Bringing the Treasure to Light.

In many years of personal research, teaching, and contact with people of different genders, ethnicities, ages, and cultures, one thing that has been clearly shown, sometimes explicitly, sometimes in hidden ways, has been that the vast majority of people (and I include myself) had some sort of attachment to a negative self-image. In some it was absolutely evident, in the way they behaved, in what they said, in the way they talked about themselves and others, in the language of their bodies, in the fog, with which they surrounded themselves, to hide the low regard they had for themselves. In others, the same fundamental uncertainty about one's own worth was hidden behind an exaggerated arrogance, a continuous attempt to prove one's worth, a studied sense of superiority, an idealization of oneself and one's actions. In both cases there was in common the need, conscious or unconscious, to be special, even extraordinary, hiding one's own shadow, as well as the need for the approval of others and the effort not to show it.

Even in spiritual seekers, attachment to one's negative image continues to be dominant for very long periods: I have met people who are completely dependent on their therapist, on incessantly participating in growth groups, on continuing to find new teachers and gurus, on trying the "latest", more "fantastic and decisive" technique of liberation. Many go to buy meditation and research with the same compulsive hope as those who buy a car or a designer bag, thinking that that object will give them value, that value that they cannot feel and give themselves. All this is understandable: the hypnosis of being only an object to be improved is not a skin that is easily thrown away.

The fear of our shadow is the glue that keeps us attached to the need to avoid it and that reinforces its negative and dangerous image. This fear forces us to keep our attention on "what's wrong with me" which, if I lose sight of it, could overwhelm me, when I least expect it.

When with compassion and dedication we pass through the dark night of the soul and know intimately, concretely, without judgment, what we have long considered negative and terrible in ourselves, a turning point in the path is shown to our eyes, which is a radical passage. Osho, speaking of this moment in the search, says that here, after a journey that seems interminable, we find a sign where is written "Here the world ends" and invites us not to stop, but to look on the other side of the sign. And there it is written "Here God begins". Here, in fact, begins the discovery of the divinity that exists in each of us, in each one. Here begins the ordinary and simple abundance that each of us is, each one of us. Here begins the splendor of being unique and the possibility of leaving behind the effort of being special. Here begins value as an intrinsic manifestation of what you are, regardless of the recognition of others: you are worth because you exist.

"Unearthing the treasure is a turning point in the hero's journey. He can rejoice in what he achieves and sing the wonders of what he discovers... At the same time, he also knows that the treasure does not belong to him. The gifts we bring back from our journey, the discoveries, that we make through our trials, are inherently personal and inevitably collective. Our contributions are unique to ourselves, but they belong to the community and must serve the whole, so that their promise is fulfilled. Together we celebrate and share the gifts, which have been given to us, and reap the abundant fruit in the great lands of personal and collective potential that we have cultivated."

Thomas J. Hurley

When the fear of our own shadow disappears, the fear of the shadow of others and judgment gradually disappears as well; the need to deny long-repressed parts of us disappears and a morality becomes possible, which is an expression of awareness and not of dogmas. Under the darkness we discover great talents and potential, and as we recognize it in ourselves, we begin to see it in the people we meet: behind masks and conventions now shines the great treasure of Being.

Excerpt from my next book: A New language for Living, Ch 14.

It will be published at the beginning of 2026, God willing.