Many shadow work beginners have started their journey of reflection with some valid questions. Exactly what is shadow work and am I doing this right? It is important to understand the essence of what you are dealing with and what you are trying to accomplish. My aim here is to give you a broader understanding as it is not merely psychoanalysis that is taking place.
Spirituality, the science of cellular memory and our electric vibrational frequency as well as mapping the human psych can all fit into the structure of our shadows.
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.” (Carl Jung)
Basic Instincts
Our instinct is to stay alive, survive and become our own version of the fittest. Our version of the fittest is put together by influencers that we have experienced throughout our lives. These experiences come with relationships with others and environments that have carved out our belief system. Beliefs make up our subconscious minds, and they operate our individual compass.
This subconscious automated survival platform is in place to guide us to become our best version of the fittest, it becomes who we have developed into.
When we are influenced to believe that we have a dysfunctional development within us and a negative label is put upon us, we try to cope with the degrading event. We may retaliate and fight back to prove ourselves or we may try to suppress our unacceptable behavior due to fear of repercussions.
The result is damage to the emotional body and the cellular memory which is all connected to our nervous system. An unresolved wound is inflicted upon our psyche, and we even try to forget, suppress and reject the fact that an event has effectively labeled us. Denying any weakness within the matter.
Emotional Wounds
If you have had parents that witnessed the affliction and they helped you work through your painful event, leaving you with a healthy state of emotion, then you are one of the few lucky ones. Conscious parenting has only been privy to a small percentage of the population.
Our parents have all been busy trying to survive wars, famine, abuse, the school playground and more. The list is as long as generational trauma passed on through cellular memory.
If any emotional disturbance is suppressed, not nurtured and processed consciously, you are left with the emotional wound stored within your memory. The wound is covered over and hidden with a thin layer of emotional bandage so that the weakness or failure is covered up. It festers under the surface and if poked, you are triggered. Subsequently it becomes a hidden aspect of your personality which you do not want to face. It is painful.
Also known as the dark side, the hidden world within, the memory part that cries due to rejection from you or the outside world. The shadow.
Mental Health
If you are someone who has a buildup of many emotional wounds, and triggers or dysfunctional behavior patterns become prevalent, others may see you as having mental health issues. Due to the stigma placed on mental health, this can lead to further attempts to run from who you are.
The coping mechanism of suppression and escape hits toxic point and you don’t know how to fix it. Maybe a pill, a drink, something, anything to get rid of your painful emotion.
We are now only beginning to understand that when we are dealing with mental health, emotional and spiritual health is also related. Our painful experiences and our belief system has been compromised. Rather than ask ‘what’s wrong with me/them?’ the question may be answered with ‘what happened to me/them?’
An Evolution of Embracing
When we ignore our shadow side, it tends to manifest itself in unhealthy ways. Repressed anger may lead to explosive outbursts, or denied jealousy may result in passive-aggressive behavior. By acknowledging and accepting these negative emotions, we can gain a better understanding of ourselves and what drives our actions.
Embracing our shadow side allows us to develop a deeper sense of self-awareness and authenticity. It also enables us to have healthier relationships with others, as we can be honest about our emotions and behavior.
An example of embracing the shadow side can be seen in the story of a woman who always prided herself on being kind and nurturing. However, beneath her pleasant exterior, she harbored intense anger and resentment towards those she felt had wronged her. By acknowledging and accepting her shadow side, she was able to confront these negative emotions and work through them in a healthy way. This process allowed her to become more balanced and genuine with herself and others.
This is where we begin to discover new life skills. We begin to evolve as a human being beyond running on instinct and ego. We understand that our automated program is running the show and that we now have to consciously work with the subconscious.
Human evolution is molding us to learn how to work with our emotional body. This means that we are now learning to nurture our electrical current, being the emotional body, to vibrate at a healthy frequency.
What is the Emotional Body
The emotional body refers to the intricate and dynamic aspect of our being that encompasses our emotional experiences, reactions, and responses. It is an integral component of the holistic human system, intertwined with our mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions. This ethereal and often intangible dimension influences our feelings, moods, and overall emotional well-being.
The emotional body is not confined solely to the realm of emotions but extends to the energetic and vibrational aspects that shape our emotional states. It involves the complex interplay of neurotransmitters, hormones, and subtle energy, contributing to the rich tapestry of our emotional landscape.
Understanding and nurturing the emotional body is essential for fostering emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and overall mental and emotional balance in our lives.
Healing the Emotional Body with Shadow Work
With the growing popularity of shadow work, we are evolving as a race by learning to embrace and nurture our shadow within our complex emotional body.
There are many common misconceptions about shadow work being just for the psychologically disturbed or people in dire emotional states.
Shadow work for emotional wellness can range from healing mild anxiety to unveiling extremely toxic belief and memory patterns.
Is Shadow Work Dangerous?
Religious group members can label shadow work as tabu and dangerous. They are concerned with souls that are working with the dark side. They think that darkness is contagious, and it is. Toxic energy is a leach searching for emotional food to fuel its existence. Shadow workers and coaches must work within a protective light energy.
This makes shadow work an important part of healing. When exposing a shadow, we are bringing light onto the subject matter. We are also bringing in love as we nurture and care for the parts of us that are in pain.
Sometimes we are dealing with a very avoidant energy unit that only recognizes emotional pain as a form of existence. It lives on pain. There may be a level of resistance in allowing love and light to enter.
If applicable, it is important to work with the resistance to healing first.
Ultimately, all living matter wants to thrive and love conquers all so this work must fully integrate:
- Light – acknowledgement
- Acceptance – understanding how this came to be
- Love – unconditional nurturing back to a higher vibrational for wellness of being.
How to Do Shadow Work
There are many techniques that assist us to get in touch with our emotions. Some include journaling, meditating, inner journey work, traveling to inner worlds, hypnotherapy, in fact any modality that helps you to understand the emotional pattern playing within your subconscious dimension is shadow work.
The key is to develop a way to become present with your emotion as an onlooker. Have a discussion with your emotion, view a story, get some answers as to the foundation of the emotional part. This can be summarized as reflection.
It is difficult for some as resistance to feeling emotional pain is an instinct and you can end up stuck in a ruminating or delusional thought that masks the chore of the matter. Many people start with therapists, shadow work coaches, and inner journey facilitators to give them an understanding of how to process the complexity of the emotionally challenged body.
Please leave a comment if you have something of value you would like to mention for readers and contact me if you have any queries or would like to be coached on any aspect of your subconscious realm.
Author, Vivien Moss