What is “Shadow work”? Shadow work is used in spiritual teachings to refer to the unconscious or subconscious mind. To live happy, healthy lives, we must do shadow work for ourselves and others. It’s an aspect of self-care that is positive but also painful.
The word “shadow work” can be scary when you don’t know or understand what it truly is. It can bring up thoughts and images of dark or negative aspects of spiritual practices. Some think it’s the more negative aspects of our personality, but it’s neither, so what is shadow work?
The concept behind “shadow,” according to Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875–1961), is the darkness of our pain and trauma hidden from view; this idea extends into the human psychology of our awareness, the “conscious,” and the “unconscious” mind. Hidden are the painful fractured parts of ourselves deep within our subconscious minds.
We are Born Into This World Whole!
Truly whole when born into this world, but our wholeness is short-lived—born as infants utterly dependent on the family we are within. As a result, we are born into relationally dependent families that socialize us from a very young age into a society that is also fractured. Here, we learn where some aspects of ourselves are accepted, and others are not. What is acceptable and what is not depends on the direct family values we are born into.
Positive and Negative Aspects of Us
Aspects of ourselves are both positive and negative. Our family rejects parts considered unfavorable; accepted parts are not. As a result, in the name of survival, for we are relationally dependent, we do anything to suppress and deny those aspects of ourselves disapproved of emotionally. We then tend to show more of the parts approved by our parents.
We disassociate from what is disapproved of, creating a split within the person we call the conscious and the subconscious. This rejection by our parents is our first act of self-rejection. Where we have in the name of self-preservation, we disassociate from the disapproval aspects of ourselves.
“Conscious” We Are Aware “Unconscious or Subconscious” We Have No Awareness
According to psychologist Froid, during his observations, he discovered that people are conscious and subconscious. Meaning people have aspects of themselves that they are aware of and characteristics they are not unaware.
The conscious mind has been referred to as a light, as being aware of something, we have to see it. Aspects of ourselves that are unconscious, we cannot see. It is out of our awareness, for it is in the dark.
The aspects of ourselves that we are unaware of are the “shadow” parts of our subconscious mind. The human shadow parts are not exposed to the light of our conscious mind. Therefore, it is hidden; we are unaware of these suppressed parts. The human shadow includes what we refer to as harmful because most of us suppress, deny, and disown the characteristics of the Self we feel are hurtful and dangerous. One of the biggest misunderstandings of shadow work is that all contained in the subconscious mind is harmful or destructive, which is entirely untrue!
What’s Hidden in Our Subconscious?
We are indeed more likely to suppress anger than a unique talent we may have. However, a person’s shadow often holds certain aspects that may be genuinely positive, especially true when people with low self-esteem and shame.
Here is an example of how a positive aspect of a person can end up in the shadow.
- A young girl loves more than anything, is to dance. Not only that, she is excellent. She has strong self-esteem and truly loves expressing herself through her dance. Then she tells her parents how much she would love to join a dance studio for lessons. But her parents may be lacking financially. So they tell her they don’t have the money to throw away and waste on dance classes.
- This young girl feels her family has rejected her passion. As a result, for the sake of survival in her social group, she will also start to abandon her self-esteem, power, and self-worth to get love. She does this to the degree in adulthood by rejecting her self-esteem, self-love, and self-expression. She sees things she is passionate about and would make her happy as a waste of time and money and not worth it. Her life will be harrowing in adulthood because she has exiled this part of herself; she is fractured.
- As an adult, she may work with someone to uncover her limiting beliefs, memories, and feelings buried in her subconscious. She discovers she has a lot of self-confidence. She finds her self-worth in following her passion. Therefore, she finds a dance studio not far from her home and joins. She becomes so good at expressing her talent she is offered a job teaching. As a result, a few years later, she is a new owner of a dance studio. Now she is living her true passion.
Denying and Suppression Does NOT Mean it Disappears!
When we deny, suppress, or disown something, it does not just disappear. It slips into our subconscious. It is out of our conscious awareness. Our subconscious mind holds all of these things that influence our behavior. We don’t see or know why it’s happening. As adults, we find ourselves in these negative patterns of behavior. Reliving to us all the same negative consequences is because of our “Shadow”!
People Resist Shadow Work. Why Is That?
To acknowledge something we have suppressed in our subconscious mind because we have disowned, rejected, or denied it. We have to face the pain associated with that thing we had to fracture ourselves from in the first place.
Shadow work needs to take place. Do it for the sake of being accepted and loved. We have to face the pain which caused the fracture. The loss of that part of ourselves to be valued. That original pain of rejection will appear whenever we do shadow work. It revamps our survival mode, bringing us back to those painful, strong negative emotions where we may feel like we are going to die.
