5 Simple Steps to Get Started With Shadow Work

Facing Your Fears

Just the idea of doing shadow work can be a bit overwhelming. Generally, positivity is encouraged, and it’s most often meant as a good and loving thing. However, you must also face your pain sometimes. You may feel conditioned to ignore your negative feelings, but a reluctance to face inner pain and darkness can backfire. It’s been said that if you don’t own your darkness, your darkness will own you.

Consciously and deliberately facing your inner darkness, wrestling with your fears, and dragging trauma out into the light can seem complex, intense, and kind of scary. But the good news is, it can be easier than it seems, and it is powerfully rewarding.

Why Shadow Work?

Shadow work consists of a few elements. The first is to help you identify your shadow aspects by talking to your shadow, or about it. Think about what it is that is bothering you or what you want to release from your life. The next is to allow yourself the space to process what you uncover about your shadow by listening to what it is telling you. The final element is for you to integrate your shadow with your inner light, for this will make you feel whole and help you feel like you are on your own side.

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Beginning Shadow Work

Developed by Carl Jung, shadow work can be the greatest healing you’ve ever experienced, but any time you venture into your own depths, it can be very helpful to have a guide or helpers like a trusted therapist, healer, psychic reader, or even a loving, supportive friend who knows you well. Here are five simple steps to get started with shadow work.

Practice Mindfulness

If you catch yourself thinking or acting unkindly toward yourself or another, ask yourself why. If you see yourself repeating an unhealthy action, it could be part of a pattern for you to examine. At first, you may not even fully understand why you do, say, and feel what you do, but by practicing mindfulness and going within, you will soon realize your deep inner self has all the answers.

Meditation is one very helpful way to access those answers. Take a moment to be still and breathe in what you want to work on. See how it makes you feel. Notice whatever you feel and see in your thoughts. Scan your body. Ask it what it needs. Release any judgment as you continue to breathe and just let yourself bear witness to what comes up.

Connect With Your Higher Power or Your Inner Child

As you meditate, call upon your Higher Power or your inner child. Visualize them seated before you. Now talk with them. Ask them why you are hurting, or why a situation isn’t going well. Ask what you can do, or what is needed, to make it better. Listen for their answers. At first, you might feel like you are making it up, but that’s a normal first reaction. Continue meditating and just trust you are hearing them, and you will soon recognize the truth about what they are sharing with you. If tears come up, let yourself cry. Know that this is just pain coming up to be released. When you feel complete, thank them, and tell them goodbye until next time. Now just sit with your feelings and let them dissolve. By meditating daily, even briefly, you will find this practice to be very calming, healing, energizing, and fruitful.

Build an Altar

Building an altar is powerful, for it will be your sacred space that holds a place for the energy of the shadow healing work you are doing. By having something like an altar in physical form, it tells your subconscious mind you expect real results, and it will get to work. Invite your angels to guide you in choosing your special items to put on your altar.
To start, you might place candles on it. Pick whatever color feels right to you. Some color suggestions are black for releasing, white for healing, and pink for self-love. You might wish to place your favorite Tarot or oracle cards, herbs, pictures, crystals, and a letter of intent to heal your shadow self. Once you’ve set up your sacred altar and named what you want, you can tell yourself to claim, accept, and receive the wondrous healing the Divine wants to give you. You can meditate here as you call upon your Higher Self and all your angels, and then when you feel ready, go about your day knowing your energy is safe on your altar, ready for when you return.

Work With Crystals

Crystals can be powerful healing helpers. Just breathe your intentions into them and they will hold and work on them for you. As always, feel free to choose any kind of crystal that calls to you, but here are some suggestions.

• Black Crystals: Black Tourmaline and Black Obsidian can be your force field to shield you from any negative energy, as they help you release your shadow pain safely into the hands of your angels.
• White or Clear Crystals: Draw in the healing energy you need as they purify and cleanse your soul from any inner darkness.
• Pink Crystals: Rose Quartz can magnetize love to you as it fills you to overflowing with self-love.

“If darkness is the absence of Love, then the most effective tonic to use in healing internal shadow is self-love. The more love we flow into our deepest wounds and darkest emotions, the quicker we are able to clear and raise our vibration.” – Jennifer Diamond

Create

Sometimes you might feel you need a little extra help to crack open your shadow side and let your subconscious feelings flow. If you like to paint, draw, dance, write and journal, or all these things, let yourself pretend you are five years old again and have some fun as you freely express yourself without a drop of judgment. You will soon feel a flood of inner energy, signifying that your creative efforts are working.

Bringing It All Together

You can use these tools throughout your life whenever you feel you need them. Doing your shadow work takes courage, but your bravery will be rewarded with a sense of deep inner healing, including a feeling of being united within, fully whole, having more peace of mind, greater self-love, self-worth, self-confidence, more energy, and a steady flow of happiness.

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