Shadow Work

Each and every one of us embody the light and the dark.

Everything that is LOVE is the light, while everything that is FEAR is considered the dark.

When we make the choice to follow the spiritual path, we are choosing to let love become the leader and the healer in our lives. As we break through the walls of fear, we begin to see that light peering in through the cracks. We are never trying to “get rid of” the fear... just like in meditation, we are never trying to “get rid of” the thoughts... instead, we are sending love into the places where it simply does not exist. We are transforming the energy. We wander into spaces where forgiveness, acceptance and even the act of surrendering become opportunities for us to grow and evolve.

This is often referred to as shadow work.

In my own personal experience, shadow work feels very different each time if appears before me to be seen. It depends on what the surfacing issue is. As we practice, the way we process and move through the work also differs. The more we are “thrown to the wolves” in the depths of our stuff, the more tools we are able to acquire and add to our toolbox for the next round.

In the beginning, shadows can feel yucky and we may think something is wrong with us. Feelings of guilt, shame and regret may be revealed. None of these feel very good, do they?

When we do not have the tools needed to navigate through these feelings and emotions in a positive way, we tend to ignore, mask or even bypass them so we can return to the warm, fuzzy feelings again. Sounds like the right thing to do doesn’t it?! Let’s just push it away and maybe have a couple drinks or do something else that brings us pleasure instead of pain... yada yada yada.

While this all seems legit, in reality, we are repressing. When we repress, we are not actually solving anything. If it is not solved, that means it will return. Again and again and again until we face it. This is a vicious cycle that we end up move through almost unconsciously. As we continue to push our emotions and feelings back down below the surface, we develop an adaptation to the pain and suffering that is now naturally occurring. So this thing that we think is comfortable, is actually us getting comfortable in that suffering. At this point, it’s like we are always suffering, without even realizing it!

When we either hit rock bottom or readily wake up to what is happening, the dive into our healing begins. The fear based issues show back up, we recognize them, and we plummet...head first, right into the deep end. In order to truly let something go and clear the slate within the tissues of our body, we need to re~feel the pains originally felt, sit with them without flicking them off to the sideline, say thank you and...release them.

So ya, shadow work is tough. It hurts. A lot. It asks us to find the courage and strength within. It can test us in ways we never thought possible. It asks us to let go of things we think we need. It asks us to trust the unknown. It’s scary AF! Yep!

So why would we want to do this you ask?

Well, when we address the issues at hand...the hurt, the trauma, the old patterns and beliefs...we release ourselves from their grip.

We are no longer a prisoner in our very own skin.

We find freedom.

We find love in its truest form.