You’s afriad of little olf me
As a child, shadows held infinite possibilities... Is it a pirate? Is it a snake? Is it a monster? Will it tap me on the shoulder? Will it speak to me? Scream at me? Overwhelm me? Even now, I startle easily. Every bang in the night, every strange shape and apparition that emerges from the dark... my imagination gets to play; it just happens that it likes a good scare. It’s no wonder that when we hear the term "shadow," it often brings to mind images of darkness and fear.
Part of my healing journey has been learning about The Shadow, not the kind made by literal light and space, but our metaphorical shadow... the way the dark and light within us fall across the landscape of our lives and those we love. In the context of psychology and spirituality, shadow work is far from ominous—it’s a path to understanding and integrating parts of ourselves that we often hide away.
Shadow work is a concept introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. It involves exploring the unconscious parts of ourselves—the aspects we suppress or deny because they don’t align with our self-image or societal expectations. These hidden parts make up what Jung called the "shadow self." It’s what is always just beyond our peripheral vision, almost like it lurks in the darkness, creeping up on us...
Jung believed that the shadow contains all the parts of our personality that we have rejected. However, he also saw it as a source of creativity and potential. In other words, our shadow is not just a repository of negative traits but also unacknowledged strengths. Your shadow contains everything you’re too afraid to look at in the light, and for some of us, even though it seems contradictory, we’re afraid of our strengths just as much, if not more than, our weaknesses and failures.
Oli Anderson said:
“Your Shadow is all of the things, ‘positive’ and ‘negative’, that you’ve denied about yourself and hidden beneath the surface of the mask you forgot that you’re wearing.”
Debbie Ford said:
“Your life will be transformed when you make peace with your shadow. The caterpillar will become a breathtakingly beautiful butterfly. You will no longer have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You will no longer have to prove you’re good enough. When you embrace your shadow you will no longer have to live in fear. Find the gifts of your shadow and you will finally revel in all the glory of your true self. Then you will have the freedom to create the life you have always desired.”
This week in the Practice Co App, we’re exploring Shadow work, what it means, how it works, and if it’s something you want to engage. As you embark on this journey, be gentle with yourself, and know this: Shadows aren’t as scary as they seem.
See you in the App.
REMEMBER: The goal of shadow work is not to judge yourself harshly but to embrace all aspects of who you are, specifically the things you’ve been afraid of and hiding from for a long time.
Liz Milani xo
Instagram: @thepracticeco
From this week’s series titled "Afraid of Your Shadow?" with a subscription in the App. Hope to see you there.
