Tao of the Unicorn

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

Nine ways to understand and confront your shadow self

1. Admit you have a shadow self and recognise that it’s normal

2. Acknowledge that you don’t like your shadow parts

3. Ask yourself what is triggering you about a person/situation when it happens

4. Label and feel these feelings when you are triggered

5. Dig deeper to find out where these shadow aspects come from and why they’re there

6. Open up to own and take responsibility for these hidden parts of you

7. Integrate these rejected shadow aspects with love and acceptance

8. Let go of old beliefs and create new ones that are healthy and empowering

9. Work with a therapist or counsellor to delve deeper and confront your shadow aspects

Luisa Tam

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

[salemwitchtrials-deactivated202]

Coming to Writing, Hélène Cixous

[taooftheunicorn]

there are four basic levels of attraction, and specifying which one I have for someone helps immensely in clarifying what I like about them: physical - imagining enjoying physical intimacy with them (sex or just snuggling) emotional - imagining making creative/artsy stuff with them intellectual - imagining solving interesting practical problems with them philosophical - imagining exploring the deepest awe and wonder of the universe with them I rarely, if ever, have all of these for anyone

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

some people have a tendency to only explore the scary "what ifs", but there is a flipside. "what if you excel?" What if it is one of the best experiences of your life?" "what if it changes you in a beautiful way?"

[taooftheunicorn]

i took the pain into my arms like a lover.  her embrace became a door.

[taooftheunicorn]

Some of us ran so far away, during a period of survival, that we forgot to come back home to ourselves. Return home to yourself. You are safe now.

[taooftheunicorn]

At some point, you’re going to lose yourself. You’re going to wake up from a restless sleep and wonder who the hell you are, what you’re doing, and where you’re going. You’re going to wander so far from a path you thought you knew that you won’t be able to see an easy way back to it. But you need to be there, and you need to feel that feeling in order to find a new you. A happier you. The universe will only take us away from ourselves so we can be better.

So many things will arise to throw us off course. And when it happens, it’ll hurt. It’ll feel like the wind has been punched from our lungs. And when it happens, it’s okay to admit we’re hurting. It’s okay to admit we feel like we’re being thrown about like a boat on a rough sea. Because it’s less about the storm and more about staying afloat despite it. Because when you make it through, and you will make it through, you’ll be the same person you were before, but with a new wisdom and invaluable experience behind you that can only come from losing your way. They always say that calm seas never made a good sailor. And you will be your old self again, just as soon as you figure out what you need to change.

Maybe a situation you have become so comfortable in has become toxic, and comfortable isn’t the same as healthy. Maybe love has disappointed you one too many times. Maybe you don’t believe in the things or people you used to anymore. Maybe you’ve been chasing success or something or someone for so long you’ve forgotten why. Maybe life is just a little bit loud sometimes.

You have to embrace all the confusion. You have to understand that when you don’t know which path to take, you may take the wrong one. You have to embrace the struggles. You have to accept you feel lost. You have to try again when you don’t know the right answers, or perhaps any answers at all. We will all be there someday, a little lost and unsure what to do next. And then?

You have to embrace being lost. Because being lost is exactly where you find yourself.

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]

[taooftheunicorn]