Shadow work/mastery is a healing modality. It is an ideology and a set of techniques that can assist people in improving their overall emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being.
We ALL have a shadow – often referred to as our ‘hidden self’ or ‘dark side’. Often many people take the path of repressing their shadow side which can manifest itself in a myriad of ways including:
Feeling confused about who you are and what you want out of life
Using masks to present yourself as acceptable or pleasing to others
Pleasing or impressing others by making decisions that aren’t necessarily what you want
Feeling numb, disassociated or disconnected from others or society in general
Some people may feel that they are not able to be present in the moment and struggle to “feel” their emotions. As a result of this, people may resort to numerous high risk activities as an attempt to feel alive again such as extreme sports, drug or alcohol abuse, sex or porn addiction, sexual perversion, risky driving, gambling, sexual infidelity, compulsive shopping –I could go on and on but I’m sure you get the picture!
Many people with repressed shadows may experience difficulty in managing their frustrations which can often lead to explosive displays of anger or despair. They become verbally or physically abusive or could even resort to self-harm or suicide attempts.
Another danger of shadow work repression is referred to as spiritual bypassing. This occurs when someone labels emotions such as anger, jealousy, shame, disgust as negative or to be avoided at all costs!
Telling someone who is repressing their shadow to ‘think positive’ or ‘look on the bright side of life’ may be more harmful than helpful. It may actually propel a person into burying their shadow side even deeper as they silently exclaim ‘What the BLEEP is wrong with me??!!’
So what are the benefits of embarking on a Shadow Work journey? I’ll talk about this in my next Blog.