Psyche logo

Understanding Shadow Work

BY: Body Aura

By 8illionaire MarketingPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
2

Shadow Work is how you integrate the aspects of your unconscious psyche into your conscious experience and allow the positive aspects of the shadow to express themselves. When properly used and channeled, the shadow-self has traits that you can use to further your own personal development. Everyone carries a dark side ,even if we don't like to admit to our flaws. Shadow work can sound creepy or a means to what goes bump in the night. Some parts of it may be rather uncomfortable for most but it is necessary work to uncoil the true joy that is beyond those skeletons and fears. Especially the one That we keep tucked away in the closet of our own mind.

The idea of the shadow self was first conceived by Carl Jung, a 20th-century psychologist from Switzerland. Shadow work is not blaming everyone who hurt you for your mistakes. Shadow work is realizing (You didn't put yourself through anything and that is also shadow work. Knowing you didn't do anything to cause your trauma. You didn't do anything to cause your those triggers. ) Its main source of what causes mental health, diseases, low-self esteem about self worth and addictions. Living through traumatic responses which put you in more unfavorable positions are likely to cause disorders or coping of shutting down and putting a wall which could be an alternate personality or alter ego for short. Knowing you deserved better and it took you a while to give it to yourself. This process is called self realization. Wanting happiness and self love for self and from self should be the ultimate goal when dealing with traumatic wars within.

Shadow work is honoring your process, thanking yourself for being resilient, holding yourself accountable, forgiving yourself, releasing habits. You can (and should) acknowledge all that brought you to the space you are currently in. You don't have to pretend no one hurt you, or that any abuse or strain you've dealt with wasn't traumatizing. Feel through it. Get help! but don't be a victim to that pain forever.

Often we go through life attempting to hide our shadow. That's what society tells us to do, right? At some point in our lives, we discover what pain is and how to repress that feeling. Most likely this happened as a an adolescent but sometime when growing up.

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it" - Rumi

Holding onto and living through trauma not only hurts you but other people. its more than journaling about your childhood. Shadow work is ACTION. Its real shifts taking place outside of your mind and heart. Acknowledge that this process isn't going to be easy and being okay with doing things that aren't easy. You'll always have opportunities to make better choices. The best way to do shadow work is have awareness of how actions affect the world around you. 

Confront Your Shadow:

The pain and suffering we see in the world around us are often mirrored by our internal pain and suffering. We all have these aspects of life within us. One way or another we are all connected through life and what goes on around us. When our minds and emotions become polluted, then we may not be able to understand one another. Because what we see ,speak on and view could lead us astray especially when dealing with yellow journalism that pushes what good and what's bad what's in and what's out. Unknowingly of self and insecurities we as people try to be something that we are not or cant be when we are created uniquely in Gods image.

Shadow work may seem counterintuitive on the outside but on the inside you'll face pain and trauma head on instead of running away from what caused it. The process works by allowing oneself to feel and understand the all aspects of oneself. Eventually it becomes integrated into a habit instead of being triggered from certain situations, smells, seeing someone or flashback of unwanted memories. One of the most important things to remember when engaging with shadow work is to compensate and be compassionate with yourself. Not all answers may come right away, so wherever you are in this process. Allow yourself time to transition your emotions with conscious awareness of self process over progress.

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." -  Carl Jung

therapy
2

About the Creator

8illionaire Marketing

Providing Engaging Articles that help promote our #MentalHealth,#HIPHOP and #HealthyLifestyle. On or website is where you can purchase #aromatherapyproducts & #EssentialOils that helps P.H.Balance and relaxation

www.bodyaura.org

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.