Shadow work is a necessary part of spiritual development. And this cannot be stressed enough. One cannot be truly awakened until they have entered into and become their true authentic self. Having one foot in falseness and having one foot in authenticity is a difficult dance indeed.
Not enough emphasis is put on shadow work in these modern times but it is vital to any spiritual practice. It is literally the key that unlocks the rest of your awakening. And at the very worst, a person engaging with spirituality can literally be dangerous to themselves and others if they don’t understand their own power.
If one chooses not to do shadow work yet still engage with spiritual teachings and concepts, one will eventually be in so much pain, bathed in confusion and in so much distress that the only thing that will work is to come into authenticity. At some point a person will be forced to do shadow work because at that time, it will be the only thing that will relieve their suffering. Everyone has a shadow. No one ever makes it through this culture without developing a hidden side. But nearly everyone avoids or puts off taking a look in there because we are terrified of what we might find.
Looking to the dark side of our personalitiies can be scary at first, but on the other side of the process, the results speak for themselves. After doing shadow work, one will feel freedom, joy, peace and contentment. No more anxiety, no more drama, no more hurt feelings and no more stress. Literally, life becomes easier. So with all that said, people are lining up to do shadow work, right?
Wrong. The lengths people will go to ignore who they really are is staggering. Whole families have broken up just because one family member (or multiple family members) refuse to look inside and find the joy of authenticity. This is understood simply beecause shadow work is misunderstood. Most people think that they are going to discover bad things about themselves. And they will. But mostly people who engage in shadow work discover hidden talents, buried joy and all manner of wonderful things.
There is more joy to be found in doing shadow work even if the intial stages are uncomfortable. Absolutely no one regrets doing shadow work. No one. Shadow work is a serious thing, though. It’s going to be somewhat painful. Some report even being nauseous as energy is restored. Because it takes a lot of energy to repress who we really are. But the thing with shadow work is that you will never discover something that’s not there already.
Mostly, one will discover just how amazing, beautiful, brilliant and tallented they really are. No more shame, no more blame, no more negativity and no more shame. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here is a curated collection of videos about shadow work for a refresher or an even better explanation.
