Ask: Could you please write about "shadow work"?

         “Could you please write about the importance (or lack there of) of shadow work sometime? How is it to be done? Anything you know about this will be helpful and appreciated. I am unclear and confused.” –BB

 

Shadow work refers to addressing the repressed and unconscious parts of your mind that are revealed when you are emotionally triggered, or upset. Shadow refers to both these aspects of your psyche being largely hidden and that much of what is repressed or unconscious is considered “darker” thoughts and feelings, like guilt and shame. The benefits of this work are greater self-awareness and the opportunity to learn to emotionally self-regulate when triggered and perhaps to eventually release (forgive) the source of the triggers. These benefits result in an increased sense of well-being and healthier relationships.

You don’t know what is in your “shadow” until you are emotionally triggered. Triggers have beliefs and feelings and stories behind them, so the triggering episode gives you an opportunity to see these, often going beyond your initial impressions of what is bothering you. Shadow work is something you can pursue each day as you look at your upsets and their source. Sometimes you might not be able to look at an upset right when it is triggered because you are too upset or you don’t have the time. But at the end of each day, you can look back over your day and address what bothered you. The more you do this, the less you will be afraid of your shadow thoughts and feelings, and the quicker you will be able to address them. You may want guidance from a therapist or life-coach as you begin this work to help you understand what you are feeling and to learn techniques to help you address your darker thoughts and feelings.

Shadow work arises naturally when it is time for you to embark on a path of personal and possibly spiritual growth. You cannot force this. And there is a limit to it as well. Eventually, you become very aware of the stories behind the triggers, and you won’t have to draw them out but simply observe, “oh, yes, this again”, laugh it off, and let it go (forgive it).

Shadow work is psychological work and is part of personal growth. It also follows naturally  from the nonduality experience of one truth as ego, the denier of truth and believer in darkness, is exposed by those experiences, much as the light exposes what is in the dark. All that ego is, and the stories it tells, come to conscious awareness after these experiences, and this is not pleasant. There is a misunderstanding that the “cost” of the awareness of truth is to go through some hardship and face darkness but really it is simply ego rising fully to conscious awareness because when ego denies truth it also denies all that it is. Some people seem to skip this and go blissfully on aware of one truth after a nonduality experience, but this is rare.

Another common misunderstanding is that by doing shadow work one can cause a nonduality experience. Truth rises to conscious awareness of itself and it cannot be made to happen. Many engage in shadow work simply to improve their experience without truth or spirituality being a motivator. But if one is moved to do this work because of a nonduality experience then, as stated above, it is an effect of truth rising toward conscious awareness, it does not cause it.

It makes no sense to pursue shadow work if it is not occurring naturally. In fact, it will simply fall away if it is not the natural time to do that kind of work.

 

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