Expressing negative emotions isn’t ‘ right’. We began to believe on a subliminal level, that if we experience struggles or pain, we aren’t being ‘ good’. Society, especially in the age of social media’s highlight reels and filters, has told us to hide our shadows and show up ‘ perfectly’.Īnd often in the programming we received in our upbringing, we have been taught to suppress our pain and darkness.
Through integration of our shadows, fully acknowledging our full self, we can live harmoniously and abundantly in our lives. Our shadow self-blocks us from acting for our own greatest good and can prevent us from reaching our true potential in life. Our shadow self often harms our life, in ways that are unconscious to us at the time, as a habitual reaction to particular places, people or things.
Not attending to the healing of our shadows can manifest in mental health issues, diseases, feelings of low self-worth, addictions, scarcity mindset, and other mind/body health issues that affect our quality of life. If we suppress these demons or let our dark side run without being attended to effectively, our lives will turn into chaos and we’ll remain stuck in our spiritual evolution and physical health journey, keeping our wellbeing stagnant and ridden with toxicity. In my opinion, these demons are here are teachers to help elevate our consciousness, help us strengthen our relationship with ourselves, build compassion and help us evolve into the highest and best versions of ourselves.Īs we heal and evolve, our ‘ dark side’ and shadows become more apparent. They can also reflect how we internally perceive ourselves and ways in which we try to play small in society. This may be parts of ourselves we try to repress because they make us feel sad or wounded. Through our upbringing, life experiences and the healing work our soul needs from past lives, we have shadows, demons, skeletons in the closet, whatever you want to call them. We all have our own demons that we fight in an effort to live out the best version of ourselves. 125 Journaling prompts for self-discovery – Ultimate Guide!.50 Gratitude Journaling Prompts – Simple Guide!.42 Journal Prompts for Self-Love – Ultimate Guide!.
It also helps us to have more empathy for others – by looking at our own shadow we realise that often the people who hurt us simply cannot or will not integrate their own.ĭisclaimer: I am not in any way a certified councillor/therapist, therefore all the advice given is from my own experience and should not be taken as medical advice. It is facing them, learning from and integrating them into our personality so we can be more whole and authentic in our actions. Shadow work, then, is taking an honest look at ourselves – at our weaknesses, our faults, our core wounds and toxic behaviours. Jung believed that we do not see others for who they are, but instead through the lens of our own shadow.įor example, the core wound of abandonment, if suppressed and unaddressed, can be projected onto others – you might assume every person who gets close to you will abandon you, and see all of their actions from this perspective, regardless of that person’s real intent. Today I will be sharing with you 100 shadow work journal prompts.Ĭarl Jung was the first psychologist to propose the idea of a ‘ shadow self’- those parts of us such as personality traits and core wounds that we deny and hide from.Įveryone has a shadow self, and the more you deny it the stronger it becomes, and the more likely it is you will project it onto others.