Can You Accept Your Shadow?

The 'shadow' is a term used to describe the darker and hidden parts of ourselves; the thoughts, instincts, emotions, and desires that many of us reflexively avoid - to our own detriment. But if we take steps towards accepting and embracing our totality, we can begin living a whole and complete life. This track is taken from my course, 'Discover Your Divine Purpose', available now via my profile.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the session, I invite you to take a seat or lay down and get comfortable and take three deep slow breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth and while you're doing that just gently scan your body for any points of tension and invite those points of tension to release, To loosen up, To let go. Move your attention down your body starting at your head and just let it soften and then down through your neck and into your shoulders and your arms and your hands and your fingers just inviting every part of your body to loosen up, To let go, To relax. Your upper back, Your middle back, Your lower back, Your chest, Your sternum, Your belly, Just releasing, Just acknowledging any feelings that are there and inviting them to let go. Your groin, Your buttocks, Your legs, Your calves, Your feet, Your toes, Just feeling your body and inviting it to relax, Let go. Let's take another deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth and open yourself up to the next question, Going to be open to possibility, To potential, To positivity, Going to allow yourself for the next few minutes to let your thoughts run free without a fetter, Without a judgment, Without restriction, Opening yourself up to the wisdom contained within the question, Within your intuition, Within your soul, Your ancestors, The universe, God, The Muse, Whatever form of higher or deeper energy you can draw from, Open yourself up to that space and sit for the next few minutes in a space of receiving and contemplation of wisdom and of potential. I'm going to ask you this question twice, Then I'm going to sit in contemplation on that question for a minute and then we'll talk through and go deeper. What would happen if you embraced your shadow? What would happen if you embraced your shadow? So, Shadow work is the act of looking at the darker parts of our existence, Of our souls, Of ourselves. It's involving looking at that and then accepting it and embracing it and healing it. And this question, For me at least, Points towards freedom. If I was to fully accept myself, Every aspect of myself, The darkest parts of myself, I'll be free. I would no longer have to act or no longer have to pretend because I would be whole. A lot of the tension we hold inside ourselves comes from the difference between where we are and where we want to be or who we perceive ourselves to be and who we think we should be. But if we were to truly embrace our shadow, Truly accept every aspect of ourselves for who and what we are, There'd be a measure of freedom in that, Wouldn't there? We'd no longer have to constantly feel like we're striving, Pushing, Attempting to change or alter. It'd be a state of pure acceptance. Now, This acceptance of our shadow doesn't mean we act on those impulses. It just means we accept the darker, Hidden parts of ourselves. There's a saying that suggests that no human is fully formed. We all have past issues, Past traumas, Past defects, Past things that didn't go quite right. So everyone that we see is in some way broken, Is in some way impacted, Is in some way not fully formed, Is in some way attempting to heal from their past. And if we turn that upon ourselves and accept that part of ourselves, The part that wasn't given enough love, The part that pushed back against the rules, The authority, The education system, The religion, The government, Whatever it is, If we can accept that part of ourselves and embrace it, There'd be freedom. Now, Like I said, This isn't an invitation to follow those dark urges, But rather to learn from them. To see ourselves fully and completely and accept that space would provide clarity because we would be less acting on impulse, Because we would see more of those impulses as they came. But what's more, I think if we were to embrace our shadow, To see the potential for darkness inside of ourselves, It would bring us closer to everyone else, Because we would accept and start to see them in their totality. We'd start to see them as fully formed beings, The things that they present to us, But also the shadow that lurks underneath. It would allow us to forgive their misgivings. It would allow us to accept when they treat us in a way that doesn't feel 100% quite right. It would lower our expectations, But in a good way. If we have unrealistic expectations of other people or of ourselves, We are going to be perpetually disappointed, Because no one is perfect, Least of all ourselves. And this brings me back to that feeling of freedom. If we fail in some endeavor, If we cave to a craving, If we say an unkind word in anger on impulse, We would be able to forgive ourselves, To accept ourselves, And then to learn how to better act moving forwards. We're not saints, We're humans, And we all have shadows. Each and every one of us are capable of extreme darkness, But there is no point in running from that fact. Running from it pushes it down, And makes our shadow into our enemy, And makes those impulses pop up and spring out, When we least want them, When we least have the energy or the time or the commitment to be able to deal with them. To this question, What would happen if you embraced your shadow, Leads us towards a space of freedom, Of acceptance, Of connection, Towards our truth, Our totality, Our fullness, As well as to that of other people. It can bring us closer. By accepting the darkness, We can better see the light. So what would happen if you embraced your shadow? Well done. This brings us to the end of today's session. At the bottom of your screen, You'll see an option to view the classroom, Or to ask a question. Before moving on, I invite you to take a moment to click through and share your insights, To read the answers from other students, And to hear my replies. Remember to start your responses with session two, Or to restate the question, So we know which one you're referring to. This is an opportunity for deep learning, Further introspection and insight, So please don't miss out. I look forward to seeing you in the next session. This track was taken from the course, Discover Your Divine Purpose. It's out now on Insight Timer, And available via my profile. I invite you to join in.