One of the aspects of shadow we may not think about or know about it this—We push our shadow to the outside of us, the places in us that we disown, these are pieces of us that we are not yet willing to bring into wholeness.
- The neighbor next door who irritates you
- Your family member who pushes your buttons every time you have a family gathering
- The driver who cuts you off in traffic
- The incredible actor, painter, public speaker who you admire but feel that you could never do those things
The emotions and feelings that arise in the situations like these are bread crumbs leading us to see the parts of ourselves that we have pushed away.
And shadow is not all negative. It could be that you are not able to acknowledge your wisdom, faith, talent, etc.
While shadow work may seem scary or intimating. It can be daunting and does take a measure of spiritual maturity to undertake.
If you are new to exploring your shadow consider these things:
- If you have mental illness or a history of panic attacks or severe anxiety, start very slowly or better yet, ask your angels to bring you to someone to help you start this process
- If you have trauma in your past, consider working with someone skilled in trauma healing to do this work
- Start slowly if you are new to this type of work
- Journaling about what triggers you is a good way to start
- Asking in meditation to be guided as how to start slowly with shadow work
- Use a creative process, painting, using your voice, drawing, writing, using clay, water coloring, etc as a way to gently access your shadow
Working with the places in us that get triggered is a way to begin to bring wholeness to ourselves, as we become more empowered in our personal and soul growth experience.
As we do this work, we develop more strength and courage and experience joy, laughter, peace and hope that comes as we integrate more of ourselves, own more of ourselves and realize that looking at our unconscious aspects is truly possible, that we can make it thru to the other end!
Doing this work of uncovering, healing and owning our unconscious has amazing results in our lives. We feel more empowered, more self-confident and resilient.
For me it has been an incredible journey of doing shadow work for many years, and of course, there is more to see and heal– but I now feel that there is little that I cannot face as I continue on this journey of spiritual growth and expansion. I hope you will join me, as we open to more and more of ourselves.
