Ok, so since I'm writing about shadows, I think I should share one right here, right now.  After seeing the "award winning" movie Y Yoga, which I found it difficult to sit thru, I completely made an erroneous, short sighted judgment about fellow yoga teacher Seane Corne.  It was not a flattering judgement.  Perhaps you know what kind of judgment I am talking about, one of those judgments you make about people you don't even know. Upon just seeing that person, everything about them just drives you crazy.  It is true I could not stand the movie but a shadow part of myself made an irrational judgment about a person who does great things in this world. Several months later, I came across this video from the omega institute, and the process of eating my words began.  The illusory nature of my judgment had been revealed to me in a compassionate manner. 
Seane Corne and I have much in common, We both work the Shadow, and We both really learn a lot from unconventional teachers.  The Junkies and the Whores as she says in the video.  I couldn't agree with her more.  There are a lot of teachers out there, whether they are teaching Yoga or Spirituality, they either appear to be keeping perfect morality, or some pretend they do.  Buddha, Jesus Christ, White Buffalo Woman; Whoever you may claim as your prophet, they were all born as humans.  So speaking for myself, it is hard for me to relate sometimes with these perfected beings, these perfect teachers.  There is however, a teacher out there for everyone...
Perhaps you may have heard of an adept practitioner and teacher called Milarepa.  Milarepa is one of Tibet's most renowned Yogis and Saints. I will include a link at the end of the post.  Long story short, Milarepa had a tough early life and was not treated well by his family, they soon came to regret this though when he used sorcery and yogic attainments to kill about 30 or so of them while they slept.  Milarepa spent many years feeling guilty and atoning for this act.  Milarepa too had a teacher of a prickly disposition, another crazy wisdom teacher called Marpa.  Marpa beat and mistreated Milarepa in to becoming one of the most powerful Yogis ever.  Milarepa's story is a very human one to me, I can picture myself in his place full of mental afflictions and shadows. 
We all have the opportunity to become great Yogis and Yoginis, with the right teacher, but it's not always pretty.    A crazy wisdom teacher is not there to be your friend,to wipe your nose, or to give you candy.  A good teacher is interested in your development as a practitioner not in stroking your ego.  They often know exactly what to do to push all of your buttons and in pushing all your buttons, they compassionately show us exactly where we still need work.  The teacher does not always take the form of a person we know.  Usually it is that loved one who says something, or gives us a look, the drunk vagrant shouting victuals as we pass, the thing that we find in our lives so disgusting, horrific and shocking it causes us to blow up and react, or perhaps it just shuts us down.  It appears that way only to ourselves.  We have seen it inside our own mind!  It is our reflection.  What a wonderful blessing to be shown exactly what we need to work on!  We can be grateful for the lesson, or we can lose the lesson.  As Master Seane Corne said, it is not pretty, it's a fierce journey.  It's not fun to look at.  It is not child's play.  It is certainly not a path for those faint of heart.  It is walking the razor's edge.  It is also a path to find quick results.  So next time you are find yourself reacting, blowing up, or shutting down, see if you can find the lesson.



By Aaron Harting
for more on Milarepa visit
http://www.cosmicharmony.com/Av/Milarepa/Milarepa.htm

for more on Crazy Wisdom visit

http://www.shambhala.org/teachings/view.php?id=131
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_wisdom