COURSE

Mindfulness In Depth: Healing Our Shadow

In this 10-day course, you will learn about the shadow, as conceived in the depth psychological tradition of Carl Jung, and how it can work hand-in-hand with a mindfulness practice to help to uncover and integrate psychological complexes. Through working with your complexes, you will disrupt lifelong patterns that cause self-harm and damage to your relationships. You will become less susceptible to unconscious forces, find new sources of energy and meaning, and the secrets to your deepest transformation. The course includes in-depth theory sourced from many scholars to help you build a precise and qualified understanding of shadow, with topics that include complexes, projection, emotional regulation, self-awareness, the golden shadow, archetypes, and personification. The course also weaves in philosophy and practices from Tibetan Buddhism to help expand the concepts. Each concept is made practical with journaling prompts for each lesson and recommendations for core mindfulness practices to accompany the learning. There are also three new guided meditations made specifically to accompany this course as Premium tracks that will help you to put the learning into practice.

Healing Grounded Awakening Secular Mindfulness Mindfulness Meditation Happiness Recovery & Healing Health & Happiness Spiritual Secular Mindfulness

Meet your Teacher

Charles J. Morris, Ph.D.

Victoria, BC, Canada

Charles is a teacher, writer, facilitator, and coach. He holds a Ph.D. in Depth Psychology and a Masters Degree in Mindfulness Studies. Charles studied, practiced and taught Tibetan Buddhism under the guidance of meditation master Geshe Kelsang Gyatso for 15 years, including several long retreats. He created the "Mindful Growth" program at Microsoft where he worked in engineering and HR leadership for 20 years, a community that has since grown to a community of several thousand people. Charles created the Mindfulness in Depth audio course series on Insight Timer Premium. His goal with this series is to help integrate and deepen the psychological and spiritual language that have entered broader consciousness in recent decades, yet tend to remain separate. In his role as facilitator and coach, Charles combines experience in corporate leadership with his training and cutting edge 360 assessment tools to create consistent transformation in organizational leaders and teams.

10 Days

940 students

4.9 stars

13 min / day

Healing

English

Lesson 1

The Complex-ity Of Shadow Work

This lesson sets the stage by introducing you to the concept of the shadow and why doing shadow work is so valuable. You'll learn about how the shadow relates to complexes and some brief history of how this branch of psychology was founded. Lastly, you'll discover how shadow and complexes can be related to the three poisons that are often taught in Buddhist philosophy.

Lesson 2

How To Recognize A Complex

This lesson teaches you how to recognize a psychological complex in your own experience. You'll learn the key signs to look out for, along with understand the experience through the lens of basic psychodynamic theory. You'll also understand how the experience of a complex compares to Buddhist teachings on delusions.

Lesson 3

I'm In A Complex. Now What?

This lesson will teach you essential coping strategies for what to do when a complex comes over you. These include avoidance and anticipation strategies, awareness and restraint, impermanence, and emotional regulation. You'll learn how mindfulness practices like breath and body scans are essential tools to help mitigate the damage that complexes can do.

Lesson 4

Self-Awareness And Shadow Work

This lesson teaches you how self-awareness is essential to shadow work and how mindfulness increases self-awareness. You'll learn about the four foundations of mindfulness (of body, feelings, mind, and dharmas) in the context of how they help to work with complexes and pointers to practices to help you build these capacities.

Lesson 5

Understanding Our Complexes

This lesson will teach you essential psychological theory to understand where complexes come from and how they form. You'll learn their essential structure and archetypal nature, which in turn will help you to find and heal them. Finally, you'll understand how aspects of complexes can be related to Buddhist teachings on karma.

Lesson 6

Shadow Projection

This lesson will teach you about psychological projection and how it relates to the shadow. You'll learn how to find both positive and negative projections at work in your experience and what it means to work with projections consciously. You'll also understand the relationship between projection and fantasy.

Lesson 7

The Secret of Complexes

This lesson will teach you the secret of psychological complexes and our shadow: they are not just negative aspects for us to get rid of - they contain the essential seeds of our positive transformation, called our 'golden shadow.' You'll learn how integrating your shadow results in discovery of our deeply personal gifts, newfound meaning, and flowing psychic energy. You'll also understand the contrast between integrating complexes and discovering our Buddha nature.

Lesson 8

Re-Visiting And Re-Storying Our Complexes

This lesson will teach you the first practice designed for this course. You'll learn how to use mindfulness practice to revisit the emotional experience of a complex, which is required to heal and integrate it. You'll also understand how discern the archetypal story at the core of the complex and ways to begin to reprogram that story in your psyche.

Lesson 9

Imagination, Personification, And The Healing Symbol

This lesson teaches you a second practice designed for this course. You'll learn how to use your imagination to powerfully personify your complexes, which allows you to gain insight into what they have to teach you. You'll also understand the necessity of a healing symbol, which goes beyond words to capture the essence of your healing in a way that is unique to you.

Lesson 10

Taking Back And Dissolving Complexes

This lesson teaches you a third practice created specifically for this course. You'll learn how to work with projections directly in a meditative practice, how to switch roles imaginally with your complex to see the world through its eyes, and how to incorporate Buddhist emptiness practices to dissolve the illusion of separateness and solidity of our shadow and projections.

4.9 (43)

Recent Reviews

Jonathan

December 8, 2025

This course was both deeply insightful, enjoyable and impactful. I greatly enjoyed my time spent going through it. I look forward to repeating the process as I go deeper and deeper in knowing and loving my shadow.

Janet

October 27, 2025

I know this teaching has just scratched the surface of an amazing and beneficial healing practice. I’m excited to do more research into the shadow persona!

ilinca

August 15, 2025

Brilliant course! Thank you 🙏🪷

Kate

May 22, 2025

So much information in this course. This helped me better understand the shadow and complexes. I will listen again. Thank you 🙏

Chi

May 3, 2025

Very knowledgeable and very high quality teaching. Thank you!

Diane

April 30, 2025

This course was very helpful to me. I recognize that I have work to do. This course is a great resource for that work.

Lisa

March 30, 2025

I've enjoyed allthe background you shared it felt very deep as I haven't studied Carl yung work. I liked using weather to describe feelings and I will look up the meditations and start working with thrm. * thank you very much many blessings and much love to you I'm very grateful Lisa 🙂

Renee

March 27, 2025

Very well, organized, presented and reinforced. The lessons in this series are outstanding as is the teacher who organized them and used their authentic voice to share them. 💚🙌🏳️‍🌈👍

Sjöfn

August 3, 2024

This course is an excellent opportunity to work with your shadow and complexes using Jungian techniques. He brings you as close as possible to your shadow and complexes without therapy. Although, therapy is suggested. He has an astounding knowledge of Jungian concepts and ideology. Truly, a brilliant course. If you don't subscribe to Insight Timer, he has many free meditations working with complexes and your shadow. I highly recommend this course and Charles Morris.

Janalyn

August 1, 2024

I feel introduced to something life changing! Thank you.

Symone

July 18, 2024

The timing of this course was wonderful. Topics interesting & engaging.

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