The What +The Why
WHAT IS SHADOW WORK?
Shadow work is the act of exploring who and how you are within the frequently unexplored parts of yourself. The less inhabited and often darker places within you. It is how your tender, harmed, rough edges and frequently considered less desirable parts of self manifest in actions, thoughts, and behaviors. This can include the actions you deny yourself from exploring due to societal programming, the self-talk passed down by unhealed families of origin, desires sparked by lack or denial, and so much more.
Some of the ways you can engage with your shadow aspects include therapy, counseling, somatic practices, and journaling (which is the focus I take). Shadow work is no longer relegated solely to therapy spaces and is often used as a broad term to address the work done to navigate our thoughts, feelings, processing, or lack thereof.
Taking the time to not only contemplate the self but to utilize deeper questioning to uncover and ultimately demystify your shadows.
*Shadow work is a term that was initially brought to the forefront by Carl Jung, however, it has taken on an entire life of its own since its public debut. If you are curious about the inception and foundations of this concept I implore you to do your own research and to also be aware that there are some racist and harmful underpinnings that may show up in your exploration. I will not be centering his take on the work as the basis, nor will this be a history lesson on his perspective.
WHY DO I NEED TO DO SHADOW WORK?
You need to complete your processing for experiences in order for you to move through them. Shadow work can address or bring attention to a break and/or disconnect in processing that disrupted the completion of an experience. “A missing frame in the film”, so to speak. This could be an experience where you were unable to go through your process to reconcile how you felt within yourself through the lens of the standards that you measure yourself against. So you can process experiences you have had that “got stuck” so you can move through the experience and close the loop.
You also may choose to process the aspects of yourself, your thoughts, or your actions that feel different than you believe they “should” be. This “should” could be yours or could stem from familial or societal standards. There are very specific prescribed ways we are supposed to exist based on how we identify and are processed by others. You may identify differently than others may process you so there is a good chance that a disconnect can exist here as well. How you feel about who you are and what others tell you about who you are can align or fly askew.
You can’t police the manner in which others perceive you, but you can manage the ways in which you process, witness, and care for yourself.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DOING SHADOW WORK?
Shadow work is a tool to encounter more of who and how you are in order to heal, reintegrate and release. You’ll have more compassion for yourself and hold less judgment about your thoughts, feelings, and actions based on the parameters of others and the systems that be (white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, racism, classism, colonialism….I could go on and on). Shadow work is a tool to grow, evolve, and decondition your spirit from the energy and experiences of the past to be better prepared for what is yet to come.
Reconnecting with your sense of self and recalibrating your discernment help you to then regenerate the community you seek to be a part of.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I DO THIS WORK?
It is not uncommon to have very different feelings come up if you explore a journaling prompt more than once. It can be helpful to pay attention to what could influence this particular processing including but not limited to:
Time of day
Location
Hunger level
Stress level
World events
Surrounding company (or lack thereof), etc.
The frequency is up to you and your current capacity, so allow yourself to do what you can at any given time while being kind to yourself.
WHAT MIGHT I EXPERIENCE?
It is normal to feel discomfort with this process. It can bring up old stories or bring ones you were unaware you carried to the surface. They may have come from this life or have been passed down through generational trauma and epigenetics. All healing comes with challenges as you move beyond the limitations of your hurts and harms. Processing your thoughts, feelings, and emotions is also not a linear path. It can go in any direction and may feel discombobulating. Trust your own unique process and stay open to what is being shared with you from within yourself.
Show kindness to yourself as you work through the book and as you take this skill for awareness and evolution out into the wild world.
WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS OF NOT DOING SHADOW WORK?
Integrating into an interdependent community without doing Shadow Work leaves you and others susceptible to your unhealed and unprocessed past. It can make partnerships much more challenging and your ability to identify your own needs more difficult. Interdependent community requires transparency, vulnerability, and the ability to witness the needs of others as a priority (this is a part of how others prioritize you).
Without embarking on a healing journey, you are not as equipped to play your part. So having community as a goal of yours means you have to do the work.
What have you entertained in the past that you are no longer available for?
What did you previously release that you are calling back to you?