Shadow Work

Shadow work is the art of becoming comfortable with the things that make you uncomfortable. Typically, people don't want to think about the nasty parts of the human soul that bring them the most misery. It's easy to callously call out others for their insecurities, flaws, negative characteristics and actions.  We do it every single day.  Someone pulls out in front of you and causes you to slam on your breaks – “what an idiot?” but few look at the situation from a 3rd party view and ask themselves what they could have done better in that situation.  Were you perhaps going too fast?  Were you on your phone and got startled?  Do you, yourself, pull out in front of others and now you are taking out your own idiocy on another by accusing them of the same thing you do yourself?  All of these are valid questions one could ask.  I think the best question to ask is why?  Assume the mental state that the Universe works to a Divine plan and all of his creation fits into it perfectly.  If the point of life is that it only gets better than shadow work is required to distill the lessons from the “bad.”  Bad is subjective, there is only the Truth.  In every situation there is either the correct path, or the path that will lead through lesson to the correct outcome.  To properly do shadow work I would firstly get a notebook and pen.  On this pad of paper, you will write down a list of 10 bad thoughts (more or less doesn’t really matter) and then write the following affirmation “I AM Not what my racing thoughts are, I AM what my conscious thoughts become.” 

Repeat this affirmation multiple times, you can look in a mirror while doing so and really internalize this moment for yourself!  You are about to do an immense amount of work for your own good, you should be proud of that.  Even start telling yourself that during these sessions to reinforce the Transformative value that consciously bringing attention to your negative thoughts has. 

Now it is time to do Shadow Work.  You can do this through meditation, visualization, or walking & talking.  I prefer the walking & talking method as it is exactly what it sounds like.  You walk around and speak to yourself.  Meditation and Visualization are similar: Meditation being purely mental and in the Void of thought, Visualization as a Not method is great for rewriting your thoughts through imagined situations.  I will touch on the purpose of all techniques now and an example of how to use them.  Each are good but use what you find to work the best through experimentation – there is no correct way to do anything, what is your truth!

Meditation – When I say go into the void I am talking about a state of no mind, no body, no time, no place, no one.   Listening to relaxing music or a frequency greatly helps in achieving this state.  Begin with your eyes closed, upright posture or laying down.  Focus on your breath, feel the air come in and hold it for 5 seconds.  FEEL how it affects your whole body and then release for 5 seconds.  Hold for 5 seconds after you have exhaled and then repeat the process.  KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON THE BREATH AND WITHIN.  The point you want to get to is when you have only the breath and random thoughts coming in.  These thoughts, beliefs, words and pictures are your subconscious brain.  Do not hate them, do not let them bother you.  Embrace them, understand them, and then change them to what you desire and dismiss the thought entirely.  An Example would be “I am Fat”  Understand why you would say that about yourself, see it for the truth, now flip it to the positive “I am Fit and Healthy”  Overtime you will begin to notice you will naturally change habits to align with the conscious thought you just put there “I AM FIT AND HEALTHY”  Repeat it, and throw out the negative thought whenever it comes back.  You are exactly what your thoughts dictate for you.  Control them or get controlled by them.

Method two is visualization.  Visualization like Meditation is done on the inside.  You will close your eyes and focus on your breath to lull yourself into a calm & relaxed state.  In this state you can either visualize the negative thoughts or ask yourself about the negative thoughts you had written down.  When you ask yourself these thoughts; I want you to imagine them.  Imagine that same life if you were fat, broke, in lack, no love… whatever it is I want you to imagine it.  Now consciously say “I am not X thought, I am X opposite” Now that you said you are not the bad visual, visualize the opposite.  What would your life be like if everything you imagined was fulfilled?  That negative thought just became a cornerstone of your future strength.  See & Feel what this reality would be like and reaffirm to yourself that this is the reality you choose to experience, and how grateful you are for it.

Method three is the Walk & Talk.  Very easy, pace back and forth while asking yourself the list of bad thoughts you wrote down.  For every single question ask yourself: Why do I feel this way about myself?  What is within my power to change this?  What lesson can I learn from this thought?  As you ask yourself questions you begin to unravel the trauma that be linked to these negative thoughts about how great you are.  You may cry, I have.  Some of this shit goes deep, and it can take years to come to terms with all the negative history you may have experienced.  The most important step is the first step.  Then just keep taking baby steps forward until you feel you can run.  You are not your subconscious thoughts.  Those are the thoughts that are just currently programmed due to years of not tending to your garden.  For many folks their garden is overrun by weeds, chipmunks and covered in Geese poop.  That is okay!  Just start looking at it for what it is, forgive yourself and be grateful for what it is to become!  Now is the time to replace that thought, plant those flowers, and consistently water it with reassurance till the bad thoughts permanently become good. Thank you for reading :)

King Duffey