Know Thyself

Every human has a shadow side that when embraced brings pure gold (Carl Jung)

So much of the suffering we inflict on ourselves, and others comes from our inability to stay authentic. We hide away the unsavoury parts of ourselves and pretend that our darkness doesn’t exist while portraying a ‘false’ self, wearing various masks. In effect, what we are doing is trying to quiet a roaring tiger while doing ourselves a great disservice. As a result, the parts that we ignore grow and fester and express themselves in ways that are inconsistent with us living our best life.

What is called our ‘shadow’ is all those wounds that we hold inside from trauma, abuse, past hurts, shameful memories, all the stuff that lives in our unconscious mind – out of conscious awareness. Its mission is self-preservation and keeping us safe.

Our shadow emotions are often triggered in ways that we may not understand, and that seem out of proportion to the circumstance. We can then experience even more shame around our reactions and feel out of control.

In order to thrive, we must confront our shadow – our obstacles, our resistances, our self-loathing, our terror, our self-doubt, the places we have shame around. Until we grow conscious of the patterns in our life, we are trapped in denial, pain, and past trauma, and repeat the patterns of our programming, living with self-sabotage wondering why nothing changes, why we don’t get different results.

If we have the courage to face ourselves with integrity and a willingness to allow the parts of ourselves we have concealed to be visible, we can begin making wise choices that no longer make us a victim of circumstance. There is such relief in coming out of hiding. When we are truly seen for who we are, and likewise, when we truly see another for who they truly are, life flows.

Explore your inner world where you can heal all those past hurts and become the best version of yourself. Imagine how you are going to feel as you start to reclaim your life and connect to your creativity, intuition, courage, confidence, curiosity, and spirituality while releasing past traumas and hurts like anger, sadness, fear, all those things that hold you back. This incredible process can also release joy, a sense of clarity, purpose, and self-celebration and all the affirmative emotions that can also be repressed.