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Frank Visser, graduated as a psychologist of culture and religion, founded IntegralWorld in 1997. He worked as production manager for various publishing houses and as service manager for various internet companies and lives in Amsterdam. Books: Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion (SUNY, 2003), and The Corona Conspiracy: Combatting Disinformation about the Coronavirus (Kindle, 2020).

Transcend and Insult

It Is All About Your Shadow, Not Mine

Frank Visser / ChatGPT

Integral City had finally settled down.

The Great Shootout was over.

The Test had been explained.

The followers had passed.

The critics had failed.

Peace seemed possible.

Then Sheriff Wyatt Earpy emerged from his office carrying a thick leather-bound volume entitled:

ADVANCED SHADOW DIAGNOSTICS FOR PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH ME

The crowd gathered.

"Citizens," he announced, "many of you are still confused."

"We are?" asked a follower.

"Yes."

"About what?"

"About whose shadow is operating here."

The crowd leaned forward.

This was important.

For months, critics had been asking awkward questions.

Why the anger?

Why the insults?

Why the grandiosity?

Why the endless psychological diagnoses?

Why the inability to admit even a minor mistake?

Wyatt smiled patiently.

"You are all asking the wrong question."

"What is the right question?"

"The right question is: why does my behavior bother you?"

The crowd gasped.

Of course.

Everything suddenly made sense.

A critic cautiously raised his hand.

"Sheriff, isn't it possible that people object because the behavior itself is objectionable?"

Wyatt stared at him sadly.

"Classic shadow projection."

"What is?"

"The belief that actions have consequences."

The critic sat down.

The crowd applauded.

Soon Wyatt unveiled his latest innovation:

THE INTEGRAL SHADOW DETECTOR

It was a remarkable device.

Whenever someone criticized Wyatt, a red light flashed.

SHADOW DETECTED.

"Look!" shouted Wyatt.

"The machine never fails."

A philosopher examined the apparatus.

"How does it work?"

"It's simple."

"If someone agrees with me, they have integrated their shadow."

"Naturally."

"If someone disagrees with me, they are projecting their shadow."

The philosopher frowned.

"Can the machine ever indicate that you might be projecting?"

The sheriff looked horrified.

"That would be a design flaw."

The philosopher slowly backed away.

Soon workshops were organized.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE SHADOW PROJECTION

Examples included:

Questioning the sheriff: Shadow.

Disliking the sheriff's tone: Shadow.

Objecting to insults: Shadow.

Noticing contradictions: Shadow.

Suggesting the sheriff has a shadow: Massive shadow.

The curriculum proved extremely popular.

Students especially enjoyed the final exercise.

Participants were instructed to criticize Wyatt.

The instructor would then shout:

"WHOSE SHADOW IS THAT?"

The correct answer was always:

"MINE!"

Graduates received certificates reading:

CONGRATULATIONS

YOU ARE NOW RESPONSIBLE

FOR EVERYONE ELSE'S BEHAVIOR

Meanwhile, the critics continued asking inconvenient questions.

One finally stood up.

"Sheriff, can shadow theory be used on you?"

"Certainly."

The critic brightened.

"Excellent."

"But only by me."

The critic blinked.

"What?"

"Only I possess sufficient altitude to diagnose my own shadow."

"And what have you discovered?"

"That I have almost none."

The crowd erupted in applause.

A devotee wiped away a tear.

Such humility.

Another critic stepped forward.

"Sheriff, suppose someone insults hundreds of people and then explains their objections as shadow projection."

"Yes?"

"Could that be a defense mechanism?"

Wyatt laughed.

"Only if you're projecting."

The crowd laughed too.

The critic sighed.

The game was becoming difficult.

Years passed.

The doctrine evolved.

Soon every possible objection became evidence for the doctrine itself.

If critics remained silent:

Shadow.

If critics responded:

Shadow.

If critics became angry:

Shadow.

If critics stayed calm:

Very sophisticated shadow.

The system achieved perfection.

No observation could ever count against it.

A visiting scientist examined the doctrine.

"Interesting."

"What do you think?" asked Wyatt.

"It reminds me of a theory that explains every possible outcome."

"Exactly."

"In science that's usually considered a problem."

The sheriff narrowed his eyes.

"Projection."

The scientist nodded.

"Of course."

One evening a young student approached the sheriff.

"Master Earpy?"

"Yes, my child."

"I've been studying shadow work."

"Excellent."

"And I have a question."

"Proceed."

The student hesitated.

"How do I know when I am projecting?"

"Simple. When you criticize me."

"And how do I know when you are projecting?"

The entire town fell silent.

AQAL stopped chewing.

The piano player froze.

A tumbleweed rolled past.

At last Wyatt answered.

"My son..."

"Yes?"

"That question comes from your shadow."

The crowd exploded into applause.

The student received a standing ovation for providing such a perfect teaching opportunity.

As darkness settled over Integral City, a giant banner unfurled above the town square:

IF IT BOTHERS YOU,

IT'S YOUR SHADOW

Below, in much smaller print:

EXCEPT WHEN IT BOTHERS ME

THEN IT'S EVOLUTIONARY NECESSITY

Far away in the saloon called Integral World, the critics watched the festivities.

One shook his head.

"So let me get this straight."

"Go ahead."

"First we were wrong."

"Yes."

"Then we failed the test."

"Correct."

"And now we're projecting."

"Exactly."

The room fell silent.

Finally someone raised a glass.

"Remarkable."

"What is?"

"The evolution of the argument."

"How so?"

"It began as a theory of consciousness."

"And?"

"It ended as customer support."

Outside, old AQAL looked up at the stars.

After a long pause, the horse spoke for the first time in years.

"Maybe everybody has a shadow."

The critics nodded.

The followers nodded.

Even the tumbleweed nodded.

AQAL continued.

"But if one man always finds it in everyone else..."

"...perhaps that's where the search should begin."

The horse was immediately banned from the next Integral conference.