1 THE FUTURE
There’s a newspaper on the seat next to you. You glance at it and read the headline:
ILLUMINATING THE DARK
You continue reading…
A scientifically verified seer is coming to town.
Penelope has been proven to accurately predict the future 95% of the time, far above chance. Her prophecies range from the minor: “you will enjoy the best meal you’ve ever had next week”, to the major: “your unrequited love will be unrequited no more in six months time”.
She’s visiting your city and is inviting a random selection of people to have their fortunes told. Check the serial number of this newspaper. If it matches one of the following numbers, you’re invited.
83549722
29487368
10998573
39572958
12293544
You look down at the serial number on this newspaper and it matches: 10998573
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
Would you have your fortune told by the seer? Why/why not?
How might knowing something about the future affect you?
How much of the future is unknown?
Is uncertainty about the future stressful or freeing?
Suppose the seer offered to predict more for you, how much would you want to know?
Do you think most people would want their fortune told? Or not? Why?
Why are there so many human traditions of fortune telling and prophecy?
Thought experiment by Bonny Astor, TEiP Founder. You can find more of her writing here.
2 DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
Someone in your community is struggling. They lost their job and experienced a major bereavement all in the space of a month.
The community has rallied around to support Sami, taking it in turns to check in and offer comfort and help.
At the next community meeting, someone says:
“We need to come up with a way of brightening things up for Sami. They are in a dark place.”
There is broad agreement and community members start brainstorming new ways to cheer Sami up. Ideas include:
Taking it in turns to go for a daily walk with Sami
Coming up with simple tasks for Sami to help out with
Arranging a community celebration in a few months time so Sami can look forward to something
Compiling a collection of kind words about Sami
After 10 minutes, someone interrupts the brainstorming:
“Can we stop for a minute. I have a contrary opinion, but one I hope you will listen to. It comes from personal experience.”
The room goes quiet and the speaker continues:
“If you focus on brightening up Sami’s situation, you might be robbing them of the opportunity for transformation and growth.
I’ve been through a very dark time and no amount of ‘brightening’ changed the reality of how bad I felt. I needed to accept the darkness, see it for what it was, in order to move on.
It was only when I surrendered to it, that things started to change. Not only did I begin to feel better, I learned a lot. I learned what really mattered to me in life.
I now see the darkness of that time as a good thing. It stripped away everything I didn’t need in my life, and helped me find my guiding light. I now feel far more resilient and true to myself than I did before.
I had to break down to break through.
So I think we can be there for Sami, but we shouldn't assume that the darkness is something we need to take away.”
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
What do you think Sami needs?
What do you think of the community’s efforts to brighten Sami’s dark days?
What about the contrary speaker’s experience?
If you were in Sami’s shoes, what would be best for you?
Who should decide what Sami needs?
How well do we, as a society, deal with individual suffering?
What could be different?
Can darkness be a good thing?
Thought experiment by Bonny Astor, TEiP Founder. You can find more of her writing here.
3 SHADOW WORK
You’re at a family gathering. You’ve just told some of your family about TEiP.
A cousin says:
“I have a thought experiment that, if you do it properly, will make you a better person.”
You say “go on” and they continue:
“It’s called shadow work. It comes from Carl Jung’s belief that we all have stuff that we’re not aware of…stuff in our ‘shadow’. Often it's stuff we can’t accept about ourselves, stuff we deny and separate from our self-concept.
Sometimes, when we see those same qualities in other people, we find them particularly irritating. Jung called this projection.
The idea is that when someone really irritates us, it can be an opportunity for shadow work. An opportunity to recognise and reintegrate the parts of ourselves that we've rejected.”
They pause.
Your aunt asks:
“So what’s the thought experiment?”
Your cousin replies:
“You have to think of someone who you don’t like, someone who really annoys you and irritates you. Have you got someone?”
Aunt:
“Oh yes”
Cousin:
“Now you have to look for that behaviour in yourself.”
Aunt:
“What? But I don’t behave like that.”
Cousin:
“Not at all? Not ever? Tell me what it is.”
Aunt:
“It’s when someone cuts to the front of a queue and pretends they haven’t done anything wrong, despite the whole queue being there looking at them. That kind of blatant selfishness.”
Cousin:
“Have you ever been selfish?”
Aunt:
“Of course, but not like that!”
Cousin:
“But you have been selfish?”
Aunt:
“Everyone has.”
Cousin:
“So its part of being human.”
Aunt:
“Yes, but-”
Cousin:
“So its not evil, or ‘other’, its part of all of us.”
Aunt:
“This is infuriating.”
Cousin:
“It’s interesting that you’re finding it infuriating. This is shadow work. If you do it concertedly and often, you end up being a lot less irritated by people, a lot more peaceful, and a lot more self aware.”
Your cousin goes through similar shadow work examples with your uncle, your grandmother, and family friend. They all seem a little irritated afterwards.
Finally, your cousin turns to you and asks:
“Your turn?”
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
What would you say to your cousin?
Do you agree that ‘Shadow Work’ is a “thought experiment that will make you a better person”?
Can you think of someone who irritates you? Can you recognise any of the qualities that irritate you in yourself?
Is recognising a quality in ourselves the same as accepting or excusing it in others
What can our reactions to other people tell us about ourselves?
Could shadow work make us more compassionate towards others? Are there any dangers in this approach?
How well do we really know ourselves?
Why did everyone seem irritated after going through their example with your cousin?
What might your cousin learn after doing some shadow work of their own?
Thought experiment by Bonny Astor, TEiP Founder. You can find more of her writing here.
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