When we do shadow work, we are dissecting and diving into our shadow selves, the hidden, suppressed, scared part of you. Us humans, all have a shadow self, and there are different aspects of how that shadow becomes a part of us and will develop. A few examples could be trauma caused through childhood, a trauma that was caused through adulthood, or even from a past life. There is no one way that a shadow self can form. These darker shadow aspects of ourselves still exist, even if we are attuning to a high vibrational frequency, even if we don’t pay attention to the shadow, or notice it, it is still there. That’s what shadows do, they do not reveal themselves, they sit in shadows. The tricky thing about shadow selves is that they bury themselves into the crevices in our bodies, usually at a time when we are not conscious of it. And most of the time, no one is ever conscious that this is happening. If you are conscious of this, then that is the first step to shadow work. Being aware and conscious that your shadow self has come to life. It’s like the saying “the first step to fixing a problem is admitting that there is a problem”, which means noticing that there is a problem. If you don’t notice the shadow self, there is no way you can do shadow work, or it will be very hard. It's like when you are shining a light on a shadow and it goes away, that's what the shadow self is. When we acknowledge these lower vibrational frequencies, they feel seen, and that is what they want. They exist for a reason, valid reasons. I always thought the idea of a shadow self was bad, and I categorized that as being a bad thing, then I watched Activation Vibrations video of shadow selves and shadow work on YouTube and she said the main job of a shadow is to protect us, and that changed my mind on everything I thought about shadows. They protect us.
Click here to watch Activation Vibrations video on Shadow Work and Shadow Self → https.//www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP4IsL9ePoE
To give some examples of the shadow self, the shadow self would be the jealous version of you, the angry version, the version that's self-sabotaging, suppressing, and even holding yourself back. Those aspects are developments that are unrecognized trauma, and we develop those aspects when we are going through trauma and not receiving the help and support we need. If our external reality is not supportive, we tend to go into ourselves and our ego comes out, and our ego is now in charge of all the shadow aspects. For example, say you are having an anxiety attack in a public place, and you are freaking out, shaking, crying, and everyone is looking at you. You would think “Okay, I need to stop and calm down because no one is helping me, so I need to help myself.” This person having the anxiety attack would suppress what they are feeling and just tell themselves they are okay when clearly they are not okay, and the trauma that should have been released right then and there, by just expressing how they feel, is now suppressed. So this person doesn't feel comfortable expressing their feelings anymore, because of the experience they had, or they don’t pay attention to what they are feeling. Shadow aspects are developed by suppressed energy in a human being and having that energy not be fully expressed. That suppressed energy manifests and creates a blockage in a person, and those blockages can add up if more energy is suppressed and not fully expressed and acknowledged. More blockages are more trauma added onto a person, and more trauma and blockages mean more things to work out. The only way to get rid of it is to heal.
Different Ways to do Shadow Work:
Mediation
Therapy (Psychotherapy)
Journaling
Affirmations
♡ Everyone has a shadow. You don't need to have a really traumatic experience to do shadow work, you can have none, and you can have tons, but you can still do this work to explore yourself. Shadow work is not limited to anyone. We can all do it. Healed and unhealed people.
♡ Know that healing takes time, and time heals everything. Be patient with yourself and your healing journey, you won't be healed overnight. It’s like having a broken bone, time and patience are crucial to healing a broken bone.
♡ Go at your own pace, don't rush this work. Sometimes doing shadow work can have the opposite effects on us if we are not careful. If we are multitasking, rushing, or not taking the time to dive deep enough into this work, we can become drained, overwhelmed, or even traumatized, so take this work at your own pace.
♡ Note that feeling is healing. Feel your emotions and just notice them. The more aware you become of your emotions, the better the outcome of shadow work is. Express and honor these feelings, they are here for a reason, explore them.
♡ It’s always okay to ask for help when needed. You're not alone in this. Shadow work can be really hard, draining, and exhausting, but with the support and help from family members, friends, and even a therapist, could really help you in some ways.