• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Official Site for Shannon Ethridge Ministries

Official Site for Shannon Ethridge Ministries

Author and Advocate for Healthy Sexuality and Spirituality

  • Home
  • About
    • One-Page Bio
    • Speaking & Media
  • Mentoring
    • B.L.A.S.T. Mentoring
    • B.L.A.S.T. Next Level LIVE Workshops
    • BLAST Badge Application
    • Affiliates
    • Trailblazer Certification Program
  • Coaching
  • Workshops
    • 4-Day Intensive Workshops
    • Women at the Well Intensive Workshops
    • Well Women Intensive Workshops
    • Couples at the Well Intensive Workshops
    • B.L.A.S.T. Next Level LIVE Workshops
    • Donate
  • Podcast
  • Store
    • Donate
  • Freebies
  • Donate
  • Contact

The Power of Bringing Darkness to Light

11/06/2015 by ShannonAdmin

The Power of Bringing Darkness to Light

Bringing Darkness to LightAs we hear stories of men sexually torturing women, priests sexually abusing altar boys, teachers seducing students, spouses cheating on one another, and parents molesting their own children, our hearts break for the victims and for our sexually broken culture. These are merely examples of someone getting bit on the behind by their own fantasies because they were too afraid to turn around and face them. They weren’t mature enough to sift through their own shadows and make sense of the darkness that dwells there, so they focused on the fruit of their fantasies rather than the roots.

Robert Bly writes in A Little Book on the Human Shadow, “Plants are asleep, and so they live always in the dark side, though their leaves reach out for the light. So we could say that each weed in our back yard unites dark and light.” It’s a simple analogy, but the wisdom runs deep.

What we see as a flower or tree or any other kind of plant is just an extension of what’s at the root. You won’t see magnolia leaves sprouting from the roots of a dogwood tree, nor will you see ears of corn shoot off of a cucumber vine. What we are in the light is determined by who we are in the dark. Our fruit is merely the product of our roots.

Thus it will only be through tending to our mental, emotional, and spiritual roots that we will bear the healthiest fruit possible. Ignore the roots, and the plant will suffer. Nurture the roots, and the plant will thrive.

Excerpted from  The Passion Principles: Celebrating Sexual Freedom in Marriage 
 by Shannon Ethridge. Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved. Published by W Publishing Group, and imprint of Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN. Used by Permission. Not to be copied without Publisher’s prior written approval.
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

Filed Under: The Passion Principles

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2013-2020 Shannon Ethridge Ministries · Privacy Policy · Site by Design by Insight

Cart
  • Your cart is empty! Return to shop
Checkout - $0.00
  • 0
  • 1