Flight from the Shadow – — Chuang Tzu

There was a man
who was so disturbed
by the sight of his own shadow
and so displeased
with his own footsteps,
that he determined to get rid of both.
The method he hit upon was
to run away from them.
So he got up and ran.
But every time he put his foot down
there was another step,
while his shadow kept up with him
without the slightest difficulty.
He attributed his failure
to the fact
that he was not running fast enough.
So he ran faster and faster,
without stopping,
until he finally dropped dead.
He failed to realize
that if he merely stepped into the shade,
his shadow would vanish,
and if he sat down and stayed still,
there would be no more footsteps.

As a Life Coach, Spiritual Counsellor or Shamanic Practitioner one of the cornerstones of the work i do involves working with the shadow.

Now many of my clients come to me and have been ‘programmed’ with the concept of the power of positivity, love and light painting it on and sprinkling it everywhere yet in complete denial of any of their shadow .

This is a lovely concept the idea of always being positive and full of love and light but we all have shadows. Denying them does not magic them out of existence. It can be exhausting keeping this love and light up without addressing the shadow work. To be truly contented we need to allow the shadow side to express itself truthfully too .

When we do not embrace the shadow of our psyche then often it will find a way of expressing itself. Often inappropriately.

I saw a facebook post the other day from a ‘love and light angel’ who was fear mongering people by sharing conspiracy theory stories to her audience. On the surface it may look like spreading information , but the reality is she was spreading fear….HERS!

That my lovely ones is the shadow finding its voice . If the person has not found a way to discharge their own personal shadows then the fears will find a way of leaking out in other forms. True ‘love and light’ doesn’t impose its views onto others, it does not judge, it does not allow the ego to rule the show in any way shape or form.

If you spend all day talking to angels, then ignore the shadow work that you need to do then you will be blind sided. When you are blindsided you cannot do good work as you are running from an unhealed programme.

If your shadow self has not been worked on and brought into awareness then you become unconscious to the ways in which the ego manifests those shadows into your life. It then becomes the shadow which is running the show of your life.

At the core of us we all have shadows. We all have the darkness and we all have the light. We are good at accepting the light but we do not work on the shadow. This is why many people walk around like ticking time bombs with their ego releasing those bombs into your every day life in ways that are unhelpful , limiting and damaging. Fear is contagious.

Ending that conflict within yourself requires a commitment to looking deep within and taking responsibility for the shadows . When you acknowledge the shadows , this begins the journey to true release , freedom and healing.

See how it works ?

The flight of the shadow

Until we fully step into the flight of the shadow then the shadow will always have more power over your life than the light.

Here is an exercise to demonstrate this ;

Take a walk on a sunny day and take a good look at your shadow. It seems larger than you doesn’t it.

This is how we spend our lives, being partly, somewhat or vaguely aware of the shadow and when we look at it it looks so big . Too big.

So we stop looking at it. We ignore it, it is still there though.

The truth is that the shadows will be running your positive programmes and your love and light programmes too. When you stop looking at them they do not disappear. When the sun goes in your shadow still exists, you just don’t focus on the detail of it.

The shadows will always be running your successes as well as running your failures.

Exploring the shadows, cultivating our awareness meeting the shadow head on is not for the faint of heart, it is for the brave of heart.

Once we are ready to take responsibility for the bad and the ugly as well as the good we really deepen into the richness of the soul purpose.

I love shadow work it is the most enriching , healing and honest body of work there is.

How to approach it ?

Take a bite size chunk of it, breathe , chew on it and process it .

Give space for it before you immerse yourself into the next fold and see it as a life work of really getting to know yourself.

The shadow is where the light comes in.

This is the place where we are most likely to find the real answers and meaning.

Check out my webpage for discounted offers to help you during these difficult times.

Thank you for reading.

If you would like any more information about how Shamanic Healing, Life Coaching, Spiritual Coaching, Soul Journey Work or any of my other work can help you, then please do contact me.

Jeni

e:[email protected]
tel : 07531 191 688