Riddle. Urgent!!!!!! For me anyway.

Re: Riddle. Urgent!!!!!! For me anyway.


Precisely where did you find this "hint"?

This is the kind of "riddle" I would love to help solve. Sounds like an obscure reference that perhaps the collective mind of this forum can help piece together!

I agree with Don1, we will probably need a little more information.

Doing a Google search for "two shadows" reveals numerous possibilities. You might want to start there. For example:

1) "The 23rd Psalm is so well known that some of the true wisdom in it becomes easily overlooked. It is a wonderful promise that no matter where I go or what I do, I have two shadows with me: goodness and mercy."

2) Numerous book titles with "two shadows" as part of the title.

3) The Avengers television series with an episode titled "Man with Two Shadows"

4) A poem titled "Two Shadows" by Krista Ross

5) A D&D Greyhawk character named "Two Shadows"

6) A painting titled "Two shadows and a blue vase" and another titled "The time of the two shadows"

7) A CD from the band? Neurosis.

8) A poem titled "Two Shadows Holding Hands" which might be of relevance to your situation. I'm not very good at interpreting poetry... see http://blather.newdream.net/b/bunnys_poems.html

I'll stop here. You might need to look these over first, or do the google search for "two shadows" and browse through it? Hope this is at least a start.

we'd need to know exactly how you phrased the question to which he responded "it is found in the woods or in the sewer" in order to determine what the pronoun "it" is referring to...i think that may help...because i don't think it refers to "your two shadows" otherwise he would have said "them"

nextly...need to know what kind of guy he is. how old, what kind of music he listens to, does he like poetry and riddles, or books, etc...to help narrow down the search.

there are two main possibilities...one, is that the two shadows referance is based on some form of art that he was exposed to (probably recently) such as a book, movie, poem, phrase, story, etc...

the other very real possibility is that it is an original statement from him, some kind of a metaphor which he thought of.

"when can I see you again?"

"when you find your two shadows" maybe the two shadows or the souls of you and him in death...meaning, never.

Personally, I think he recognizes the contradictory nature of your behaviour, i.e. having a huge crush on him, and having a boyfriend at the same time. Two shadows, two men, yet you are not really entirely commited to either, hence, shadows, as in the reality of your situation between these two men is still hidden from you. He'll see you again when you dump your boyfriend, which means he probably has the same feelings for you that you do for him. It's not a riddle, really. This should have been in the Relationships forum. Anyway, I hope that helps.

It used to be called, you want to have your cake and eat it too, but I like "when you find your two shadows" much better.

From The Creator
OK, more information...it's not ying and yang which is sometimes referred to as the two shadows. Some background info: this riddle was told to him and it took him two years to figure it out. So, it's not something he made up. More hints: It's something that may be seen as personal and it might have to do with two different sides to things. Example: homeless people and people with houses. So, new ideas?

when one says relating to two different sides to things, it usually means looking at the same problem from another perspective...in many cases, to see something good out of something assumed to be bad. but your example is different...it is an example of opposites. which one is it?

anyway...something that comes to mind is perhaps your conscience...like the "good angel" and the "bad angel" that sit on your shoulders...they could be your two shadows...they are definitely personal...they are opposites...and saying that you need to find your two shadows could mean that you need to learn how to listen to the good and bad sides of your conscience.

perhaps, by this, he is referring to the fact that you are so interested in him while having a boyfriend...and that you need to pick one or the other. and judging by this goose chase to his heart he has laid out for you, with clues and all, it seems very likely that he wants to be with you...but just wants you to break up with your boyfriend first...but doesn't want to say that outright because he would feel bad about asking you to break up with somenoe for him.

EDIt: post 69!

stuh505 and I seem to be on the same wavelength here, although with different examples, both meaningful.

im annoyed because my interpretion seems to fit PERFECTLY except for the sewer/forest clue...

regardless,

I am 90% sure that the meaning of this riddle game is: he wants you, and its killing him that you want him too, because he doesnt want to be with you halfway...

Yeah, I think the riddle is a clever smokescreen to tell you in an obscure way that he would rather be more than friends, and he can't be around you anymore while you still have a boyfriend. As for the sewer/woods thing, I can only think of poop. In a sewer, it festers, in the woods, it helps to create new life.

Enquiries with the unofficial forum agony aunt produced the following.

When a person compares everyone in their future with the people of their past who have hurt them, they are voluntarily letting them control their future as well. They are still attached to them in a way that is even worse than when they were together. Because now, it is isn't even a real person who controls them, but a shadow.

As they say, "Knowing is only half the battle." The other half is learning how to release your shadows. If you've found that you are unable to find a true commitment with someone, it is more than likely because you have a few shadows lurking around. The first step to releasing them is to find them. To do this you need to get in touch with yourself. Start a regime of a daily walking and journal writing. Both of these things are extremely important to achieving a complete recovery and should be done while alone; not in the company of other people! This is a time for personal discovery. You can't discover yourself when someone else is chatting in your ear. If you're wondering how in the world can you find time for this with your busy schedule, think again. You only need about 30 minutes each day to complete both exercises. Ten to fifteen minutes for your walk, and fifteen minutes for your journal writing.

