Shadow Work

Everyone has a shadow that follows them around, and your mind has a shadow too. The inner shadow is where we keep the feelings we are scared of, like being grumpy or jealous. When we are alone, sometimes these feelings come out to say hello. Instead of running away, we can be brave and listen to what they have to say. When you understand your shadow, you become a whole person instead of just a piece of one.

When you understand your shadow you become a whole person instead of just a piece of one. The things you hate most in other people are the things you have not forgiven in yourself. The jealousy you judge in a friend is the jealousy you buried in yourself at age nine. The anger you cannot stand in your father is the anger you will not admit lives in your chest. The shadow is not the enemy. The shadow is the filing cabinet where you put everything the world told you was unacceptable. But unacceptable is not the same as untrue. Open the cabinet. Read the files. The monster under the bed is almost always a child who was told to hide.

Jungian shadow integration: the repressed traits the conscious ego finds unacceptable must be acknowledged to achieve individuation. The monster under the bed is almost always a child who was told to hide.

SOUND: A low humming Om or a deep bass note: the frequency of the parts you buried vibrating back to the surface.

SMELL: Damp earthy forest floor after rain: the scent of things decomposing into something useful.

TASTE: Very dark bitter chocolate: the flavor the mouth rejects at first but learns to crave.

TOUCH: A smooth heavy stone in your hand: the weight of something you have been carrying without looking at.

SIGHT: The moon visible during the day: the dark thing showing up where it is not expected.

BODY: Stretching your muscles until you feel a good ache: the body reminding you that growth lives next door to discomfort.

Music: Crazy Times by Jars of Clay

Music: The Dark by SYML

Music: Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Part of Identity & The Self — CONSCIOUSNESS — Education Revelation