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C ONS CIOUSNE SS


Taking a look into the dark


Why shadow work is the missing link of most spiritual practice and self-help.


by Liisa Halme


THE SPIRITUAL INDUSTRY: WHAT’S MISSING This is a touchy subject that may trigger some (for reasons I will explain). There is something very important missing from much of the modern spiritual industry. We look after our physical body by exercising and eating well. We balance our energy through yoga, Qi Gong and various energy healing modalities, and nourish our minds through meditation, work, study, and stimulating conversation. But way too often we are not taught much at all about our emotions; how to recognise or live with them – except perhaps that certain emotions are ‘bad’ and to be avoided. This is the reason why so many


people, despite all their best efforts, stay stuck. It’s the reason why, in spite of doing all the ‘right things’, our life still doesn’t flow and we end up unhappy and in pain, repeating our old dysfunctional patterns. Let me explain.


24 JUNE 2017


BRINGING LIGHT INTO THE DARK The whole business of becoming ‘conscious’ is really about bringing consciousness into that which is unconscious. In other words, it is about bringing light into the darkness. This is not possible by only concentrating on light, love, and joy (as nice as they are). There is an epidemic and compulsive avoidance of the dark which some of this industry promotes: we are to only think positive, always look at the bright side, see the best in people, overcome our fears and rise above our anger and judgments. However there is a problem with this


fixation. As a result we feel ‘wrong’ about having completely normal ‘negative’ thoughts or feelings of fear, anger, sadness, shame, or guilt, and hence further avoid and suppress them. When we suppress those heavier emotions, we push them into the ‘shadow’ part of our psyche – the part that is unconscious. The more we do this, the bigger the


shadow grows, and the more charge it contains. The underlying emotions don’t go away, but accumulate in our system and our cell memory. They then negatively impact our happiness, health, wealth, and relationships, without us being aware of it. Further, they hold back our spiritual connection.


AFFIRMATIONS AND THE SHADOW Even something as innocent as positive affirmations can add to the problem, unless paired with owning our difficult emotions. If we try to patch an uncomfortable feeling up with a conflicting incantation, our subconscious mind hears it as, ‘What I’m feeling is not ok. What I’m feeling is not ok…’. We may feel ashamed because we still have these ‘bad’ feelings, or because we are stressed or stuck in some area of our life, or don’t feel the spiritual connection/gratitude/compassion we are ‘supposed’ to, despite our best efforts.


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