SHADOW WORK
Uncovering your shadow side so you find wholeness.
SOLITUDE
To access your shadow, you are asked to sit in solitude, by yourself, with yourself. Clear your physical space, create a sanctuary, a space of safety and ceremony.
You are asked to quieten the mind, and to feel the vibration of your heart... the different layers of you. The intricate web of all the things that make you, YOU.
When we give ourselves space from others, from distractions, we have nothing else to distract us from our inner voice, which is challenging to access when we are always “doing” something, or occupied with the external.
For me, it’s important that while I’m doing sacred work to create a sacred space, by surrounding myself with smells that cleanse the space like Florida Water, Palo Santo or scented candles and incense. Visually I bring in the space by dimming the lights, lighting a candle, placing crystals around me and a book to write in. Creating a sacred space will invite sacredness into your work, so it’s not just you doing yet another task like every other task.
Make this special for you, ceremonial for you, whatever that looks like.Pull out the Solitude card, put those headphones on, and close your eyes…
SILENCE
Rumi said “Listen to silence. It has so much to say.” It’s in the silence that our voice is quietened, our distractions are dampened, and we search in franticness for some sort of escape, because our ego knows, this space is at its most powerful, where the truth can be revealed.
In your silence, is where you allow your mind to rest, even for a moment. In this silence, is the preparation we need to explore the depths of our being... of our shadow. Of course in this physical world, music is not considered to be “silent”. But when asked to sit in silence, what I’m referring to more, is to sit in the silence of your mind.
This is the opportunity to quieten the mind so you can access your heart, and truly listen to what is brewing internally.We cannot uncover our shadows if our mind chatter is still going. We cannot hear our insecurities, our frustrations, our hurts, if our mind is occupied with what it needs to do tomorrow.
Find silence in the stillness of your breath. Breathing slowly, in and out, through the mouth or the nose, whatever is more comfortable for you.Listen to the sounds of “Silence” through headphones, and continue that steady breath. Put your hand on your heart to help silence the mind, and to access your heart space.
UNCOVER
As you silence the mind, and access your heart. As you still yourself, emotions will surface.
What is surfacing for you at this moment? Write down anything that comes to mind. No one needs to see what you are writing, so don’t hold back. There is no need to suppress your emotions. No need to hide anymore. Let it out. As they say “rather out, then in”.
Uncover is asking you to dig deep into the darkest depths of YOU, and shine the light on those parts that you hide away from not only yourself, but from others.
To understand your shadow self, make a list of 5 positive qualities that you see yourself as having… example: Compassionate, generous, funny…Often our best qualities will reveal to us our shadow self. Look at each positive quality you wrote down, describe it’s opposite, example: apathetic, selfish, dull…The second word you wrote down is your shadow self. It’s very human to embody both amazing qualities and their very opposite. You can be an extremely compassionate person, but there may be certain areas, circumstances, situations in which you are not compassionate. It’s hard to look at that, because you consider yourself compassionate. What if you were to find out that in fact, you are not always compassionate, and there is a side of you who is extremely apathetic. Can you say “identity crisis”?
The other amazing way to uncover your shadow self is to be vigilant as to what bothers you about others. Is it that your friend is inconsiderate? Is it that your sibling is messy and dirty? How about your parents? Are they stubborn, or know-it-alls? And that woman or man on social media that keeps taking selfies? So conceited… so full of themselves. How about that person in the grocery store who fills their cart with junk food! The worst!
Write down what it is that annoys you, frustrates you, or bothers you about others. What bothers you about others is often aspects of yourself that exist that you reject because either you were taught that those qualities are not “acceptable” or because you didn’t think you deserved to feel them. They are a rejection of self. We will notice them in others, but not often in ourselves.
For example, if your friend is inconsiderate and that annoys you, and you find yourself extremely considerate, can you find where in your life you are actually the opposite? You will find that you are inconsiderate somewhere in your life. Dig deep. It’s there. If you were to find out that you were in fact inconsiderate in some areas, would that bother you? Of course it would, and that’s why it bothers us in other people.
