From SHADOW to GLOW, Mindful Shadow Work
According to the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung, every person has an inner ‘shadow’.
The Shadow is the dark side of consciousness, often deemed “evil or sinful”, that operates beneath the surface of our awareness.
In the context of Jungian theory, this Shadow has developed as a self-defense mechanism against unwanted thoughts and feelings, and it carries suppressed emotions such as hatred, anger, envy, greed, jealousy, or deceitfulness.
Our shadow self might reveal itself when we are triggered, in our relationships, or through difficult, stressful situations. And when this outwardly dark trait shows up, it means that some aspects of our personality are worth a closer look.
Shadow work is the process of identifying the features we repressed and reintegrating them into our conscious personality. Through Shadow work, we can free ourselves from the chains of the uncontrolled and irrational power of our shadow self. By looking into how we have created this dark zone inside us, we'll be able to uncover hidden fears and heal past traumas.
Rather than striving for perfection, we should aim to become a whole person, with all that it implies. Being whole involves both light and darkness, positive and negative, and this calls for integrating our shadow aspects into our conscious life.
While Shadow work cultivates awareness of different aspects of the self and encourages a non-judgmental attitude toward the most challenging parts of our nature, mindfulness helps us focus on being fully aware of what we are feeling at the moment, without interpretation or judgment.
By practicing mindfulness exercises, we can move our attention away from our obsessive, stressful thoughts, and get involved in the world around us, in what it is here and now.
In this way, we can expand our awareness of ourselves to the outer world and have a complete sense of knowing and connection. This will enable us to cultivate an accepting attitude toward whatever it is we are experiencing.
This book will guide you through a simple step-by-step process of re-centering yourself, using shadow work, mindfulness exercises, and guided meditation. It follows the IALH approach: Identify -> Acknowledge -> Love -> Heal.
It's important to remember that the emotional rebalancing process can be complex, and it isn't the same for everyone. Many different and unexpected feelings may surface after you thought you were already healing. Shadow work is not a straightforward process. Exploring your dark side is a bit like Dante’s Inferno.
Prepare yourself to put your shield down for good and go through soul surgery. Allow room to experience shadow work in your own way.
This book offers some takeaways that helped me on my self-development journey, and I hope they will help you with yours.