Embracing your shadows can feel like a daunting task when you are in a constant state of stress. We live in a chaotic environment that is ever changing sending us in a tailspin in seconds. We spiral down not realizing we reacted in a manner that was purely out of frustration and unmanageable stress. We can all agree that we have all seen the ugliest parts of humanity rise to the surface over the past few years. You see, humanity has been shoving its emotions under the rug for a very long time. Why is this important? Because we are evolving with our growing shadows while making clever distractions for us to hide our true selves in the dark.
Carl Jung refers to the shadow as the place where we hide what we are unable to heal at a given time. But as time passes by nature will always fill a space with more of the same thing. Just as footprints in sand your shadows do the same thing. Over time you have repetitive circumstances that leave you determining what cute box you’re going to live in today. As we continually live within our limiting beliefs, we have no room for our authentic self to shine through. We are training ourselves to run away from ourselves. It starts as children as we fear what’s in the closet or hiding under the bed. We start blaming the other for our own inability to see what we have chosen to hide from.
Let me ask you a question. Would you rather continue through life with blinders on letting labels, diagnoses, and circumstances define who you are in this lifetime? Or would you rather travel down a road where you choose to live life? Let me clarify. Choosing life means you take responsibility for your life without blame, justifying, and seeking outside of you. Many people choose not to fully live life because it means we must master our inner world to change the world we see. I invite you to come take a walk on the wild side if you choose to live life full of mystery and wonder.
How do I live life within my darkness?
- Find your baseline. Sit for a moment taking some deep breaths focusing on your heartbeat. Listen for it as you inhale and exhale. Bring the breath into your heart and drop it into your belly. Feel you belly expand and contract while rippling it into your rib cage. Focus on your heartbeat while witnessing any thoughts, feelings, and stress as if it’s on a moving train. Tuning your body with your breath. Settling into feeling and note it as your baseline. It can be described by many as a giant exhale of relief.
- Listen to your body! Your body holds wisdom from all multidimensional aspects of you. It knows how to respond to keep you safe. On the flip side your subconscious is flooded with memories lighting up your nervous system like fireworks. We lash out just before our body hits the fight or flee button. Awareness is key! After you have baseline, you start to feel your bodies rising discomforts day to day. When you are being triggered by something in your life all you must do is to witness where you feel it in your body.
- Expression! When we feel our bodies responses, we need to express to transmute it. Find a safe place to allow yourself to move with your feelings so you can see it for what it is. We fight back tears, screams, and sadness because it is socially unacceptable. Over time we all have a silent scream inside that is projecting itself as the next driver cuts you off, someone screams at you at the grocery store, or worse you blow up on your children. Our shadows are a child screaming to be saved from its nightmare and we must become conscious of our expression.
- Transmute. As you feel your body respond come back to your baseline, remember to breath. Come back to your heartbeat and feel your feet on the floor. Give your body permission to ripple that feeling back to the earth. Use the intention to release yourself from your limited box and see what you are hiding from. Witnessing and not trying to fix it is key. Detaching creates clarity and space for your authentic self to shine through.
- Seek to heal not to repeat. It is easier to pick up an old story than to write a new one in the unknown. Remain curious as you challenge your limiting beliefs continually asking yourself: what does this mean to me? You are intentionally looking for the light that is glowing in your darkness. Our ego wants to distract you from that light because it would deem the lower ego not needed any longer. The ego makes what hides in the dark much bigger and scarier than it is. In fact, the bigger deal your ego makes something the more curious I become.
In review: Stop. Breathe. Focus on your heart. Witness your body responses. Express yourself safely. Let it fall away from your body. Then seek the healing story. I’ve personally been plunged into my darkest shadows without a guiding light. Through your darkness you find your courage to live life. You find your power and a fearlessness that is untouchable by another. You gain a truth about yourself while maintaining humble compassion for the whole. I would be lying if I said it was easy, but I can humbly say that it is the greatest journey that gives the hardest blows but most profound gifts that keep giving. In Spirit they call me The Shadow Walker. The one who had no other choice but to walk blindly into the dark to find the rays of light I’ve always been. I trust and know that if I can do it, then so can you.