That woman or man who keeps posting these selfies. This annoys you because you don’t do that, and you find it very conceited. Is there a part of you that would like to be taking selfies too, but you don’t allows yourself to for some reason? Perhaps you were taught that it is in fact conceited, and if you do, you too will be conceited. Maybe you’ve been conditioned to focus on your intellect instead, and while you’re amazing at that, there is a part of you that would like to explore your body, your looks, your visual appeal, but you’ve been shunned to do that, and so you take it out on others who feel free enough to do so. This is your shadow too.That shopper with all their junk food! Does that annoy you that he doesn’t care about his health? Because you really do care about your health? Are there areas in your life where you slip up, where you don’t eat according to what you believe is healthy? Do you punish yourself? Do you shame yourself? Are you disappointed in yourself when that happens? How we treat ourselves is usually how we treat others. If you were forgiving to yourself for those moments, you would be less frustrated with others for those moments too.
Sometimes our shadows are places where our gifts can be hiding too. They’re not always dark, dreary places where our insecurities lay to rest. Our shadows can be part of ourselves that hold such beauty, but we’ve been taught to hide them. For example, some of us may have been taught to hide or quieten our “class clown” character, where our humor lives. Perhaps we are amazing at making others laugh, but if we’ve been punished for this as children, we will hide this part of ourselves in fear of being punished as adults.
How about been told that art is not important, or music is not important, and you should focus on your studies? Is there a part of you that is judging other creatives? Maybe you’re criticizing their skill, their character, their work? Why? Are you rejecting that part of you that also wants to come out and express artistically, but you’ve been shunned away from doing so?
This uncovering process is where the gold is to be found. The beauty is to continue the uncovering process as part of your life’s journey. It will always give you insight into yourself. Why you are the way you are.
VULNERABLE
The uncovering process can lead you to feel very vulnerable… exposed. The more vulnerable we are, the more open we are to the process. It’s hard to face that some of our best qualities have their shadow side that we too embody. We can be generous in some areas in our lives, and very selfish in others. We can embody both. Get really vulnerable and notice what you judge about others, what frustrates you, your jealousy, self-pity, anger, fears, and annoyances... your shadow is here too.
The more vulnerable you are with yourself, the more honest and raw you are, the less you are suppressing. When we suppress, we are hiding a portion of ourselves… from ourselves and from others. This results in us cutting off the flow we need in order to fully step in to who we are.Being vulnerable is powerful. Being vulnerable allows the beauty to enter. It allows us to experience life more fully, love more fully, and allows us to access ourselves more fully. It gives us a glimpse into the many facets of ourselves and life itself. There is beauty to be found in your vulnerability.
Allow it to unfold. Allow the emotions to surface. Allow everything you’ve ever shoved down to come up. To show itself, and then to leave if it no longer serves you.
ACKNOWLEDGE
Acknowledging your shadow is the chance to shine light on those parts of you you’ve rejected up until now. Once you’ve identified them, look at each one, and fully acknowledge them. Every desirable and undesirable feeling needs to be acknowledged. We are invited to see our anger and greed along with our love and generosity. Practice slowly getting in touch with these qualities that you’ve been fighting to push out. Once you accept its presence, it’s power over you begins to fade.
When we can stop pretending that we are perfect and nothing is wrong with us, or even the opposite… that we are messed up and everything we do is wrong, we can liberate ourselves and acknowledge that we are complete, whole human beings embodying it all. It’s when we fight the truth that it manifests in the darkest corners and terrifies us when we are faced with it.
When we can bring our shadows in to the light, and that means, no just uncovering them, but fully acknowledging them, they are no longer so dark and dense. We realize that this is just part of human nature. By acknowledging our shadows we also provide ourselves with the power we need and the courage to decide how to move forward with them - how to integrate them into our lives, and how to release the ones we no longer want to embody.
EMBRACE
Let the music take you into your heart space and remember who you really are. Once you accept yourself, in all your humanness, you will become more accepting of others. Once you’ve acknowledged your shadow, learn to embrace it - it’s still you after all, and you’re not the only one with it. It’s part of being human.
