What is your shadow self?

Your shadow is the part of you that you unknowingly hide from the world.

Think of it as an invisible force that’s connected to you but one that you’re not always aware of.

But even though it’s invisible, it still feels heavy.

Consider thinking of your hidden shadow-self as a shackle around your ankle with each chain link representing a different part of you.

Your Shadow Contains Facets of Yourself That You Ignore

For example:

• Parts of your personality that you’re extremely uncomfortable sharing.

• Talents or skills that you don’t acknowledge publicly or let anyone know about.

• Trauma that you haven’t yet acknowledged or healed.

• Your points of view and opinions that you suppress.

• Ignoring your higher self, your inner voice, and your spirit guides or angels.

The shadow self is everything that you’ve suppressed, pushed down, or hidden away about yourself.

The shadow is the part of you that lives just beneath the surface of what you consider to be, well, YOU.

I know. It’s weird knowing that there’s far more to you than you knew.

The good news is that meeting your shadow will show you the missing pieces of yourself that you need to integrate in order to be ____________________ .

You’ll fill in the blank after you’ve met your shadow and figured out what’s been missing.

I’m guessing that right this moment, your intuitive self is already telling you what that is.

Why Is It Important To Meet Your Shadow?

Ignoring your shadow is like living in a plastic bubble. You’re not actually living in alignment with who you are. Your soul, psyche, personality, and sense of who you are have gotten all jumbled up.

If you don’t feel fully alive, or you feel anxious, or afraid a lot of the time, then shadow work will do you some good.

When I say shadow work, I mean discovering who you really are.

Shadow work means taking action with first identifying your shadow, then acknowledging and accepting your shadow, and ultimately embracing it as part of you.

You can start by choosing one of the shackles listed above and ask yourself some questions.

Here’s a shadow-self example from my own life:

I teach people how to embrace their shadow and their intuitive-psychic selves so they can live in a way that feels meaningful. Now, this means using my traditional education in psychology but it also means using my gifts as a medium to channel messages.

If I didn’t do this work in some way, I’d feel like I was suffocating and lost because I have discovered that I have all these amazing gifts to share.

If I stuffed away and questioned my gifts, I’d spin endlessly on what to do with my life instead of teaching and helping others.

I don’t just help my paying clients. I help random people if I happen to get a message for them and it feels like it will help them. If I kept all that inside, my head would explode.

Questions you can ask yourself to determine if you need to do some shadow work:

• Do you have any gifts you want to share and why?

• What trauma would you like to acknowledge or heal?

• What opinions would you like to share and with who?

• How have you ignored your gut feelings and why?

• What part of yourself do you want to express or explore?

• Do you avoid certain decisions or actions because of what might happen to you?

Asking questions is the number one way to go deeper with any part of yourself, including getting to know your shadow self.

Related: Get The Intuitive-Psychic Skills Checklist

Your Shadow is Not Something To Be Feared

It’s part of you and it’s there for a reason.

Your shadow-self protects you until you’re ready to face it, understand it, and embrace it as part of yourself.

I once experienced horrifying nightmares until I started to share them in the form of a horror novel. This was part of me that I needed to get out. If I hadn’t expressed it, I would still be having sleepless nights.

What do you fear?

How can you embrace this fear and transform it into something else?

Hiding Your Shadow Self Can Lead To Self Limiting Beliefs

• You put limits on yourself because you believe they are real.

• You live within the boundaries of your fears.

• You have feelings or certain emotions and you don’t know why you have them.

• You repeatedly find yourself in emotionally painful situations, but you don’t realize it’s happening because of your own decisions or limiting beliefs.

• You feel like you’re living in a loop of pain; the people, places, and situations change over time, but the type of emotional or physical pain is the same.

• You blame others for what happens to you regardless of the situation.

If reading this article is making you feel sick to your stomach, then it’s an indicator you may be living as your false self or you may have pushed away your dreams.

A lot of people do this. It’s normal based on how our society is structured, but once you start to ask yourself some questions, the real you, along with your true nature will start to break through.

Examples of Hiding Your Shadow Self

• Working a desk job when you really want to travel the world.

• Going to hear a speaker that you know you disagree with instead sharing your expertise and point of view.

• Being jealous of someone because they are living the life they want to live.

• Experiencing social anxiety with your own family because you haven’t exercised boundaries or decisions that align with your wants and needs.

• You get easily triggered into emotional explosions. This is a huge indicator.

Addiction Blocks Your Shadow’s Reality

Meeting your shadow self can be gut wrenching at first. And, if you happen to have an addiction, that must go as part of the deal.

You’re unlikely to dive into your own psyche if you’re blocking your real self with substances like alcohol, drugs, or food.

Everyone you know will meet your emotional shadow when you are in the thick of addiction and this is not how anyone wants to live.

It takes a lot of courage to admit that the person you’ve been showing to the world isn’t really you.

If You Have a Dark Shadow, Here Are Some Ways You can Honor It

• Write a self help book.

• Write a horror novel.

• Paint or create art in some form.

• Sculpt.

• Volunteer at an organization that helps abuse survivors.

• Keep a journal.

• Join a support group or host one.

If you feel like you need to become a criminal to honor your shadow, stop and get help from a psychiatrist. Lots of people honor their shadows without hurting anyone.

You Control Your Shadow

Your shadow lives just beneath the surface of pain, jealousy, blame, fear, and any other negative free-floating emotional constructs you may be experiencing.

Making friends with your shadow is one of the first steps to becoming more conscious and awakened to who you really are and why you’re here.

Start with answering some of the questions above and see where it takes you.

Recap of How To Meet Your Shadow

1: Notice your own behavior.

2: Ask questions of your inner self.

3: Identify your shadow.

4: Accept that part of you.

5: Flip it. Love it. Embrace it Transform it.

It’s your choice.