(trust the process)

What is the shadow? That which lingers within yet harbors all of it the knowledge kept hidden between the breath and certainly hides all your sin.
Shadow is the object that is created by light. There is no light that produces no shadow. Therefor shadow is an aspect of the light. In other words shadow is the subconcious that which we remember without conscious awareness.

The first steps into greater manifestation is to understand your shadow and when you know the ways your shadow maneuvers you will have a much easier way understanding your path toward alignment. This is true success where the fulfillment can be expressed inside your inner and outer world. This is a process that involves the mastery of self and will push you to define your core beliefs and provide grounding to build a foundation for your future.

Our shadow contains trauma we have yet to describe. Inside your shadow is an inscription, a manual of how you used to be. This manual opens or closes the idea of how you should be. However one of the most difficult part is knowing it. You cannot truly know just one side. It would leave the other half exposed. Which is why I tend to live by a quote
“You are only as strong as the weakest among you.”
Of course in this context it’s referring to the weaker side such as an unknown side of you that is outside your conscious awareness preventing you from knowing all aspects of your nature.

Our weakness is lack of perception. When we first come to understand our shadow the important thing to mention is the weakness that is exploited.

So do not get focusing on weakness and focusing on understanding your weakness are two different ways of looking at it. Depending on the focus we can make an ever gaping hole without the ability to escape it (a topic to look into further later).

When ascribing our weaknesses must accept there are some. When we begin to realize we have bad habits such as negative self talk, aversion to kindness, aversion to success, aversion to failure, we start to realize those behaviors were created by repetition which comes from experiencing emotions. Whether the intent is positive or negative they can create an mis alignment between who we choose to be consciously and who we are subconsciously. 

Our inner child can have a drastic effect on whether or not we really love our ourselves or how we really don’t. Happiness is childlike in its existence. It is joyful and almost euphoric. Just as a child is too excited to control their body when they see their favorite thing in the world or even as a dog or pet or animal. 

This inner child for some was could have never had that emotion met with open arms. For some or many due to societal norms or trauma from generations couldve prevented us from truly sharing joy with others outside that moment.

Therefore the healing of it is crucial.

It takes time to recognizing those experiences as they are. We can wrap those experiences around excuses that prevent one from seeing its true depth. We can love other people more than ourselves and be unable to detach certain perspectives out of fear. 

Remember that truth has a lot of weight. We must bare it bravely and use it wisely. These experiences can be a lot to handle. Give yourself grace for overindulging in things knowingly or unknowingly for attempting to mitigate these uncomfortable feelings. Find the strength to forgive the body for experiencing to such a degree that the mind must compensate in unhealthy ways. Just as much as you are you the body is its own essence too. 

Healing trauma is a process and the most effective way to do so could be different than you’d think. By wallowing for extended periods you are allowing the body to release any negative energies associated with 5e trauma. Crying your eyes out is a great start however recognize that those tears are shed with purpose. The prolonging of the pain and suffering at the hands of another is difficult and holding onto another persons (even if it’s your younger self) emotions for such an extended amount of time takes effort. Onnce you’re done shedding all the tears and you’re sick and tired of feeling these feelings you will now graduate into the next step.

The next step is now sadness to anger and pent up frustration. We can become frustrated at the prolonged sadness and the inability to know what to do. Yeah the anger can make anyone so irritable simply asking you how you are can set you off cause you have no clue who you are upset over who you are now or the old you or even mad that the whole situation robbed you of your innocence and shredded your sense of humanity a divine right. 
It is important that during this stage you are expressing your anger with what you didn’t like about the situation and putting names to the experiences. Calling out yourself even if it’s applicable could help define access points of your weakness. Or perhaps calling out others weakness and strengths or failures can help sharpen your truth. Remember at this time your goal isn’t to be critical of every single thought but knowing that in order for these feelings to resolve it is important that we give ourself the space to at least express to ourselves that we are not aligned with what happened and that we know that what happened is not going to continue happening. 
As we recognize these emotions and start naming the aspects of the situation and start opening ourselves to anger in time it will begin to subside. As the sadness does not go away also the anger is a response to our fear which is the sadness and our fear will manifest in our physical reality with chaos. 

