Shadow Work - Into the Darkening
What it is?
Shadow work, in a nutshell, is connecting and accepting your shadow self. Your shadow self is the part of you that you don’t like or you feel will not be liked or accepted in the outside world and you, therefore, suppress it.
Everyone, like everything in the world, has a light and dark side. It is inevitable. No one person is all good or all bad, one may be more than the other but all have both. The light side is the side that is shown to the outside world and is what we think is accepted as “normal”. The dark side, or your shadow self, is the side of you, tendencies and qualities, that you tend to hide from others due to the thought that it will not be accepted, or things you personally just don’t like about yourself.
Shadow work is the process of identifying these qualities and then accepting and embracing them as a part of the whole and true you.
I am still working on my own personal shadow workings. Shadow work is not something that you can do once or a few times, it is a lifelong journey, and like anything, it gets better with time. Sometimes there may be more than a few qualities about yourself that you need to identify and accept. This is most likely to be the case and you will need to identify each by themselves and work with each trait.
Disclaimer
Now, let’s rewind. I do believe in nurture over nature, but nature plays a part. I do feel that a person is the product of their environment, but there are just some things that are inherently you, and in your DNA as such. So I am not saying that the qualities that you identify as part of your shadow self are things that you are unable to change, you can, it will just be hard and it won’t change the fact that it was a part of you and still will define you in some way if only to yourself. The point is to find these traits and work to better them.
Personal experience
I am still working on my own personal shadow workings. Shadow work is not something that you can do once or a few times, it is a lifelong journey and like anything, it gets better with time. Sometimes there may be more than a few qualities about yourself that you need to identify and accept. This is most likely to be the case and you will need to identify each by themselves and work with each trait.
How to get started with your shadow work?
There are a few things that you can do or try to connect with your shadow self.
1. Meditation – sitting with your thoughts
Meditation is a topic of its own but can be used here. There are different versions of meditation. For this purpose, I feel the best is to just sit with your thoughts. Do not try and dictate what flows through your mind and don’t try to focus on any particular thought. Just be aware of the thoughts that are coming and going and lingering. Do this for a few minutes, trying to extend the length of meditation each time.
2. Journaling – free write
Just like the meditation or used in conjunction with, write down everything that pops in your head, draw any images, etc. Do this for a few minutes and then review what is on the paper, look deep into why you drew what you drew or wrote what you wrote.
3. Divination – tarot
You will need to develop a few questions that you want to know about yourself. Try to avoid yes and no questions, for questions that will reveal some deeper aspects of you. Ask your question aloud if you can and shuffle the cards. Once you are content with the shuffle (3-7 times) pull one card and interpret the meaning. Find all that the card can represent and relate it to your question. Be honest with yourself here. Write if you feel compelled to. See the card and what it is, do not pick another card or only interpret what you want from the meaning.
Trust Yourself
These are some methods that I am using to discover and embrace my shadow. Again, remember everyone is light and dark. Discovering and accepting all that is you, embracing the whole you will allow you to open yourself to a fuller life. It will also help you to take charge of any shadow traits that may be holding you back. Identifying them can help you to change them and bring them to the light or dive into your dark.
Please if you try any of these methods or have more suggestions, please share.
Till next time blessed be.