Integrate it and shine all the light upon it. And after uncovering these deep uncomfortable realizations, even then… know your worth.
When we can fully embrace our darkness, we will then be able to fully embrace our light. When we can fully embrace our shadows, and our not so great side, we can fully accept others. We will find that we are less judgmental, less critical, less annoyed and frustrated with others, because we no longer feel that way about ourselves. It releases expectations from others, and allows every individual to express themselves the way they truly feel called to.
By embracing your shadow, you can also choose to find humor and light in exposing them. Laugh at the silliness of your jealousy. Catch yourself out when you’re about to selfishly claim something as yours in fear of lack and scarcity, the child mentality of “it’s mine!”, and laugh at it. Learn to let go.
We can never become “shadow-less”, but we can wok on those areas of ourselves, and we can decide how to move forward in life with them - how to integrate them into our lives, and how to release the ones we no longer want to embody, or that no longer serve us.
Some will go, and some will be persistent. But the better you know yourself, the more integrated you are as a person. The more honest you can be with yourself, and the less critical you will be of yourself.
Remember that your worth is never dependent on anything external - it’s not something you earn. You are born worthy, and existing makes you so. Learn about yourself, and then put into action all that you’ve learned. Because the only way we can change our lives, ourselves, and the world is through our actions. We can’t change anything through just thought alone, but we can when we implement that thought in action.
So embody, embrace and let’s step in to our light!
LIGHT WORK
Embracing the fullness of who you are so you can step into your power!
FORGIVE
Daffodils symbolize an apology and a wish to start a new beginning. The daffodil can be used to represent a sense of awareness and inner reflection. If you live in a temperate environment, daffodils are one of the first flowers to burst into bloom every springtime, making them a symbol of reawakening.
Widely known as an animal with almost human-like emotions. Elephants are known to have an incredible power of memorizing things and remembering past events. Their power of memorizing does not make them vengeful; they do not forget, but they do forgive.
The moon teaches us the cycle of becoming whole, and that the cycle continues. It teaches us “impermanence”… that “this too shall pass”.
Forgiveness is hard. What does it mean to truly forgive? Compassion does not mean feeling sorry for someone who hurt you. It means empathetic understanding that the pain they caused you has come from and created more pain in them. Accepting forgiveness with open hands is to completely surrender. It’ll also mean exchanging safety for vulnerability and living with humility and empathy.
Forgive not only others, but yourself, for not knowing any different, for not seeing an alternative perspective. Whatever the case is, in order to invite the light in, we must first forgive it all. To clear our space and our hearts, so we can bring everything we do want in to our lives.
We cannot embody the light if we are weighed down by hurt, pain and anger. We cannot receive with open hands when we are walking around with closed fists.
We need to understand that we cannot change everything, nor can we change passed events, and forgiving does not mean that we condone the events or actions, it just means we accept that they happened, and forgive whatever was the driving force behind those events.
What and who do you forgive? Make a forgiveness list.
Example: I forgive myself for punching that guy in 8th grade. For not knowing how to deal with situations better at that time. This is the only way I knew how at that age.
I forgive my friend for pushing me away as she was taught to do so as a child, and this has become her coping mechanism.
AWAKEN
Lotus flowers represent a spiritual awakening. The lotus is often seen alongside divine figures in some cultures. For the Egyptians, the lotus flower represents the universe. For Buddhist practitioners, a white lotus symbolizes purity, whereas a yellow lotus is associated with spiritual ascension. But the flower also has a fascinating will to live. Its seed can withstand thousands of years without water, able to germinate over two centuries later.
The peacock spirit animal embodies awakening, self love and rejuvenation. The peacock spirit animal is the epitome of beauty. This graceful power animal offers lessons about self-love, honor, integrity and the importance of facing life’s challenges as well as the unknown with courage and confidence. When the peacock struts gracefully into your life you may be entering a time of rebirth.
The rising sun represents the time of day we literally awaken - a time of day for rebirth. Everyday we have the opportunity to rise, to step into our power and awaken our light. Everyday we have an opportunity to be born again, to start over again. Use this opportunity.
