Shadow Sips 1 - Name It To Tame It (Affect Labelling)

This first Shadow Sip practice introduces a simple way to work with difficult emotions by naming them clearly and gently, I make these videos ultra short so that you can integrate them throughout the day in little 'Microdoses'. The video explains the idea behind “Name It To Tame It” and how labeling what you feel can create a little space between you and the emotion, while providing a clear picture of your inner emotional world. It is designed for anyone exploring Shadow Work who wants a calm, manageable way to begin delving into the buried emotional material that ordinarily remains in the unconscious. You will learn how to notice an emotion, name it without judgment, and allow it to settle more easily. The goal is to build awareness slowly and safely through short, intentional reflection. This practice is influenced by practices that help people build emotional resilience and tolerate emotional distress practice alongside Mindfulness for stress reduction.

Transcript

Welcome to our sip of shadow today. Beginning by turning inwards towards our inner emotional world. By asking, What emotion am I currently feeling? Just slow it down, Become conscious and present here. You might become aware of the breath, Become aware of the present moment, And become aware of your emotional world. Where does emotion sit? Is it very prominent or is it in the background? Just let it become prominent, Let emotion come to the front of your experience. And see if you have a precise definition of the emotion you are currently feeling. You're just asking, What am I feeling right now? And it's so curious because often we don't actually know! This is what uncovering the shadow is all about how curious that is that that could have been subconscious or unconscious hadn't really thought about it What am I actually feeling? This is a very powerful technique when it comes to emotional healing. It's called name it to tame it. Once we have a clear picture of what we're feeling, We feel much more secure, Much safer. And we have a clear picture of what it is that we're feeling. So if it is painful or distressing, We can remedy it. But we can only do so if we know exactly what it is that we're feeling. So we're just asking, What am I feeling? And be precise about this really define it. What am I actually feeling? And just keep cycling through names of emotions until one seems to land. There might be quite a few. There might be a number of emotions kind of floating around. We'll just try and name each of them. In sequence. And then something I find really useful is rather than say something like I am angry or I am afraid. Stating instead, Anger is present. So we're not identifying with it quite so much. Fear is present. Sadness is present. Loneliness is present. Rather than I am sad or I am lonely. If we say, I am lonely, It attaches to it, We identify with it, And it becomes our reality. But if instead we simply say loneliness is present, We just accept this, It's just a fact. Loneliness is present. Sadness is present. Fear is present. And notice if that simple act of just naming has actually made a difference as it changed the way the emotion is felt. Did something shift in your inner emotional world? It's not to say it just you immediately feel totally zenned out and at peace but you might just feel a bit more grounded a bit more stable and a little more reflective a little more contemplative a little more conscious And that's it. All right, No more than that today. Which is practicing name it to tame it. Known as affect labeling. Very powerful. And once you have the name of the emotion, Don't do anything with it. And try and change anything, Just feel it, Feel it and know it. That's our shadow sip of the day, Just making the unconscious conscious. Thank you for meditating with me today. Hope to see you in the next meditation. Take care. Be well and stay present.

Reviews

Spot on, love it. Simple & direct.

Happy to see you offering sips from your deep knowledge of shadow work, Corin. 🙏🏼

Thank you Corin. Love this video🙏🥰💜. See you when you come back. Many Blessings🙏🩵