Invade the deep depths of your dark darkness : ‘The shadow self ‘.

We all have deep dark secrets , deep dark eye circles , deep dark thoughts and have even eaten deep dark chocolate cakes. But what exactly is this deep dark darkness ? It’s not a tongue twister for sure nor am i bemusing you with random alliterative plosives.Take my word for it. It’s above and  beyond the ordinary . Confused already ? Then perhaps you should read on to dispel your confusion.

The Shadow Self ( Inner Darkness ) .

Our shadow self is the darker side of our psyche. why darker side ? We call it the darker side or inner darkness because  it’s the unknown side of our personality , which is yet to be explored ‘The Dark Side’. Whatever we consider evil, inferior or unacceptable becomes a part of the shadow. Ever pondered on inner critics ?? Your critical inner voice comes from your shadow self.Have you ever puzzled over your inferiority complex ?? which too comes from your shadow self . All unrealistic and superficial feelings that are evoked  from deep within is what we consider as Inner Darkness / Shadow Self.

These Negative vibes gradually take over our lives and become a part of our personality which we classify as  ‘Sub Personality ‘.
All the intellectual TED TALKS on sub personality traits / disorder finally making little sense now ?

Let’s relate to few situations on ‘sub personality’ concept so you’ll have a tight grip to hold on (that will hopefully last long) as we dig deep on the subject.

Ever had the privilege to experience these super cool  ‘ Why did i do this ? ‘ moments in life ?

• “I was not myself”, “sorry, Something in me just went crazy“
• ” I wanted to continue working hard ,  but something in me choose to give up” .

Blame your ‘Sub personality’ for all the embarrassment.Because during these situations it was our shadow self that reacted. Thinking how come ? Mmmmm… let me explain the teeny weeny theory behind that “how come ? ” you are having in mind right now.

Our shadow self often has an energy that’s relative to that of  our ego. when this energy level increases and generates more energy than our ego,  Boom Boom !! It erupts  (more or less like a mini volcanic eruption)  because it no longer can handle the pressure. So when the energy is released it over flows and this energy reacts to the situation life offers  and you become a victim of the “why did i do this ? ” moments.

“Your ‘shadow’ is nothing more than the part of you that is unconscious and therefore hidden from your awareness. The unconscious is filled with all kinds of things that you have judged as ‘unacceptable’ about you. And shadow work is nothing more than the art of making the unconscious, conscious and the unacceptable, acceptable. “

                                                                                  _ Teal Swan _

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What is ‘Darkness’ to you ?

‘DARKNESS’ what comes into your mind first : Monsters ? Devils ? Vampires ? Demons ? Werewolves? Beasts ? Witches and Wizards ? Shape Shifting Snakes ? and the list goes on and on….Goosebumps already ??  But I’m afraid they are the frequently used interpretations for Dark themes. Let’s put Fantasy aside and get into (some real business) Reality.

What if we make peace with our darkness ? WHAT IF ? What would life be if we had the courage to embrace our darkness? Will that make us Dauntless ? (Fearless) Let’s see.

How to embrace your shadow self ?

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people.

                                              _ Carl Jung _

1. Confront your Inner Monster / Darkness. Stand up and muster some courage to face your shadow self .Fear is your deserving culprit here. Your biggest enemy is your fear. Embrace your fear and you will gradually invade your darkness. How can you completely and whole heartedly accept your self if there are sides of yourself your terrified to explore ?
2. Our Shadow self is a wounded , sad, depressed, frustrated and isolated part that we as human beings tend to ignore.. we over look .Stop over looking your inner darkness and start to accept it ; accept your flaws. Only if you accept your inner darkness you can make peace with it. Because if you are not ready to accept your shadow self how can you embrace it ?
3. Learn to love your shadow. Learn to love your inner monster !! I know this is insane and downright comical , to shower love on the despised quarter of your being is crazy. But trust me this does wonders. If you don’t love your negative side how can you even step into your darkness and start exploring ? In order to tame your inner monster first you need to love it. Just like a pet Dog , You need to love the fellow in order to discipline , train  and maintain  healthy relationships with it. when you try to be harsh with it, it’s surely not going to listen to you.Use the same formula with your inner monster.
4. Tame your inner Monster / Darkness. In order to drown your inner monster you have to feed positivity. Think Positive and gradually your positive vibes will drown your negative vibes ( Sub personality ).  You need to follow the  PTP formula:  Patience , Time and Practice is all you need in this endeavor.

The hidden power of your dark side .

Powers ? Yes , you read that bit right. Back to Fantasy. Just like the Monsters, Vampires , Demons and Witches possess super natural powers , Your Inner Darkness too possesses the very same. Wow !! Now isn’t that mind blowing ? To own powers ?

Your Inner Darkness or Shadow Self holds  the power of CREATIVITY. That’s like a cave full of treasure to me. Creativity is an Art and that’s invaluable.

“Our shadows hold the essence of who we are. They hold our most treasured gifts. By facing these aspects of ourselves, we become free to experience our glorious totality: the good and the bad, dark and the light.”

_ Debbie Ford _

 

Thinking how come the bearer of negative vibes (shadow self) help unlock your ‘creativity’ ?

In order to step in and invade your inner darkness you surely need ‘ways in‘ and ‘ways out’.

Just like a maze; In order to solve your Maze you need creative ‘ways in’ and ‘ways out’.The theory is more or less the same ‘Maze Theory’.  To battle with your inner monster you need to think of an effective plan to confront the Monster (your way in) similarly after confrontation you have to get away from your monster (your way out) for that you got to think of a pro level tactic. So there’s a lot of thinking , analyzing, visualizing , exploring going on , And aren’t they qualities of creativity ?

Your answer for that is evidently a ‘YES !! ‘

Agree on the disagree .

‘Goodness triumphs over Evil !! ‘ . We can’t escape the truth  . Agree on this wordly wise? Work on your positives and gradually it will drain your negatives ; When you learn to love, care , share , help ,trust and believe, your hatred, fear, sorrow , anxiety, frustration , anger, ego , and  jealousy will disappear into the ether . Your positive energy will eclipse your shadow self and the Darkness within will gradually subside.

“Until we have met the monsters in ourselves, we keep trying to slay them in the outer world. And we find that we cannot. For all darkness in the world stems from darkness in the heart. And it is there that we must do our work.”

_ Marianne Williamson  _

 

Article By : Shamla Nasir.