Once we do our inner work, we are ready to awaken to our true selves. We understand we are both light and dark, and once we’ve embraced the dark, we are ready to awaken our light and step into our truth.
Step 1: What parts of you are still sleeping? What character traits do you feel are missing that you would like in order to step into your higher self? Is it confidence? Self belief? Self love? An abundance mindset? Write down the aspects of self that you would like to embody that you feel you are not quite embodying yet.
Step 2: What parts of you have you put aside that actually light you up and bring you joy?
Step 3: How would waking up those sleeping parts of you help you step into the things that light you up? How are they holding you back from pursuing your dreams?
Example: My self belief and creativity is still sleeping.I would like to embody self belief, self love, confidence and courage.I love creating art, but no longer do it because I don’t make time for it. Work is more of a priority and I’ve forgotten how much I love creating.If I had more self belief, self love, confidence and courage, I would create more time for art, and maybe even pursue it full time.If I loved myself more I’d put that higher on my priority list, since I know it brings me joy.
RECLAIM
Borago is believed to be a corruption of “corago”, which is from the Latin words “cor” meaning “heart” and “ago” with means to act. Borago reminds us that in order to reclaim our power, we must act from the heart. This plant symbolizes courage and power.
The black panther also symbolizes reclamation of power as it helps us to understand the power within the shadows, and to acknowledge these powers to help eliminate our fear of the dark and unknown. This spirit animal welcomes you to expand your awareness, and become a whole new person as you are guided and protected.
Saturn reclaims it’s 82 moons, and keeps them close by. She is the planet in our solar system that has the most amount of moons. She know’s what’s hers to hold close, what makes her uniquely her. Reclaim your truth, your divinity, what you want, and what you’d like to bring to the world.Now that you have a list of the parts of you that you would like to awaken into your life. Reclaim these parts! They have always been there. You just lost them along the way. But they are always with you.What would it feel like to reclaim self love, confidence, self belief, abundance? How do we get there when we feel we’ve never been there?
Ask yourself what this aspect would feel like in your body?
Where would you feel this specific character trait?
How does a person who has this trait carry themselves?
What do they do differently to you?
Can you use them as a guiding point, and use what they do differently and bring that in to your life?“
Decide how the person you want to become would act and then act that way - even when it’s f***ing hard” - Tom Bilyeu
Example:
Confidence.
I would feel it in my shoulders as they square off my body and open up. I’d feel it in my back as it straightens.A person who is confident often moves with agility, they stand up tall, they hold their heads up, they look like they own the place.
People with confidence take chances, risks. They do things they want regardless of the outcome. They say “yes” to challenging propositions.I will go forward taking risks weekly. I will finally open that Etsy shop I’ve been meaning to open. I will say yes to things that excite me and scare me.Self Love.I feel it in my heart, in my stomach.
People who embody self love seem to be beaming from the inside out. They seem at ease.
They put time aside in a day to look after themselves so they don’t burn out. They take care of their health, their bodies, their time.I will go forward putting time in my schedule every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as a starting point to do yoga in the morning, followed by a smoothie and a hot bubble bath before bed time. This is my journey to self love.
MANIFEST
Bees represent abundance and manifestation. They produce honey, build hives and keep plants in existence. These unable to exist without their creation and effort. They manifest these amazing creations with very little to start with but their missions. Bees are your power animal when you are manifesting abundance.
Much like the bees, the formation of our galaxy - a once nothing… was manifested into a something. Our galaxy manifested and expanded and we have truly no clue, as to how it all began or where it all came from. But it’s here, and it’s massive, and the biggest manifestation of all in this plane.When we manifest, we don’t always know the “how”, but we usually know the “what”, and that’s all we need to begin our journey of creation. What do you want to create? What would you like to manifest?
If you could be doing anything, creating anything, have an impact on this world, what would it be?Let go of what you were taught or what you were conditioned to believe to want, and what you “think” will bring you joy and fulfillment but rather what does your heart tell you?
