Shadow Work
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.”
~ Carl Jung
What is shadow work?
Shadow work comes from 20th-century psychologist Carl Jung, he called it “the shadow self”, this term describes the unconscious parts of our personality that the conscious ego doesn’t want to identify in itself.
Have you heard of Shadow Work before?
I've heard people mention it in passing and was able to link it as a healing process but I didn't actually know what it meant or how to work on it. What I found is this is a practice of grace. A time for us to be gentle with ourselves while we balance the dark with the light from within. Uncover any suppressed parts of ourselves. Forgive any negativity in our lives, past or present. Find a way to accept our imperfections. We do this work to release what is no longer ours to hold on to and start a new path.
How can we integrate our shadow self?
Meditation. Focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity to bring awareness to bring harmony to our mental and emotional states.
Affirmations. Write or say affirmations. I know I've mentioned this in other posts but I truly believe affirmations are powerful! When you say "I am…" you are drawing the energy of that word into your being.
Inner Child Work. You can do this through meditation. Think about your upbringing. Can you think of any past influences that cause how you show up? Any past traumas. Any specific impact your relationships had on you at any specific age. Envision your younger self. Show them love, give them a hug and let them know everything is ok.
Acknowledge your emotions. Tune into any difficulties you are facing. Is there a memory that comes to mind with this? How does it feel? Write it down, journal about it. Release it.
Journaling. This doesn't have to be perfect. You don't need to make complete sentences. It can be whatever comes to mind. Even if it's in the form of a list. If you prefer you can use journal prompts. For instance, ask yourself what you would like to heal? Stress, fears, anger, financial hardship, inner child work. Within this healing what is being revealed? Are you finding any unhealthy patterns, maybe it's bringing up possible triggers. What emotions does this bring up? Do you feel safe, love, trust, abundance. Journaling can help you express yourself while simultaneously connecting internally.
Do you express yourself through art? Maybe creating something versus writing can help you move through this.
Shadow Work Tip: A great time to do shadow work is during the dark moon, that's 2 days before a new moon. It's symbolic of the darkness of the moon when it's all shadowy. A time to release so we can start anew for all the new energy the new moon will bring.
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” ~ Carl Jung
📷: Fernando Rodrigues