While completing these exercises there are a few things to keep in mind. During the walk make sure you focus on the world around you. Take time to notice the flowers blooming, the trees swaying, the color of the houses, etc. The point of your walk is to take the focus off of you and to start paying attention to the things around you.
Your journal writing is the opposite. Here is where you will really delve into your "personal matters of the heart." The important thing to remember about your journal is that there is no right or wrong thing to write. Write whatever comes to mind. Do not show your journal to anyone, and only read what you've written every few months. The material in your journal is not something to read and digest; it is done just to get whatever it is you're feeling out in the open.

After even just a few days of doing these tasks you will notice a difference in your outlook towards many things, including love.
The next step to releasing your shadows (Light and Dark) will be to find out why they are there. This isn't figuring out what a person may have done to you, but rather working out why you feel the need to have the shadows there in the first place. Take a few minutes to answer these questions:

1. Can you only love one person?
2. Is it an equal relationship if only one partner is giving love? How can this negatively affect you?
3. What have you learned about yourself from your past relationships, starting with the first?
4. What traits did your last partner have that you would NOT want in a future partner?
5. What traits did your last partner have that you WOULD want in a future partner?
6. What things do you wish you had not done to previous romantic partners, starting with the first?
7. What things do you wish previous romantic partners had not done, starting with the first?
8. What changes do you feel you can make right now to make you happier?

The last step is to finally, forgive and forget. You can't go forward if you're stuck on someone in the past. Agree that you were a great partner, you did the best you could and if it's not meant to be, then it's just not meant to be. Things work out the way they do for a reason. Sometimes the reasons are not always clear right away. Trust in yourself that the right decisions were made, and know that you don't need anyone else to make you happy. Only you can truly do that.


You have not been charged for this answer.

huh?

Another from the original poster
He DOES NOT like me. I asked him out about 3 times this year and each time he has said "No." We did go out once, when he asked me, but he dumped me. Heartbroken, i remain. Anyway, it has to do with personality now. And reaction. This is so HARD!!!!! Oh, my friend Jocelyn says it may be like your good and evil. And finding a balance. Richard (who told me the riddle) has a friend who says it may have to do with two different personalities. I love everyone who made a suggestion. But it is NOT that he wants me. The Riddle was told to him!!! Again, I need suggestions. Please and THANK YOU!!!!!


Forgot something: The woods/sewer thing. He said "You need to go into the woods, get lost, and find somebody. It doesn't mean go into your back yard and start talking to a tree."
As for sewers: "I got my answer by having more friends below than above." Meaning that he has friends in sewers.

Hate to say it, but it just sounds like this guy's kind of a jerk.

His cryptic comments offer you hope, but his actions are cruel.

I would suggest that you back off and look around for another friend. Then find a guy who is secure enough that he can talk directly about his feelings. (Although it certainly took me long enough to get to that point.)

Anyway, my $.02.

He's using the riddle in order to have power over you. It doesn't actually mean he doesn't like you, just that, as MerlinsGodson stated, he's too insecure to be direct. It's a common tactic for a lot of young men. I can only assume you are all young. By making you obsess about this dumb riddle, he knows you will be thinking about him in some way. It's called passive-aggresive behaviour.

More From the Rose
I should change my name to WiltingRose. Screw being Captivated. I agree that he's an ass. Right now I just want to get an answer to the riddle so I can be like "Hahaha, it took you two years to get the answer and it only took me a few weeks." But that's mean. Anyway, I just want the answer. I dumped my boyfriend. He was an ass. I'm fed up with the male population. Again though, I need suggestions. i will update with all hints, but I've got none today.

Personality
It has to do with personality and reaction! or something like that....

Sounds to me like he's a reader of Neil Gaiman:

"Desire smells almost subliminally of summer peaches, and casts two shadows: one black and sharp-edged, the other translucent and forever wavering, like heat haze."

Hi, I'm new to all this.
I spent some time thinking about this riddle and I have some info that you may find helpful. Firstly I would just like to say that I do not think that it is a 'true' riddle. Your friend may have indeed been told it by some one else, but that person probably had a good reason for doing so - just as your friend may have. You say that you are (were?) best friends and that you have also been out when he asked you. I think that he cares for you, but as you point out, he probably does not want a personal relationship with you.
To get any sort of insight into this puzzle you should look up references to Ed Steinbrecher's book INNER GUIDE MEDITATION. In it he says that we each have two shadows - male & female. Through meditation we can speak to these shadows. Why should we do this? According to Steinbrecher, while we are growing up we decide 'This is me' or 'This is not me'. Within the 'Not me' category the female shadow represents Yin and the male shadow represents Yang. By talking to these inner shadows Steinbrecher suggests we can produce a more integrated personality and begin to reject less of ourselves.
Your friend obviously knows you very well, and for very personal reasons he told you to find your two shadows. By posing this to you as a riddle (and the same thing having been done to him) he knows that you will probably spend a great deal of time thinking about it, and therefore have more time to not only find out what your two shadows are, but also give you more time to get to know them - in other words more time to get to know yourself.
The references to going into the woods, losing your way and then finding somebody should now make more sense: the woods are yourself; losing your way basically means being somewhere you have not been before; and the 'someone' you find is the true you.
Steinbrecher also says that our friends, partner, room mate and strangers are all screens for us to project our shadows onto.
Sometimes the things that annoy us most about other people are the things we dislike most about ourselves.
I don't think you should be angry at your friend, I think he's just trying to help you become a better person by giving you ideas and notions to begin thinking about.
So that's the woods taken care of; the personal/2 sides thing taken care of; and the personality/reaction thing sorted - the only thing I can't get a hold on is the sewer reference.
Hope this helps.