Welcome to this guided meditation for shadow work.
This fun story meditation.
You will learn how to face your shadow.
And integrate a disowned aspect of yourself.
Let's begin by closing our eyes.
And breathing deeply.
In and out.
All the way down into the lower belly.
Relax your shoulders.
Allowing them to droop downward.
Relax your body.
And let it sink into your chair.
Now I'd like you to imagine that you are camping with friends by a lake in the woods.
It is late at night.
And you are lying comfortably in your sleeping bag.
Your friends have already tripped it off to sleep.
That you were wide awake.
So you decide to get up.
Put on your shoes.
And take a short walk down to the lake.
You can see the light clearly by the light of the full moon.
You breathe in the fresh,
Cool air.
And you watch the waves gently lapping the shore.
As you gaze at the lake shimmering in the moonlight.
Can see the mountains and trees reflected in the water.
You think back over the day.
And the experiences you had with your friends.
For the most part,
It was a good day.
But there were some moments of conflict and misunderstanding.
As you are thinking about these things,
You notice a glimmer of light coming from the trees off to the right side of the lake.
You see a trail leading in that direction.
And you decide to follow it.
After a while,
You come to another campsite.
There's an old man sitting in a chair by the campfire.
He looks up and smiles kindly.
He invites you to sit down in the empty chair next to him.
And warm yourself by the campfire.
You sit down.
The two of you introduce yourselves and have a friendly chat.
After a while,
He says,
You look as if something is troubling you.
You decide to confide in him.
And you tell him about the problems you had that day with your friends.
When you are finished,
The old man says,
It sounds like you have some shadow material.
What do you mean,
You ask?
The man replies,
The things that bother us most in other people.
Are the things we disown in ourselves.
Think of your friends.
And tell me what bothers you most about them.
Is it their selfishness?
Or their need to always be right?
Maybe it's how they show off.
Or seek for attention.
Look into the fire.
And take one minute to describe these things.
After a minute,
The man continues,
Now I'd like you to consider.
That every human being has all possible traits and behaviors,
In potential.
It bothers us when other people act in ways that we have decided isn't right.
Are inappropriate.
Some behaviors really are obnoxious.
And a mature person wouldn't usually display them.
And there's a difference between discerning that something is inappropriate and being emotionally triggered by it.
If you are triggered,
You are probably dealing with a shadow.
Don't look into the fire.
And think about times in your life.
When you have displayed the same behavior that bothers you now in your friends.
Do this for one minute.
When the time is up,
The man continues.
Now I'd like to point out that every bad trait also has a good side.
At least when it's not taken to an extreme.
For example,
A moderate amount of attention-seeking can help us express our needs and maintain connection in our relationships.
Take two minutes to think about the good side of your shadow and how you can display this behavior.
In a mature way.
At the right time.
And in the right amount.
When you are finished.
You notice that you are starting to feel sleepy.
So you thank the man for helping you to understand your shadow.
And you say goodbye.
Then you walk back along the trail to the lake.
The cool air feels refreshing after the warmth of the campfire.
And the moonlight reflecting on the light.
It looks so peaceful.
Then you walk back to camp.
And snuggle into your comfortable sleeping bag.
Thank you for joining me for this guided meditation.
If you like,
You may stay and enjoy the music.
It will end in 5 minutes.
