08: SHADOW WORK: Reclaiming Your Wholeness & Personal Explorations Through Psychedelics

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

- Carl Jung

It might have been Carl Jung that popularised shadow work, but ancient cultures all over the world have been exploring this dimension as well. It’s an old tradition, which maybe possibly, had been lost and found again.

But what is shadow?

Our shadow self is everything that we keep deep in our unconscious mind. Every part of us that we disowned, but that is, in fact, present and surfacing in various complex situations. Our shadow side is everything that our society perceives as negative, everything that we have been discouraged to be or do by our families and close environment. Deep parts of ourselves we had to hide in order to fit in. To name a few:

• Pain
• Shame
• Jealousy
• Our inner child, childhood wounding
• Grief
• Fear
• Mediocracy
• Laziness
• Lack of control
• Limiting beliefs
• Depression
• Rage, resistance, anger
• Loneliness

But also, as we cut ourselves off from these feelings we cut ourselves off from our greatness. As often our shadow side had been present in our lives in order to protect us or to infuse wisdom into our lives.

Also it’s important to mention that we don’t only suppress our challenging parts, but our brilliance, our bigness, our light. As often we’re told to minimise or silence ourselves so others feel comfortable around us.

Why Do We Suppress These Important traits Into the Shadows?

Our biological survival system is programmed to stay away from pain in order to, well, survive! Our shadows are painful! We instinctively run away from them at all costs.

Society’s collective rejection of shadow traits is highly contributing to the rejection of the being that contains these traits. Basically, societal norms reject us for who we truly are. Hence the capitalism and constant NEED for more, so we can "fix" ourselves...

Without acceptance and community, we are not supported, not cared for, weak and vulnerable. To our instinctual psyche it's as if we are throwing ourselves into the arms of Death.

That is why belonging is so crucial to us. That is why we suppress our shadows. And it’s painful because we are collectively and individually denying ourselves and each other. We tend to portray a one-sided image of our beauty and "goodness". Especially in our day and age where social media made it easier than ever before!

In my new podcast episode, I explore what shadow work is, as well as, how I use psychedelic plant medicine ceremonies to explore my shadow.

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https://www.egle-slowlands.com/999/shadow-work-reclaiming-your-wholeness-amp-personal-explorations-through-psychedelics

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egle-slowlands.com/shadow