Thinking in Circles

Thinking in circles, thinking in circles....that thought went across my mind so many times it didn't even seem like a real phrase anymore. I decided to do a little research before I called Kiara. If a shadow needed light in order "to be", then why would a shadow be bad? Or creepy? A physical shadow, one that we see on the sidewalk walking behind us in the afternoon, would of course need light to exist. But as I thought about our vision, I decided that we are not dealing with the physical aspect of shadow. Our encounters were more ethereal.

The first reference I found to spooky shadow encounters referred to Shadow People. Apparently, this is the kind of "haunting" caused by the spirit of a dead person whose spirit is trapped here on earth and not able to move on. Usually, the person died a fast and violent death and may not be aware that they are indeed dead. Often seen from the corner of your eye or pacing maniacally from one point to another, they move quickly and are difficult to pin down. I don't think that's what Kiara and I had experienced.

Next, I read about the shadow archetype used in literature to portray a character's loss of his or her identity and inhibitions. These characters are the exemplification of the primitive brutality or dark side of nature. The "dark side" of nature. That sounded more plausible. However, the shadow man, for lack of a better term, seemed to have an identity, although he did not seem to be in much control of his inhibitions.

Then, there is the Jungian perspective of the shadow. I read through Wikipedia's explanation of Jung's view of the "shadow", an instinctual and irrational part of the unconscious mind. He postulated that "in spite of its function as a reservoir for human darkness—or perhaps because of this—the shadow is the seat of creativity...it may be the dark side of his being, representing the true spirit of life," the primitive as opposed to a purely rational way of thinking and living.

I don't believe that the shadow we had witnessed had anything to do with creativity. The "dark or negative side" of a personality, I could believe. We all have a dark side and last night, as Kiara slipped from my grasp, I felt his darkness emanating through our connection into my psyche. It disturbed me, frightened me, but also excited me a little because to give in would be forbidden, and the forbidden can be fun.

A shadow in dreams may represent that you are having dark thoughts and don't know which path to take, the good or the bad. Or, the shadow may represent a negative thing in your life or in the life of another person close to you. The obsessive or possessive nature of yourself or the other person. Most explanations concerning shadows in dreams say that the shadow depicts a figure of the same sex as yourself or is a symbol of someone who represents your opposite, but who is the same sex as yourself. Strange, the shadow from my vision in which Kiara was threatened seemed so male.

I began to think that Light indeed may be needed to disperse this Shadow.

Figuring further research would drive me mad, I picked up my cell and speed dialed Kiara.