shadow work

5 Signs You Need Shadow Work

The shadow is the part of our psyche that contains all of our repressed and ignored emotions, habits, tendencies, desires and even gifts. This is an aspect of ourselves that we would rather pretend didn’t exist.

However if we ignore our shadow side completely we end up living lives rules by unconscious compulsions, never really making headway.

We all have a shadow or unconscious side, so we all have to do shadow work at some point. I would say go so far to say that shadow work is a crucial element to any spiritual practice.⠀
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Sometimes the shadow is more relevant in our lives, while other times our focus should be on the lighter aspects. There doesn’t have to be a constant focus on the dark or unconscious, instead it’s all about balance.
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However a big sign that you need shadow work right now is that specific lessons are repeating over and over, or your relationships are becoming cyclical. This is when the unconscious mind is ruling our lives, and we struggle to make healthy conscious decisions.⠀

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How To Get Through a Dark Night of the Soul

We all have to go through a phase in our lives where we are forced to confront all of our deepest darkest fears and doubts, so we can come out the other end with deeper clarity.

This is what a dark night of the soul entails during a spiritual awakening. It’s an unexpected shake up of everything we consider familiar and comfortable.

On the other side of a dark night, we are able to embody even greater amounts of light. We are able to solidify who we are, and what we are here to do.

In this post I want to cover what the dark night of the soul is, why it happens, and how to get through it in one piece.

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What Is Shadow Work and How to Do It

You’ve probably heard the terms “shadow work” or “shadow self” before, but maybe you aren’t exactly sure what they mean or how to go about doing it.

In this post I want to dive into what the shadow self is, how to become aware of it, and provide some exercizes to start working with and integrating it.

The psychologist Carl Jung described the shadow self as an unconscious aspect of our psyche that contains all of the traits, emotions and impulses that we repress or deny in ourselves.

These can be traits such as rage, anger, jealousy, fear, shame and so on. This is the aspect of us that is prone to projection, which is when we identify a negative aspect of ourselves in another.

On the other hand, the shadow self contains many positive traits and gifts that we have repressed too. Working with the shadow isn’t all doom and gloom, in fact it can be one of the most freeing practices we do.

Talking about the shadow is not popular (although becoming more so) because it’s not pleasant to address this side of us. However shadow work is an important part in becoming healed and whole beings, who aren’t afraid of the metaphorical monsters lurking in our unconscious minds.

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The Dark Side of Empaths

I am always talking about the upsides of being an empath and contradicting the idea that being an empath is inherently a curse, however to have a balanced discussion we also need to look at the dark side of empaths.

Being an empath can be both a blessing and a curse, it totally depends on the individual and the relationship they have with their sensitivity.

Growing up in this world as an empath can be extremely difficult, not only do we face being called “too sensitive” but we aren’t given the tools to work with that sensitivity.

Therefore the only other option is to become cold and callous. When you can feel, absorb and embody all of the emotions around you, hardheartedness can act as a defense mechanism. It can seem a logical choice to close yourself off from the world.

In this post we’re going to talk about that dark side and how to navigate it, because the chances are we have all been there at one point!

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