Shadow Work: How the valleys can be one of our greatest teachers
If this is your first time visiting the site, welcome, and thank you for reading!
Today I want to speak about Shadow Work. I mostly want to speak about it because I am currently in the throes of some intense shadow work myself and I want to share this healing modality with YOU! So, first, you may be wondering what shadow work truly is. Normally it’s a vague term thrown around by spiritual practitioners, but the truth is you do not have to be a spiritual person to apply this healing modality to your life. In all honesty, it is our collective responsibility to do so. It is a portion of the healing “work” that many people speak about. Here’s your chance to apply it.
What is Shadow work? Shadow work is a broad term for the introspection work that involves using the things that we like least about ourselves and really getting to the root of them. Self-sabotaging habits, overthinking, and negative self-talk are just a few examples, but the list goes on. It’s about exploring the darker recesses of our personalities, lives, and Spirit with the ultimate goal of integrating these things to become a whole individual. It’s about digging to the root to provide ourselves with tangible solutions to the problems that plague us. Sometimes at our own expense.
How can shadow work benefit us? Every part of who we are is a culmination of events, situations, and relationships (not just romantic ones either) that have come together to shape who we are. We owe it to ourselves to sift through each of them and really recognize the impact they’ve had on us. We owe it to ourselves to understand our own roots. Without understanding our roots can we really understand ourselves? The short answer is no. This is where shadow work comes into play. I’ll be the first to say that this work is NOT EASY. As a matter of fact, it’s some of the toughest introspection that I’ve ever done. I, just like every other person on this planet has been through some shit. Shit that I want to forget. There’s nothing easy about digging into the tough events of my life. It is however liberating to know that I have to power to change anything that I want about myself going forward. This is what makes shadow work worth it. There’s nothing easy about identifying the role I have played in my own stagnancy either. I am more than the events of my life AND SO ARE YOU! Shadow work provides us with a unique ability to review our external relationships as well. It is there that we encounter the tough act of forgiveness and the need for forgiveness if we are to become whole. Once we forgive ourselves for what has happened to us, we can move that forgiveness outward to the external relationships that have been difficult for us. Disclaimer: If you are not ready to forgive, this work is not for you. There is no half-assing your shadow work beloved. Sorry, just being real.
Why Shadow Work? In the past year or so there has been a lot of talk surrounding healing ancestral trauma. Shadow work is one of the healing modalities that we can use to do so. When we look within and move outward, we can identify some of the ancestral shadows that have plagued us, our parents, and generations before us. If we are to be truly healed for the generations to come this how we do it. There’s nothing pretty or easy about it, but it is necessary. Like many introspection techniques, shadow work is non-linear. This means that this work can take us down some roads that we may have been actively avoiding simply because they hurt us so much. So be gentle with yourself as you take on this work. There’s no instruction manual for shadow work. So make sure you are really ready to take on this responsibility. It’s a personal journey that is ongoing. This work does get easier with time.
Ultimately the decision to do this work is a tough one to make. It requires identifying our individual flaws which is only the beginning. I want to encourage anyone who has chosen to walk this path. You’re not alone. Never will be. Never have been.
If you’re interested in a reading surrounding where to begin with your Shadow Work journey please reach out to me. I’d love to chat and share some of my experiences with you!
blakekathryn
snowghoul
origamiaround
dededos
prguitarman