Welcome Dear Readers!
I am so excited that I found substack. I struggle with being social consistently on social media. I thought at first something was wrong with me, but after finding substack, I realized I was simply trying to fit into platforms that did not fit me. So, here I am! This months topic is - Shadow Work. Which sounds more mysterious than it actually is. In my own life's adventure, I experience a shadow as an internal part of me or rather a wound which is a term I use interchangeably.
I like Analogies
If you become a dedicated reader of my work I like to use music and movies as analogies to bring understanding of my personal stories. Today I have two analogies 😊. The first, I don’t know if anyone is close to my age and remembers the Peter Pan musical play, where Peter Pan is actually played by a woman, but whether you remember that version or not, even in the cartoon there is a scene where he is in Wendy Darling’s room trying to catch his shadow. He is rather combative, bossy, and rough with his shadow and in turn it will not cooperate and submit to him. That reminds me of how I see and experience so many people handling the more vulnerable parts of themselves. I don’t think it is instinctual to respond that way, I think it is learned over time.
What I find instinctual when it comes to shadow parts became evident in watching my 18 month old little boy discover his shadow. The sun was setting just right and we were walking at the park, He saw it walking with him on his left and turned to follow it. He was so excited about getting close to it, as we walked his shadow crept up onto a tree trunk and all of a sudden he was face to face with his shadow. He waved to it, touched it, and hugged it. He was so gentle and curious that in those moments I knew it would be a core memory for me forever. As I think about what is instinctual, I think of his calm, compassionate engagement.
Processing in the Shadows
Some of my own wounds include never feeling like enough, anxiety, intense sorrow, heavy guilt, and emotional eating, just to name a few. Many times, Like Peter Pan, I want to push down the wounds, ignore them, redirect away from them. However, the most productive work I have ever done comes from diving right in with the wound when it presents itself. They require compassion, curiosity, and connection, like what I witnessed my little guy offer his own shadow. These wounds lacked the care they needed at the time of creation, however, I have learned that I have the ability to provide what they need now. This is the work I get the opportunity to do for myself and with others.
I tell a lot of my clients that processing in the shadows is the hardest work I can ask them to do. In my own processing, I have cultivated a variety of tools that I use individually and collectively to aid in mending wounds as they present themselves.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Prayer
Listening to worship music
Journaling
Allowing release of how I am feeling - mainly through tears… I am a crier.
Somatic Exercising - one particular course I love is by The Workout Witch
Brainspotting - a bottom up processing tool for releasing dysregulation.
Emotional Freedom Technique - Tapping - The Tapping Solution is a good app to try out.
I wanted to include a few resources for the first three tools on my list so feel free to check them out below!
Verse for the Shadows
I know that no matter the work ahead, internal or external, He goes ahead of me and is with me no matter what.
On My Playlist 🎧
If We’re Honest - Francesca Battistelli
Beautifully Broken - Plumb
Mended - Matthew West
You Say - Lauren Daigle
Warrior - Hannah Kerr
Fires - Jordan St. Cyr
Even Then - Micah Tyler
Truth Be Told - Matthew West
Look What You’ve Done - Tasha Layton
God Only Knows - King & Country with Dolly Parton
Processing Prompts 📝
In case you are interested in journaling on your own shadows, here are a few questions to consider:
A shadow in need of my attention is…
What I need to be able to connect with this part is…
A tool that I plan to research from Jenna’s list is…
I pray this content finds it’s way to the readers who need it most and if that is you, I invite you to share your responses. I look forward to engaging further with each of you!
Until next month dear readers,
~Jenna
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