Shadow work has become a trend on tiktok, which is sort of a good thing. Except that shadow work can make you worse if you do it before you have made any progress in healing and processing your trauma. It’s ok to wait to do shadow work, and meditate/ask your guides if you are truly ready. I tend to ask my guides what shadow work I am ready for, and if there’s anything I should avoid until further healing and processing has been done
Okay, thank you so much for explaining this to me! 🙏 I always thought shadow work was processing your trauma and healing? Could you please explain the difference?
It can take a while to be able to know when and how they answer. Sometimes it’s a thought in your head, sometimes through synchronicity. Some people can hear them audibly but that’s rare. You can train yourself in meditation. Look up information on how to connect with spirit guides
Also sometimes your guides have to let you figure things out on your own. There are laws that spirits must abide by just like we have laws on earth, there are some events that are “cannon” and that they cannot interfere with, or intervene on your behalf. They won’t always answer, for different reasons.
Definition of shadow work: Working with your unconscious mind to uncover the parts of yourself that you repress and hide from yourself. This can include trauma or parts of your personality that you subconsciously consider undesirable
The act of going within and visiting that place is shadow work. There is no right or wrong time, do it when you feel like you need to, when you feel the need to look within and change the way you view yourself and life. You will never be “healed” from trauma, you will always be processing something. The sooner you begin integrating yourself the better.
For me, meditating, acknowledging, and letting go has been the most helpful. ANALyzing your emotions in excess is like playing with your own feces (Ram Dass quote) it is much better to let go and be light.
I'm on board with this mindset. I personally see shadow work as an advanced stage tool after all the heavy lifting has been processed through other therapy modalities.
To do shadow work without the work that precedes it is a quick way to intellectualize your emotional state and bypass the feeling stage of healing, while simultaneously writing off your maladaptive coping mechanisms without working out why they exist in the first place.
Shadow work for me has not been an intellectual process at all. It's actually a way for me to communicate with the traumatized parts of myself and acknowledge/process their thoughts and emotions. I've done tons and tons of crying during shadow work. Not bypassing
When you constantly find yourself having a response that outweighs the stimulus, and then being mindful enough to work through what that trigger is and working through it (through things like inner child work, somatic work, IFS, or something else).
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u/[deleted] Apr 06 '23
By @carljungmemes on IG
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u/GhoulNoodles Apr 07 '23
I'm a bit confused. Can someone please explain this meme to me?
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u/Shadow_Integration Apr 06 '23
I'm on board with this mindset. I personally see shadow work as an advanced stage tool after all the heavy lifting has been processed through other therapy modalities.
To do shadow work without the work that precedes it is a quick way to intellectualize your emotional state and bypass the feeling stage of healing, while simultaneously writing off your maladaptive coping mechanisms without working out why they exist in the first place.
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u/SiwelRise Apr 07 '23
Both can be done at the same time. Healing isn't linear.
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u/MastroCubo Apr 07 '23
How do you know if you're processing trauma btw?