
Self-care and during the pandemic has gained striking popularity, especially on apps like TikTok. Shadow work just so happens to be another trend related to self-care. People have said shadow work is just a hoax while others claim it has helped to heal their inner self. What do you think?
What is Shadow Work?
Shadow work is the concept of your shadow self and the deepest part of yourself that you may or may not acknowledge and don’t express to the world. Hence, keeping that part of yourself in the “shadows”. These could be different aspects of your personality that your fear may be rejected. It entails emotional healing, and
How do I become aware of my “shadow self?”
To become aware of your shadow self need to be open to the idea that there might be darker aspects to you. It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact who, what, when, how, and why, but one place to start is paying attention to things that trigger you. That could be some kind of past trauma or something causing conflict in your life currently. If you can better understand your triggers, the more you can learn to not let those triggers affect you. The same goes for repeating patterns. Repeating patterns isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if something keeps recurring in your life that you keep questioning why it’s continuously happening, maybe you need to pay closer attention to it. It may just be the first step to breaking an old cycle you didn’t even know you had.
How to do the inner work?
There isn’t one definitive answer as to how shadow work can be done but now that you’ve addressed the shadow aspect of yourself, you can try practicing meditation. It’s a great way to observe and recognize your thoughts and your body. Other practices can include writing out your feelings and journaling also referred to as scripting. You can even try art and music therapy. Using Tibetan bowls and sound therapy can send out healing frequencies to the body.
How is it important to my daily life?
Ultimately shadow work allows us to make peace with all aspects of ourselves. Everyone has gone through an event in their life that caused some form of suppression or in this case, the creation of a shadow side whether that be big or small. It helps us to accept who we truly are and transform old thought patterns preventing us from progressing. It’s all about self-growth and acceptance.
Does it really work?
The reason people think shadow work is a load of crap is that they’re either not ready to recognize those aspects of themselves or they believe all you’re doing is hyping yourself up. Others have argued that the term itself can be off-putting and that the actual definition of shadow doesn’t connect with the concept of shadow work. According to Carl Jung, the shadow term describes everything that we believe and say that we are not. In that case, it defeats the purpose of the shadow because the shadow is said to be no one. Therefore, you don’t know it exists, making it the “other”. People have also stated that you may be reluctant to embrace certain aspects of yourself — but they are conscious, meaning you notice it enough to suppress, lie, or simply not acknowledge them.
Whatever you choose to believe, recognizing the different aspects of yourself is necessary to self-growth whether you wanna call it shadow work or something else.