Although you were born into this world whole, as an image of God, and as a clean slate, the world as you know it, slowly taught you to separate from yourself. By impressing upon you what is acceptable and what is otherwise unwelcome, naturally you began to repress or deny parts of yourself. Your "Shadow Self" is then born which is part of your unconscious mind, containing all of your secrets, negative emotions, impulses, traits, and parts you deem shameful, unacceptable, sinful, and even evil.
A lot of yourself gets repressed just to be liked in the eyes of another and excepted by society. Overtime, due to conditioning, you unconsciously deny these parts and they get locked away within the shadow. By building a socially approved ego, you build the shadow which contains all of the opposite traits. For example, anger tends to be an emotion that is often discouraged from being expressed. However, anger is a natural human emotion and when true feelings aren't honored, you cannot be your authentic self. Instead, you wear a mask, but the shadow can only get shunned for so long before it enters your life and sabotages you with mental illness, addictions, low self-esteem, and chronic illness.
Absolutely everyone has a shadow. It gets formed in childhood and as it builds, this results in getting further and further from your true-self. Problems arise and many issues are experienced when you're not whole and embracing your true-self. To better your life there is only one true path, the path towards unconditional love. To walk this path, you must first enter your darkness to explore what is hidden within. By doing so, and by working towards accepting your "Shadow Self," you begin integrating your shadow.
By doing shadow work you can begin to uncover your core wounds, core beliefs, traumas, and projections. Shadow work is deep and gets to the root of your issues. It's the path toward enlightenment and is what's needed to heal the soul. Some of the many benefits of shadow work include:
- Deeper love and acceptance of yourself
- Better relationships with others, including your partner and children
- More confidence to be your authentic self
- More mental, emotional, and spiritual clarity
- Increased compassion and understanding for others, particularly those you dislike
- Enhanced creativity
- Discovery of hidden gifts and talents
- Deepened understanding of your passions and ultimate life purpose
- Improved physical and mental health
- More courage to face the unknown and truly live life
- Access to your Soul or Higher Self
- A feeling of wholeness
- You become more self-aware
It's important to note that you need to feel ready to make the unconscious conscious in order to face your inner demons. If you're ready to take your healing journey serious, then with some courage and dedication, Expressive Soul Art can be your light that guides you through your darkness. The sessions are designed for you to explore your inner self, artistically expressing how you feel emotionally. Art is able to bypass the left side of the brain, making it so that you can access the right side and communicate with your suppressed emotions within the implicit memory. It is suggested that active participation on a consistent basis is recommended. With an active subscription, you will be working to reveal your shadow through many different expressive art exercises such as painting, active imagination, guided meditation, and writing exercises, like journaling and creative witting. Within time, Expressive soul art will have helped you to integrate your shadow self, furthering you along on you spiritual journey.
