The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. The gothic horror genre novella follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old upstanding friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and an evil criminal named Edward Hyde. It’s revealed at the end of the novella that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, with the virtuous Jekyll transforming into the vile Hyde when he takes an unnamed chemical concoction to live out his darker urges.
We thought we’d use the Jekyll and Hyde dichotomy as a metaphor for what happens to us when we exhibit both our goodness, moral, ethical, and spiritual qualities on the one hand, and our woeful, vindictive, self-defeating, and inhumane urges on the other. Stevenson’s novella certainly gives us pause to consider how we respond and/or react to the world around us.
Each of us has moments when we exhibit courage, compassion, loving kindness, confidence, self-confidence, and respect for others, etc. – and other times when we show resentment, jealousy, greed, unforgiveness, doubt, and unrealistic comparisons, etc. Wouldn’t you agree? Sooo, we invite you to decide which of your ‘you’s’ you want to show – your Jekyllness or your Hydeness. We share a powerful Spiritual Practice you can use to help you take charge and let your Jekyll Nature shine!
Your resources include our definition of your Jekyllnes and Hydeness, and a Spiritual Practice we designed to help you:
- Recognize what situations, people, or circumstances "trigger" your Hyde behavior;
- Know when you are reacting from your Hyde behaviors; and
- Claim the Spiritual Principles and Practices that help you rise above whatever is happening, so you can "kick your Hyde nature to the curb" and allow your Jekyll Nature to shine!