The concept of Shadow Work has been a part of my life for the last year or so and for the last few months has been a focus of my own spiritual practice, but the phrase has many different interpretations so for you and I to be on the same page about this concept as I discuss it in this blog post, I believe it is important for you to understand what I mean when I use the phrase “Shadow Work”. When I refer to Shadow Work I am referring to the process of discovering, acknowledging, healing and / or integrating those parts of ourselves that we may have been rejecting, denying or hiding in shadow and bringing them into the light of who we are. It is about knowing ourselves completely. It’s about self-love and complete self-acceptance and not about accepting those traits or characteristics that we believe others will easily accept. It’s about completeness of self. It is also about transformation because sometimes we may discover that we hold beliefs, ideas, and behaviors that are not beneficial for our over-all well-being and we may want
to change or shift them with compassion for our whole being; that transformation process is an integral part of my own Shadow Work.
For me this year has been about self-discovery; To Know myself. Some of the revelations have been huge and were sparked by outside influences and circumstances, while others have been smaller in comparison, but still as poignant and significant for my overall personal spiritual growth. One of these instances happened recently and I wanted to share it with you as an example of how I am beginning to recognize my shadows.
The other day I was checking my personal facebook page and one of my “friends” had posted one of those quizzes. This one was Which TV Mother are you? Sometimes I spend the few minutes to take the quiz while other times the topic doesn’t interest me and I move along. I do realize these quizzes are created for entertainment purposes, but sometimes I find the results quite revealing as they give me some things to consider about myself, which as I’ve already pointed out is part of my definition of Shadow Work. So, I took the quiz and received my results, which were as follows:
For me this year has been about self-discovery; To Know myself. Some of the revelations have been huge and were sparked by outside influences and circumstances, while others have been smaller in comparison, but still as poignant and significant for my overall personal spiritual growth. One of these instances happened recently and I wanted to share it with you as an example of how I am beginning to recognize my shadows.
The other day I was checking my personal facebook page and one of my “friends” had posted one of those quizzes. This one was Which TV Mother are you? Sometimes I spend the few minutes to take the quiz while other times the topic doesn’t interest me and I move along. I do realize these quizzes are created for entertainment purposes, but sometimes I find the results quite revealing as they give me some things to consider about myself, which as I’ve already pointed out is part of my definition of Shadow Work. So, I took the quiz and received my results, which were as follows:
Marge Simpson
Marge is the heart and soul of the Simpson family. Loyal and fiercely devoted to her family, she is steady, consistent, trustworthy, hard-working and nurturing. She keeps the peace in the house, mediating major conflicts between her children and her husband. Unlike her husband, she doesn’t like to take risks. She prefers a more cautious approach, and likes to stick to the rules. Marge is peaceful and agreeable, and tends to avoid direct conflict unless it’s absolutely necessary. She often treats her kids as being younger and more depended than they actually are, likely due to her being uncomfortable with the idea of them growing up. She likes to be needed, and wants the family to depend on her emotionally.
Now while I am fully aware of whom The Simpsons are and have watched a few episodes, I was never really a dedicated fan of the show, but that fact didn’t affect the impact of my quiz results, which influenced me to consider whether or not I felt that it accurately described me as a Mom.
Did I like to be needed by my family? Do I want the family to depend on me emotionally?
The fact that I paused to even consider these questions made me believe and feel that perhaps there was truth to be found there. I recognized that perhaps this needed more serious contemplation and that I would benefit from meditation on the idea as well to receive guidance from both my HIgher Self and the Goddess.
Was I comfortable with the possibility that I did like to be needed by my family?
Did I find pleasure in the idea that my family depended on me emotionally?
Was this beneficial to both me and my family? And if I determined that it wasn’t what was I prepared to do to change this perspective?
There were some major considerations for me from what I, at first believed to be a silly quiz on facebook. This is a perfect illustration of how The Goddess will bring forth opportunities for spiritual growth in the most peculiar ways if you are opened to Her guidance.
Did I like to be needed by my family? Do I want the family to depend on me emotionally?
The fact that I paused to even consider these questions made me believe and feel that perhaps there was truth to be found there. I recognized that perhaps this needed more serious contemplation and that I would benefit from meditation on the idea as well to receive guidance from both my HIgher Self and the Goddess.
Was I comfortable with the possibility that I did like to be needed by my family?
Did I find pleasure in the idea that my family depended on me emotionally?
Was this beneficial to both me and my family? And if I determined that it wasn’t what was I prepared to do to change this perspective?
There were some major considerations for me from what I, at first believed to be a silly quiz on facebook. This is a perfect illustration of how The Goddess will bring forth opportunities for spiritual growth in the most peculiar ways if you are opened to Her guidance.
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