or inspired them. They explain how their secrets became keys to freedom from past circumstances with too much power in their present day lives. A particularly poignant moment is when a survivor of one of Hitler's concentration camps and a woman whose family was one of the oppressors come face-to-face, and we witness a tearful, healing embrace. If there was any acting going on in that moment, it's invisible.

The movie is a logical step in the progression of Ms. Ford's own personal evolution in shadow work rooted in her history as a client in treatment for abusing drugs. Rehab is where she began to surrender to her own secrets, and became inspired to help herself and others struggling to understand how the dark side impacts our lives in both unhealthy and loving capacities. In fact, shadow work will be easily recognized by people who are in 12-Step Recovery programs.

"You're as sick as your secrets" is one of the most revered slogans in anonymous recovery programs (alcoholics-, narcotics-, overeaters, co-dependence-, sex-anonymous and others). Secrets are exposed through working the 4^th and 5^th steps with a sponsor. The 4^th step is: "We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." The 5^th step is: We admitted to God, ourselves, and another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs." A sponsor is someone who has already worked the 12-Steps of Recovery to help themselves and others change unhealthy attitudes and behaviors, and who is trustworthy enough not to pass judgment on what is revealed to them by others. The Shadow Effect uses the core values of this "secret" that has worked wonders in the lives of millions of people in recovery for years in new ways.

Some viewers may be uncomfortable with statements in the movie having anything to do with morality that feels judgmental. This is always a delicate line to walk since some people view morality in black and white while others see a spectrum. It's a "take-what-you-can-and-leave-the-rest" situation concerning the entire body of the film versus the parts that are questionable.

Although the film is valuable to anyone in bondage to some force that appears to be outside their control, logical groups who will easily relate to it are people who have accomplished step work in recovery programs and wish to add another resource to their tool kit; people who continuously relapse and can't seem to reap the benefits received by others in traditional recovery setting; and people who have moved beyond traditional 12-Step programs and are continuing to pursue healing and their dreams in alternate capacities.

Two DVDs are included in the package: a documentary only version and an interactive one that includes workshop components to complete privately or with trustworthy individuals. Shadow Effect sessions and workshops with trained facilitators are available for people who wish to go beyond the DVD experience for support.

The Shadow Effect documentary film offers the masses two of most important, transformation components of the 12-Step world-the benefits of the 4^th and 5^th steps- through a re-imagined, robust and thoughtful movie format, plus an interactive process for anyone on a quest to greater inner peace, increased self-acceptance, and movement toward the life of their dreams.