Date of Award

2-2023

Document Type

Project Portfolio

Degree Name

Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives (DLd)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Karen Tremper, PhD

Second Advisor

Diane Zemke, PhD

Third Advisor

Jason Swan Clark, DMin, PhD

Abstract

The NPO statement surrounding this doctoral project is that A theological, practical, and community-centered framework for shadow work is disconnected from Christian spiritual formation. This doctoral project is the culmination of a three-fold process: discovering the need for shadow work in the context of spiritual formation, designing multi-faceted virtually-based opportunities to address this need among individuals and groups, and delivering those opportunities via online courses, one-on-one shadow work, and digital content such as essays, articles, and podcasts. My vocational context is my unofficial organization, and MVP, Inner Work Community, which provides these opportunities. Inner Work Community is extended through partnerships with Portland Center, the Companioning Center, and Deep Water Men’s Ministry. My research stems primarily from the work of Carl Jung, his concept of shadow and his broader psychological theory. Shadow refers to the parts of individuals or groups that are hidden, rejected, or denied conscious awareness. Shadow work is any effective process for identifying and integrating one’s hidden self. Mythologist, Joseph Campbell and Christian Jungian psychologist, Murray Stein provide the theological foundations for the project. I designed Inner Work Community to offer various opportunities and mediums for shadow work. I place emphasis on the exploration of Jungian psychology while highlighting how Jungian theory naturally aligns with the Biblical narrative and Christian values of wholeness, loving relationship, and abundant life. Participants in this research engaged courses, individual shadow work, and digital content from a Jungian psychological perspective, and most identified with the Christian faith. Spiritual Formation certainly deals in part with the inner life, but lacks sufficient language and practices for navigating and integrating the dark side of the human experience. This project demonstrates Inner Work Community as a facilitator of exploration and recovery of people’s full humanity and relational vitality by encountering and integrating the hidden self.

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