Curiosity with our inner world, one shadow at a time
In the 1920s, Gertrude Stein’s salons entertained the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, and Ezra Pound.
She named the young men who sought meaning in the arts after World War I, the “lost generation.”
Today’s lost generation hasn’t sacrificed limbs, but it has sacrificed its primal innocence in the cauldron of social media — and next with AI companionship.
Introducing Salon: Is it possible to restore Bondo — our capacity to connect through our inner depth — the unseen side of ourselves? Can the closeness of a small group help regulate one’s nervous system and gently release one’s subconscious resistance to feel intimacy again?
As a group, we will make friends with Jung’s shadow by marveling at the high drama of the human predicament. The goal is to sense a palpable connection with the moon of our being.
Instead of emergency dinner parties, 2026 offers an opportunity to flip the mirror. What is this unseen side of ourselves?”
Contact Bruce for more.
Jung:
What we call the Shadow, came from a dream:
“It was night in some unknown place, and I was making slow and painful headway against a mighty wind. Dense fog was flying along everywhere. I had my hands cupped around a tiny light which threatened to go out at any moment. Everything depended on my keeping this little light alive.
“Suddenly, I had the feeling that something was coming up behind me. I looked back and saw a gigantic black figure following me. But at the same moment, I was conscious in spite of my terror that I must keep my little light going through night and wind, regardless of all dangers.
“When I awoke, I realized at once that the figure was my own shadow on the swirling mists, brought into being by the little light I was carrying. I knew too that this little light was my consciousness, the only light I have. Though infinitely small and fragile in comparison with the powers of darkness, it is still a light, my only light.”
Carl Jung: Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Salon Format
1. Soup and Social
The first 45 minutes will offer light sustenance and a chance to catch up with friends.
2. Checking In
I pooh-poohed checking in until Karen showed me its genius. Without pressure, Salon participants can share a brief snapshot from their corner of life.
3. The Content
From an assigned essay or a presentation, we’ll discuss our questions and insights around the Shadow, Integration, Continuous Renewal, Food for the Moon, Recognition, Bondo, and other components of an unexplored life.
4. The Contemplation
Some mix of meditation, movement, sound, or song will close the evening.
In my 25 years as a Sufi, informed by Rumi, Ibn’Arabi, and others, the Shadow was seen as a hindrance to spiritual growth. The closest term was nafs:
The Nafs, or “lower self,” is driven by worldly desires, base instincts (like anger, lust, selfishness), and the ego’s attachment to appearances, in contrast to the higher spiritual self (ruh) or spirit. As you can imagine, I was predisposed against inquiring into Jung.
In my second 25 years of spiritual work, exploring the practice of Self Inquiry with Bhagwan Awatramani, he also dismissed our shadowy bits. Bhagwan explained how, in meditation, emotional residue rises to the surface – but pay no attention. These bubbles in the bathwater are released harmlessly as a byproduct of inner work.
In my grief journey post-Karen, it became clear that the riches of human experience are unlocked from the deeper crevices of the soul. This soul realization unfolded as Bondo: The capacity to form and maintain intimate relationships.
God gave two sides to the moon, but only one side reveals its celestial countenance. Post-Karen, the mystery of her depths beckoned even more strongly.
Robert Louis Stevenson had a highly revealing dream: A male character, pursued for a crime, swallows a powder and undergoes a drastic change of character, so drastic that he is unrecognizable. The kind, hardworking scientist Dr. Jekyll is transformed into the violent and relentless Mr. Hyde, whose evil grows in proportion as the dream story unfolds.
Each of us contains both a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde, a more pleasant persona for everyday wear and a hiding, nighttime self that remains hushed up much of the time. Negative emotions and behaviors—rage, jealousy, shame, lying, resentment, lust, greed, suicidal and murderous tendencies—lie concealed just beneath the surface, masked by our more proper selves. Known together in psychology as the personal shadow, it remains untamed, unexplored territory to most of us. ~ Abrams, Jeremiah. Meeting the Shadow
We see MAGA (our societal Mr. Hyde) wreaking havoc on our civilized world, but more interestingly, the shadow has an upside — it animates our love lives, creative work, experimentation, intuition, inspiration, spontaneity, and humor. Our two-sided moon functions like a soul battery – yet we mostly operate with only the visible terminal connected.
Jung nailed the value of this work:
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves, but only if we have the courage to look inward rather than remaining focused outward.” ~ Jung
A friend asked me, “How can you lead this Salon? Are you in touch with your own shadow?” In answer, I’m in touch with my curiosity. I hope that’s enough.
Close the Language Door
“At night, I open the window and ask the moon to come
and press his face against mine.
“Breathe into me.”
“Close the language-door and open the love-window.
The moon won’t use the door, only the window.” ~ Rumi | Coleman Barks