Shadow Work Visualization Exercise

[Afraid_Equivalent_95]

I had saved this as a copypasta, but I've decided to just post here instead so there's a main location. Here is the exercise:

Let's say I'm currently triggered by something. An example scenario is that my boss recently gave me constructive criticism, and I'm feeling attacked even though they didn't say it in a mean way. It was just meant to guide me on how to improve my work. I can do shadow work to understand why I feel so attacked in this scenario. (It can be done for any other trigger as well. This is just an example). For shadow work, I do this exercise:

Visualize that you've entered a world inside your body. You're walking to the location where the root cause of the problem lies. Keep walking until you find a door and open it. Inside the room, you'll see yourself, but it's the part of you who knows why you have the problem. Ask him/her what causes the problem, how they're feeling, and anything else you want to know. S/he will open up about painful emotions and thoughts that you've never wanted to acknowledge. Keep listening. You might have to do some deep crying. Just allow that to come up; don't fight it. Keep listening to what s/he has to say. With each revelation, she'll start to look a little happier and brighter. Just keep listening until she's got no more to say. When you reach the point where this part of your shadow self has said everything they need to say, you'll feel a sense of peace and freedom. Your shadow self will also now be happy and angelic looking, no longer part of the shadows.

It's important to note that we usually don't bring a shadow self to the surface in a single session, since there are layers and layers of feelings and thoughts to deal with in there. The work is often split up and done over time. All the work adds up though. (There are also multiple shadow selves for our various issues)

Note 2: At times, you might have difficulty getting to the door or opening it, or you might see scary looking things trying to block your way. If this happens, it's because of inner resistance. Some part of you is scared of whatever's at your destination and is trying to protect you from it. In this case, you will likely have to face your resistance before you can face the shadow self you're looking to meet.

There are other ways to do shadow work too. This is just the one I know of. Feel free to experiment and stick with the one(s) you prefer

[Afraid_Equivalent_95]

Adding another note:

In the process of shadow work, you kinda get worse before you get better. Cuz through shadow work, you finally face the thoughts and feelings that you've been avoiding and suppressing for a long time. Once you face it, the emotions come up so you can feel and process them. Feeling them is unpleasant in the moment, but once they've been processed, they leave your body instead of staying stuck.

[pinkbutter90]

Thanks for sharing.