Hello Beautiful Soul,
Let's talk about shadow work and how EFT comes into play with this powerful method.
What is shadow work? The idea of the shadow self is a term coined in Jungian psychology. It's where you work with your unconscious mind to uncover the parts of yourself that you repress and hide from yourself. This can include trauma or parts of your personality that you subconsciously consider undesirable.
According to Jung, a personality includes the persona - the part we show to the world, and the shadow self- which remains private or hidden. As mentioned above, unlike the persona, the shadow self may include traits that we do not like and certainly do not want other people to see.
Jung believes that the shadow should not be seen as negative or shameful - and that it's an important part of our psyche. The goal of shadow work is to assimilate the shadow and the persona so that we can learn how to manage impulses which we usually ignore such as anger or greed.
You can do this in your own time or by seeking our a practitioner to help.
As with all exercises where we work on ourselves- it can be uncomfortable, tricky, and hard to do, but sitting with ourselves in this discomfort is really is where we truly heal - as Jung states "There is no coming to consciousness without pain".
How does the shadow affect you?
Keeping your shadow hidden is a form of repression and experts share that it may have consequences.
Ignoring the shadow people may:
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self-soothe with drugs or alcohol
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talk negatively about themselves
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experience stress
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experience mental health difficulties, like depression and anxiety
Where does EFT come into play?
As shadow works involves acknowledging parts of you that you don't want to / can't easily acknowledge, it is considered that EFT is a great tool in helping us fully understand ourselves and who we are to our core.
Through tapping - we can reflect on what we truly feel about any given situation and offer ourselves an opportunity to bring to the surface those parts
Shadow work requires us to have compassion for ourselves - when we do EFT we are careful with our words, making sure we are being super gentle with ourselves throughout, for example in the very beginning of the tapping process, in the set up statements we start with acceptance such as "I deeply and completely accept myself", which really helps us anchor in to a level of compassion that we often don't give ourselves.
Both EFT and shadow work require us to go beyond the surface level and work directly with the subconscious mind - EFT allows us to get into it very quickly. When we tap, the psyche starts to feel safe, and then it brings to the surface all those uncomfortable feelings. Chipping away at each layer via the tapping rounds, we start to open ourselves up to that beauty of who we are. We often find once we get into that sweet spot, old traumas come to the forefront, and as we progress with the tapping, we can start to clear them out - working with the shadow, so we can move on healing and actually appreciate and see the gift and the message of why we have been holding on to our trauma in the first place.
And benefits of the two combined...
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Gain more confidence and self-esteem
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Find out who we are to our core
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Ignite creativity
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Build better and healthier relationships with others
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Practice self acceptance
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Helps discover your inner truth and who you are at your core
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Improve mental and physical wellbeing
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Increase your compassion to yourself and others
How to do shadow work...
Shadow work is typically done with a "Socratic approach" of questioning and exploration, this entails asking ourselves objective questions that spark critical thinking and taking a deeper dive into these old stories and beliefs we hold about ourselves. If exploring your shadow by yourself, proceed with compassion. Remember to go slow and be mindful that these exercises can be difficult and upsetting. Approach the shadow self with curiosity and total acceptance. Practicing deep self-care afterwards is necessary.
Below are some prompts and which can help you get started with your shadow work. Make yourself comfortable, have a journal to hand, get a brew, turn off your phone, light a candle and begin your healing...
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Who am I?
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What do I want?
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Who or what triggers me? Where do you feel they come from?
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What do you most fear others discovering about you?
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Do you ever feel shame? Why do you think that is?
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What negative self-images or thoughts do you think about yourself?
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What do I have to let go of to get the things I desire?
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Who do I have to become to receive those things?
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How do I want to show up to the world?
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Write a list of the things you love about yourself.
In this life, some of our greatest lessons will come from looking at the parts of ourselves we hide away. Because when we can bring our shadow to the surface, heal, and integrate those lessons into our lives, we evolve exponentially. Af"
Hopefully these prompts will help you become acquainted with your shadow self. When we bring the shadow to the surface, we enter into a space of healing, and once we integrate the lessons learned through the exercises these into our daily lives is where that lasting change happens, and we grow. Want help discovering our shadow and letting go of old beliefs? Book in your EFT online session today!
Happy Growing & Glowing!