Here, our painful shadows become exposed to the light of our consciousness. We know where it came from, the experience we encountered, our age, who it came from, and all the unconscious beliefs held. We can sit with, deeply feel, and clearly understand how and why these shadows have unconsciously controlled our lives. Therefore, we can see it in the light for what it is and let it go, for it is no longer serving us.
Resistance to our Shadow, Positive Focus & The Law of Attraction
We are already resistant to our shadows or our subconscious, which is why they are shadows in the first place. So, as a result, we need to release the resistance to that specific thing we have suppressed.
If we obsessively try using positive focus and try to ignore it by taking our attention from our shadow, we only resist it further. As a result, when trying to avoid our shadow parts, we send more energy to them without being aware.
We don’t need another positive aspect to focus on, especially when it comes to painful things we don’t want to admit to, these suppressed aspects of our psyche. Instead, we need to become aware of those things we don’t want to be conscious of. Therefore, the next step towards a positive vibration is not finding a thought that feels better but becoming aware. Awareness is the next logical step. It is like shining a flashlight in a dark closet to see what has been hiding for the first time. Positive focus does not work when used as a tool to enable our resistance.
A Large Part of our Consciousness is Dedicated to Past Trauma
When we carry significant painful past experiences, such as emotional trauma, conscious or not, a large part of our consciousness is dedicated to that past trauma. So focusing on the positive and trying to convince ourselves and everyone around us that everything is just peachy, we will be “OK” We are telling others and ourselves a big fat lie.
The Law of Mirroring: Law of Attraction
The law of attraction is the law of mirroring. Our internal vibration is an exact match to our external reality. Our shadows within us are a point of attraction. They are part of us, part of our being. They attract like beings, like vibrations, and like experiences whether we like it or not. We have to integrate these shadows back to Self again.
When we do shadow work, it’s like freeing ourselves from weights that hold us underwater. Let go of the weight, and our vibration smoothly floats back up to the surface. Ensuring the fragmented part of ourselves is now integrated back to Self.
Does Shadow Work Bring More Shadow Work?
Shadow work is feared, so we resist doing it, but we feel immense relief when we bring awareness to our shadow. It causes us to feel grounded and authentic within ourselves. Becoming aware of our shadow is the number one way to diminish it. We begin to understand it, and this understanding removes fear.
Some people fear shadow work. They believe there will always be more shadow work if they focus on their shadow. This belief is far from the truth, for we are pure source energy and integrated consciousness when born into this life. Our consciousness is pure light. When we experience trauma and pain, we do not gain darkness. The light does not go away; it’s hidden from our consciousness. When we do shadow work, it is like washing the dusty film off the window. We do not have to do anything to create light, for the light is always there. It easily shines through the window into the room, for the dusty film obscuring the light is now gone.
We All Have Experienced The Process of Splitting Fractions of Ourselves
We all have gone through the process of splitting fractions of ourselves into parts, conscious and subconscious. This self-rejection is where self-hate comes in. We feel an emptiness, which is what is left; the parts of ourselves we have rejected, suppressed, dined, and lost.
Shadow work is just that; we consciously put in the work of what has become unconscious to bring it to the light. Shadow work can indeed be painful. Self-awareness does not come easy to those who practice avoidance of pain, and we all hold some suppressed pain. However, we must stop trying to avoid those painful parts; we must face them, feel them, heal, and become whole again. Shadow work is the only way to bring back the missing parts within us; it’s the key to living a conscious and free life.
The Universe Shows Us Our Shadow Over and Over
The universe shows us our shadow, all the stuff hidden in our subconscious. The universe provides opportunities to confront our shadow selves. It does not matter how far down we push these fragmented parts of ourselves away; we can’t hide from shadows; our shadows will always follow us.
Shadow work brings love to those parts of ourselves we or others rejected; therefore, the highest form of light work is shadow work. As a result of shadow work, we bring back what was once fragmented back to Self.
Why is it Important to Face Our Fears?
When we turn around and face our fears, they no longer have power. We are no longer resisting, running away, or trying to hide from them. We shift into a state of allowing by accepting it. By doing this, it can not hurt or hunt us any longer. Focusing on our shadow does not create more shadow. When we expose the shadow parts of ourselves to the light, it can no longer hurt us. We let go; we heal, and aspects of Self that were once fragmented become integrated back to Self.
More Resources:
The Unconscious Mind Meaning, Its Power and How to Reach it. https://1111newme.com/2021/10/27/the-unconscious-mind-meaning-its-power-and-how-to-reach-it/
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