People often talk about having a dark side and even though this is a regular part of personalities, this is a part of ourselves where we can be tempted to do things we shouldn’t do or to say things we shouldn’t say.
This is a part of our life that is important, none the less, because it helps to teach us important lessons. Using your dark side is called Shadow work.
Shadow work is something that uses your dark side and even though people do not understand this, this can be a part of yourself that you need to understand so that you can start working with it.
Shadow Work
Shadow work is part of yourself that is made up of your negative feelings. This can be anger or rage or jealousy. This is when you have an idea of revenge and hurting others.
The dark side that we have is something that shows up when we have feelings from experiences. This can be part of your survival guide and is part of yourself that most people are afraid of talking about.
We want to consider ourselves to be good and this is a dark side but is a place of empowerment for ourselves.
The Dark Side
People do not really often understand their dark side. This is something that we try to avoid in ourselves.
When we label ourselves and our shadow self, this is the part of our being that we want to put away and keep hidden.
Most of the things in our shadow self are negative and even in your positivity, you can use your shadow side. Maybe you hate to be compassionate because it makes you feel weak and you have been rejected a lot.
If you are attracted to someone, you might reject this feeling because of your shadow side and your doubt.
There are parts of your life that you have to experience but you don’t have to engage with them. The more you know yourself the happier you can be. When you fail to engage with your dark side, it can cause you to lose out.
Emotions
Everyone has emotions but not everyone is able to face their guilt and shame. Some people have emotions that come to their unconscious being and they come in dreams.
We don’t always get to decide how our shadow self comes out. If you are not able to keep your emotions in charge, you will have many different feelings and thoughts, and this can be the part of your shadow self.
You can learn to work at becoming better and keeping your emotions in check and this can threaten your livelihood and cause you to miss out on being well-adjusted.
Shadow Life
Many wonders why their shadow self comes out. This can happen even from childhood. Even though most children have love, peace and kindness, some also be afraid and anger. The people that take care of us show us which behaviors and feelings are good and which ones are bad.
They show us that we are good if we have our good parts and if we show our shadow side, we are bad.
Ignoring Your Shadow Life
As a child, your shadow will cause you to be tempted to do things but as you see your life and you face disappointments, you see that your needs can be met.
When you ignore your negative side though, you realize that these things can influence your life and make you more aware. If you are angry and you hide it and put it away, this can cause you to moderate your actions.
But if you refuse to acknowledge that you are angry, you might show anger when the time is not right.
Holding Yourself Back
There can be consequences in hiding your shadow self. This can be projection, for one. This means that when you hate yourself, you attack other people with your words.
This also can cause you to be greedy and to not be able to deal with hard feelings. There will be things you don’t like about yourself.
This is the stage where you learn to deal with the damage in your life and you show your positive side, and you learn to stop holding your life back.
Shadow Work Benefits
People will not always want to show their shadow self. It is easy to show your good parts such as your talents and the strengths that you have.
It is easy to show your positive features but when you are forced to show your worse parts, it can be hard.
Shadow work means that you are able to grow and even if that means that you are dealing with negative thoughts and feelings, these have been inside of you and you have not been able to engage in them.
Improving Your Health
It might sound weird but there is proof that your shadow work can give you more energy. This means that you look at the dark parts of yourself and you get rid of issues that have never been healed.
You put down your feelings and beliefs and you learn to allow them to go with you. You learn to have more energy and to sleep better and you start to better your mood.
When you struggle with yourself and you are unhappy with that part of your life, you might hide it, and this can cause you bad mental health.
Relationships
Talking about your feelings can help to improve your relationships. Even if you have darker parts, people that love you do not want you to hide these things.
Shadow work can help you to have stronger bonds and can help you to take the dark parts of your being and to make yourself better.
When you are better yourself you are able to help others to accept you and you become more compassionate and loving as well. This teaches you to love others and that you are worthy of love even if you have anger inside of you.
Creativity
Shadow work can help you to be more creative in your life. This happens because it allows you to open up your mental health.
This is where you can learn to engage yourself and to face the scary parts inside of you. When you are hiding yourself, you will see that you put up boundaries and that you limit your creativity.
If you are a painter, for example, you might not be able to come up with something to paint because you have this part of you hidden.
Exercises for Shadow Work
Once you start doing shadow work exercises, there are things you should try:
Emotions
Start by exploring your emotions. Figure out what keeps you distant and focus more on what you are feeling and thinking, even when negative.
Ask yourself how you react to others and notice your reactions. Pay attention when you have strong feelings and when you look at your thoughts.
Take time to write down what you are feeling and what you are thinking and pay attention to your negative responses.
Inner Self
Connect with your inner self. You might hear things inside of you and this is your voice. When you are being mindful, this voice will be louder to you.
The voice is there to tell you things about yourself that you don’t like, and you need to pay attention to all parts of your personality.
When you don’t listen to what you are saying to yourself, you change your behavior, and you forget this part of your being instead of letting it come out.
When you act a certain way and you don’t understand why, you need to learn to understand yourself more and to get rid of your negativity.
Emotional Health
If you need to see someone in order to improve your emotional health, do that. You can talk to a therapist or a doctor or even talk to a psychic.
People use different tools, and some people believe in hypnosis. You can even use self-hypnosis if you have shadow work and it can help you to tap into your deep senses and to guide you into relaxation.
This can help you to love yourself more and to be aware of the battles that you are experiencing in your mind, body and soul.