By now you have probably gone over the experience or experiences with a fine tooth comb. So we may resent the fact that we have seen this or felt this same feeling again and again and may even be picking up patterns in your current reality and getting sick of it. You maybe brazen enough to even let that anger go which means you are now ready for the next step.

Now after the resentment hits from experiencing this trauma for the thousandth time you maybe wondering well I’m done with it! Right!? Well you’re almost there cause consciously you know the experience. The subconscious layer of self that is an aspect of you is ready to face the inevitable. It’s own destruction. 
The part of you that provided so much trouble that called for so much attention is afraid you will not need it anymore. Without it who will you be? Without your subconscious using these experiences to find a roundabout way to protect you what will it do now? 
That’s when you can finally start meeting that version of yourself with a warm hug and turn those anger sorrowful eyes into acceptance. It was doing all this work trying it’s best to protect you! Reassure yourself those times of heartache you felt it to the most it could be felt and the anger you felt to the maximum you could feel and still you wished for a way to reach the humanity that was taken from you. Still you reached for the innocent part of you that was kept caged in layers of solitude. So when you approach the older version of you that was angry that was sad and give it the most welcoming love filled guilt free cherishing hug everlasting! That’s when you know this is now just an aspect of you that no longer needs to hold onto the memory. The body will neither reject nor accept its reminder. For the intent was never to purify it from you but to accept its reason to protect you and honor its mechanisms to defend you. 

It is a two edged sword now at your disposal. Any individual who attempts to use it against you will be seen and any individual who did not have to go through such work will be seen and every person who is like that will now be perceived. What seems as a curse will have the potential to be such a powerful ally to you and even to others if you allow it to be. It is a lesson learned and mastered. The emotions are deep and there was nothing there to push you to succeed but the humanity in you that longs for a settlement. 

Our shadow is sharp and it can be dull. Our shadow is not to be feared but we understand it’s fear. Our shadow is not to be forgotten but we know why it is forgotten. Our shadow is loving an kind we also know it can be cruel and demeaning. We are dualistic in nature. The goal was to never forget our trauma but to grow with it to a more knowledgeable person of ourselves and our environment. It gives purpose to defend ourselves but also to guide ourselves. When we reflect on our younger selves (who may not have had anyone at the time)know that you gave the thanks for that version of you for holding it together. You cried for them you were angry for them and you choose to stand up for them. It may start slowly but every step counts. 

Watch your physical reality shift during these processes too. As the physical world is the same during this because of your mastery of these experiences will allow you to manage your fear so much better and create a life with the aspects ever brighter and ever bigger. Your shadow is a guide and you are it. It is also you and never shy from yourself nor forget yourself. Trust me I’m sure by now you’ll recognize how it’ll grab your attention again. I assure you will not mistake it.

Shadow work is never ending! There is always a purpose to your fear. When you recognize it evaluate your subconscious check in with it. Is it a deep personal bias you are holding onto that is no longer serving you? Take the right steps to recalibrate yourself. Steps in the darkness should never be feared but met with honor and respect. Respect its mystery and honor it but grasping your very nature and do not allow your mastery of your self become confused by another entity out of you. 

Why entity you might ask because with the mastery of the shadow you can now move and remove the density that does not belong to you. Then you can alleviate the emotional illnesses that may rise and become more restful. Your nightmares will become intuitive messages responding to an already known algorithm your body works in and this will be another roadmap for the next entry way of possibilities. After all that trauma you may believe what lurks in the dark is nothing but fear but believe me. In the darkness you yourself (after mastery) may envelope into fear itself. Oh yes for what greater fear is there when darkness no longer causes you to tremble? Then you can bring that mastery to light and find hidden treasures not even you were capable of handling. 

Stay tuned for the next post covering THE SHADOW