What Is Shadow Work?
What The Hell is Shadow Work and Why the Hell Should You Do It?
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard ‘It’s emotional’ , ‘you’ll cry’ ‘It’s deep’. All of which are true. So if those haven’t yet scared you off, you might be looking for a reason, or an ‘upside’ to it all.
Truth is, the upside takes getting uncomfortable first. So let’s go over what it’s not.
It’s NOT dangerous.
It may be painful at times, revisiting often ignored and unpleasant emotions, but shadow side left unchecked it can do more damage in the long term in life.
It’s not something you have to share with the world. (Unless you want to)
This option is totally left to you, however there is no obligation to share this with the world. If you decide to leave no trace and love fire like this pyro here, hello to the Fire Sign Gang!, burn it. That can also be a great way to release those heavy emotions.
Ok, So What Is It?
Shadow work is when you address the darker sides of your feelings. Like I mentioned above, they’re the ones we typically find unpleasant and ignore. (Which great prompt btw, ‘What emotion do I avoid the most and why?’) These are the more low vibrational energies of who you are. The purpose is to explore, accept maybe even learn to love these sides of yourself. The truth is, we are not all light, and we are not all darkness. For example, are you only a happy, joyful optimistic person every moment of your life? No, there are times where you may feel sad, disappointed, even angry. These emotions are just as much you as the other. Ignoring one is ignoring parts of yourself. Left unchecked these emotions can manifest in your present life in not so comfy ways. Like irritability, lack of patience with yourself and others, even self shame like perfectionism.
Ok, Why The Hell Should I Do It?
Doing shadow work is like your own personal therapy. (I do not advise you use this as your only source of therapy, if you’re able to see a talk therapist please use that as your primary mental health source.) Prompts done in safe and private space can help you get a deeper and more clear understanding of who you are. Your inner workings, ‘why you do what you do’. It’s such a great way to address conditioned actions you take but not sure why. It can help you better understand your external relationships and most importantly the one with yourself.
If you’re ready to jump into some prompts and would love support. Join our Facebook Group community where we share mantras, personal experiences and shadow work prompts for your journal at home.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Higherselfjourney
Credits for collective info go to:
@amahlentshinga
@spiritivibez