![]() Some may describe this experience as operating on autopilot or becoming numb to everything around and within us. If shadow work isn’t done, we will largely continue to perpetuate the status quo, being carried along the waves of our lives and never sinking beneath the surface. This means that for deep healing to occur, which is always about more than just ourselves, shadow work has to be done in all three of these levels. Instead, we have shadows at three different levels: personal, communal, and societal. Andrea Owen writes that it is “about finding the courage to acknowledge and integrate these parts, so we can live more fully and authentically."īut here’s the plot twist – we don’t only have personal shadows. Shadow work is a process of increasing our capacity to be aware of and in connection with our shadows, not to destroy them, but to hold them in gentleness and care. (Note: some psychologists and practitioners refer to The Shadow as a singular part of us others, including myself, use the plural to describe different shadows we hold.)Īnd yet – when we learn to recognize them and sit with them, we can touch upon a depth of experience that brings more meaning and purpose to our lives. We can feel as though we are under direct attack. When people ask me what shadows are, I describe them in this way: Shadows are the parts of us we'd prefer to not admit are real and when they’re seen or questioned, or even hinted at, we can feel uncomfortable, defensive, and disgruntled. ![]() This Shadow might include our repressed memories, childhood traumas, or even simply the inner narratives we prefer not to engage with. ![]() In the 1950s, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung began exploring the concept of the Shadow, describing it as the “dark side” of our personality hidden in our unconscious mind it is the part which contains all the things we’d rather not acknowledge are present or real.
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