Do you have a hidden talent that you keep secret from everyone you know? Or a deep, dark fear that you keep suppressed, or an aspect of yourself that you find shameful? If so – and most people do - then shadow work could be a powerful and transformational tool for you to explore.
“Shadow work is a series of practices – it could be meditation, guided visualizations or letter writing exercises - that help us shine light into our shadow to firstly find out what it is, and then bring it into the light and start expressing ourselves fully,” explains best-selling author Charlie Morley, whose new book Do The Shadow Work, which blends ancient wisdom and modern psychology, is out now.
What is the shadow?
But before diving in - what exactly is the shadow?
“Well the shadow was pioneered into Western psychology by the famous Carl Jung, and he used it to describe the parts of the unconscious mind that contain everything that we hide from ourselves and others; everything we suppress, reject or deny makes up what he called the shadow,” explains Charlie, a lucid dreaming and Tibetan Buddhism expert who has been running workshops and retreats for over 15 years.
“These things are in the shadows because we are yet to shine our conscious awareness onto them. So to work out what’s in our shadow, we might start looking at the answers to questions like ‘What am I most afraid of? What am I most ashamed of, what habits make me feel unworthy, which parts of myself do I not show others for fear of rejection?’
"Then we start to get some idea. This would be what we refer to as the dark shadow.”
However, we all have what Charlie calls a ‘golden shadow’, too, which makes up around 90% of the shadow.
“In Western psychology, the golden shadow is often referred to as the positive shadow, so things like our hidden talents, our full potential, our sexuality, our spirituality. Things we hide out of fear of rejection.”
© Kersti NiglasThe benefits
So what is there to gain by doing shadow work? And why would we want to do it in the first place?
“Yeah, why would we want to do that? Surely if stuff's hidden in the shadows, let's leave it there - you know, don't wake a sleeping giant,” smiles Charlie, who has been very candid in opening up about his own shadow aspects throughout the book.
“And I would say if anyone reading it is 100% happy with everything in their life, then maybe don't do shadow work. If everything is fully there, you feel you're fully stepped into your goals, all of your traumas are resolved, everything's great, then it’s not for you.
“But if people are reading and there are parts themselves they feel are not fully expressed, if they do feel that there are traumas or wounds from their childhood that are still festering, that haven't been fully faced and embraced, then shadow work is the key to this.”
Express yourself fully
He continues: “Medical News Today acknowledges shadow work as a form of self-therapy in which the subject looks back into their past and to their future to find ways to express themselves fully and to integrate past traumas.”
“Abraham Maslow, the guy who did the famous Hierarchy of Needs, said, ‘You show me someone who is not fully expressing themselves, and I will show you depression.’ The opposite of depression is not happiness, it's expression. So if we're not fully expressing ourselves, we are in a depressed state.”
© Mardo MännimägiShadow work can spark a life-changing healing journey and help transform fear and shame into loving awareness, energy and power. But it can be daunting at first.
“Rather than going straight into the childhood trauma, look at where in your life you could express yourself more fully,” he suggests. “What is there in your life that makes you feel really alive, but you don't fully express to others?
"If you didn't have to work for money, how would you spend your life? What really makes you feel alive, in what areas of your life do you hide your light? Get those down on paper and then see if, first of all, you can speak them out loud to another person?’
© Getty ImagesThis below exercise from the book, called Meeting the Shadow, is a great place to start.
© Kersti NiglasFor more exercises and to delve deeper into shadow work, pick up a copy of Do The Shadow Work, which is packed with information and over 20 practices to guide you through the process.
“It's a form of self therapy,” says Charlie. “And it can be totally transformational.”
Do The Shadow Work by Charlie Morley, published by Hay House, is on sale now. Visit https://www.charliemorley.com
