Over the past year, I’ve been seeing a lot of “shadow work prompts” circulating my Pinterest feed – deep questions about your true self, hidden fears, insecurities, and the like. I ignored them and scrolled past at first, thinking I already knew as much as I needed to about myself. I figured I could leave all I had been through behind me. The past is the past, right? I couldn’t change its impact on me. Looking back, I realize now that I was the one who didn’t want to change.
Recently, though, I caved out of curiosity. I started a shadow work journal and one by one filled out all of the prompts I could find online, answering with as much detail as I could. “Write a letter to someone you owe an apology to.” “Do you respect yourself enough?” “What do you want to be remembered for? How can you take steps to get there?”
I had no idea how much of an impact it would make on me. Not only do I know myself better now, I know I’ve still got lots to learn as well. The reflective nature of shadow work is meant to provide a mirror into our minds to make us realize who we really are, and who we want to become.
THE HISTORY OF SHADOW WORK
To start, what is shadow work?
The “shadow” of a person’s mind was a term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist who lived in the 20th century. The shadow is defined as a person’s repressed part of their subconscious mind that they see as shameful or do not want to acknowledge, says Psychology Today. These can include memories we don’t want to remember, fears and feelings we don’t want to bring up, and the same mistakes we keep making over and over. Even if we want to change, these factors we don’t consider may be making it hard to.
In that sense, shadow work deals with the process of uniting our egos, or the versions of ourselves we actively choose to acknowledge, with our hidden or shadowy parts. This is so we can find closure and acceptance towards what we used to repress or be ashamed of.
The Mayo Clinic sees mistakes and bad habits, while being detrimental, can actually hold the key to experiencing personal growth. Shadow work is simply the mutual understanding of our flawed nature and our best selves. In other words, we bring the shadow “to light.”
WHY SHOULD WE DO SHADOW WORK?
We can become more aware and accepting towards ourselves and recover from past mistakes, mindsets or memories that we cannot seem to part from. We can learn about the roots of our difficult emotions, plus learn more about who we are and why.
In my experience, shadow work has helped me let go of certain parts of my past that needed to be dealt with. It’s also helped me recognize the mistakes I keep making and why. For example, before I started shadow work I knew I tended to procrastinate on personal goals. Now I know why: I’m afraid of not doing them right the first time, and giving up on them entirely as a result.
I still make that mistake, but now that I know the reasoning behind it, I try to be more lenient with myself and leave room for imperfections. Shadow work isn’t a one-and-done thing, but rather a process in building better habits and letting go of the past to make room for the present.
TRY IT YOURSELF
Shadow work may not be for everyone, but if you want to try it yourself, here are a few tips, tricks to help you start:
- Dive deep – don’t just answer the question on a surface level, explain why you think that is and how it started.
- Write it down – writing things by hand with a pen and paper have been shown to strengthen memory, help with writer’s block, and boost creativity. This lets you express yourself more smoothly and remember the things you learn.
- Have fun – not all of the questions need to be serious! Even asking yourself why your favorite color is your favorite color can be a benefit to you. By digging down to your roots in even the simplest ways, you set an intentional tone in your writing. This can reflect in your day-to-day activities as being more mindful in the decisions you make.
And as promised, here are some prompts for you to follow – more prompts from Psychedelic are linked. Happy shadow journaling!
- Reflect on a time when you felt strongly triggered by someone’s actions or words. What value of yours do you think was being challenged in that situation? How did your reaction reveal something important about that value?
- What are your deepest insecurities when it comes to forming connections with others? How do these insecurities impact your behavior and choices?
- What is your biggest fear? What experiences and conditioning shaped this fear?
- How easy is it for you to forgive yourself? What are some things you have yet to forgive yourself for? Why haven’t you?
- Imagine living a life where you completely accept every part of who you are. What would that look like? What are some changes you need to make today to reach that?
