3 Signs to Stop and Look at Your Shadow Self
The more you run, the angrier you make it
1. You Feel Empty Deep Inside
The shadow is a subject most people don’t want to hear about and would rather just run away from.
While many spiritual teachers approve of shadow work, others believe if you go looking for dark things, all you will find are more dark things. But if you are worried about what you might find, then there is probably something you don’t want to find.
As children, we are born whole and complete, but that wholeness is short-lived when people tell us certain things about ourselves are unacceptable. The moment you hear that something about you is “bad,” you have a reason to suppress, reject, ignore, deny, or push into the unconscious, never to revisit.
The shadow is a part of you. It is the unconscious and the disowned parts of yourself that your ego wanted nothing to do with it. It’s the hidden parts of yourself that are not exposed to the light of your consciousness.
When there are parts of you that you're disconnected from, you will feel empty inside.
If you’ve been feeling empty, as if something is missing from your life, the entire universe is on your side, trying to help you feel whole again. But you must stop the running and face your shadow self.
The more you run, the angrier you make your shadow, because it must follow you wherever you run.
2. You Do Things to Later Regret
We often underestimate the shadow, thinking it has no power, but it does. When you deny an aspect of yourself, it doesn’t disappear. It fades away from your conscious awareness and lies quietly in the dark, waiting for the right time to show its face.
The shadow gets a life of its own and can affect your actions and reactions if you don’t pay attention to it. A big shadow can become an entity and affect your life in ways you could never understand. It will push you to do things you wouldn't normally do.
If you find that you do things and regret them, it might not be you, but the shadow side of yourself. And that’s when it gets bad.
Every time you act out of your shadow, it grows bigger and bigger.
Then you start to project your issues onto others, which you end up regretting when it causes you to start unnecessary drama and push people away.
Facing and taming vicious shadows is not pretty. It’s scary, but in the end, when it’s done, it sets you free.
Every time you act out of your shadow, it grows bigger and bigger.
3. Something in The Dark Calls You
It is not only the sinister aspects of ourselves that end up in the subconscious shadow. Sometimes positive and great things about yourself can end up in the shadow. When you’ve repressed a gift, an ability, or a talent, it will call to you because it’s your God-given power.
Separation and division are not the natural states of anything. Integration and wholeness are natural for humans and, because of this, the subconscious will continually try to get your attention.
The goal of shadow work is integration. It is nothing but to make the unconscious conscious and the unacceptable parts of yourself acceptable.
Triggers can show you your shadow self easily.
The universe will try to help you heal by allowing people to trigger you. Triggers are messages and an invitation to delve deeper into unconscious things. The messengers are the events and people that cause an extreme emotional reaction so you can get to the bottom of it.
Projections can also show you your shadow self.
Because the universe works to make you feel whole again, when your shadow gets too big, people will become a mirror to show you the things that are hidden. When they do, you will project your shadows onto them. You may lash out at people for the behaviors you don’t like in yourself. You have to pay attention to how you project yourself into the outside world.
Repeating patterns also point you to your shadow.
The shadow wants you to become aware of it. It wants to be seen and accepted. Your shadow will call out to get your attention through the patterns and cycles that repeat in your life.
To become aware of your shadow, you have to choose to see it. Once you see it, it’s no longer a shadow aspect because you’ve seen it.
When you see your shadow side, love it. Don't judge it. If you let the harsh inner critic come up and shame or blame the shadow, you are rejecting it all over again.
The goal is to hold hands with your shadow and bring it out into the light or to shine a light on it so it is integrated.
Shadow work is truly the highest form of light work you can do. It sets you free.
Note: This article is only meant to provide spiritual guidance and lighthearted content.
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