I always chased my dream of being a famous rock star, not from a place of love so much, but from a place of lack. I believed I’d only be happy if I were famous, and revered as a musician. I started multiple companies in hopes that I’d be “successful” and known for what I had created. But all of this came from a place of lack, meaning I chased them because I felt empty inside, and because I chased them for that reason, the journey of them created more stress then joy in my life. I was chasing the carrot on the stick, and that carrot kept moving. I’d never reach it. And my happiness was dependent on reaching it.
It was only until I silenced my mind, accessed my heart that I realized I needed non of those things to make me feel any certain way. That what I was wanting to feel which was “seen” and “important” were feelings I could create inside regardless of the outside environment. If I could create these feelings internally, I wouldn’t have to chase anything externally to make me feel a certain way anymore. I could just feel those things, then do stuff, because it was fun instead.I realized that all I wanted, was to experience the world in it’s fullest, and to create because I enjoyed creating. So be mindful of what you’d like to manifest… making sure that the journey of it, is what lights you up, and that you’re doing it because you love it, not because you think it’ll make you more loved, more seen, more heard, more happy, more important or more successful.
This song asks you to dream big, and know that if you can dream it, you can create it. Manifesting requires both strong self belief and consistent, strategic action.
Why are you currently not manifesting your dream?
What core belief is getting in the way of the life your truly want?
Where does this core belief come from?
Can you find examples of other people creating what you’d like to be creating to prove to you that perhaps challenge the story in your head as to why you cannot manifest this? Find people who have similar backgrounds or limitations to you if those are part of the core belief that gets in the way.
We can work as hard as we want to, but if we don’t have the inner belief that we can actually achieve it, it’s less likely to happen. Manifest internally then externally.
Example: I want to create a remote business that’s online, where I’m creating art and jewelry, and I can create from anywhere in the world, using that money to sustain my travels so I can experience different cultures and create jewelry and art reflecting those cultures!I’m not pursuing my dream, because my core belief is that you can’t make money being a creative.
My core belief came from my parents, my teachers and society, telling me that I needed a “real” job, and that was the only way I could make real money. That people who are brought up in poverty can never make money this way.* Find people - who were also brought up in poverty who are living your dream life, and use them as motivation and proof that you can actually live your dream life despite your upbringing and challenge those core beliefs you grew up with.
ILLUMINATE
An ordinary creature during the day, the firefly is a remarkable sight when it glows at night. It reminds us that we glow when we are in our element. We shine when we are doing what lights us up, what brings us joy and purpose!
The sunflower is known as “the flower of the sun”. This plant turns towards the sun and moves wherever the sun moves, always turning towards the light.
As the shooting star darts across our night sky, it illuminates that very space for the fleeting second it passes through. It moves so fast that it heats up and glows as it moves through the atmosphere. The shooting star symbolizes a change or a big event is coming towards your life.
It’s time to shine like the firefly, to turn towards your light like the sunflower and to show your petals to the world! May you light up the night sky like a shooting star and share your illumination with the world!When we spend our time and our energy on the things that truly light us up, that truly bring us joy, we find ourselves in our element. When you are living your truth, your authenticity, who you really want to be - you can’t help but light up. You have the ability to not only light up your own surroundings, but you’ll shine so bright that you’ll light up the space for everyone else.
What a world we could live in if more people did what brought them joy, instead of what filled their bank accounts or their egos. Instead of sitting around complaining about our jobs, we could sit around and talk about the incredible dreams we have, and encourage each other to go for them!
Are you ready to step in to your truth?
Are you ready to shine that to the world and share your excitement about the things you love with others?
Are you ready to step out of the cycle of complaining about your life, your job, or your relationship, and change them so you can illuminate from the inside out?
Bring light to those things you want to create now that you’ve figure out what you’d like to manifest. Adopt the feelings, the traits you wanted to reclaim and use them to propel you forward so you can stand in the power of the person you are meant to be in order to create what you envision!Also remember that your visions may change over time, and sometimes life serves us breadcrumbs, gives us hints to follow... if we just follow the breadcrumbs, sometimes we find things that light us up that we had never contemplated in a million years. They were never "part of the plan", but usually, they are better then "the plan".
Step into that person you’ve always been, and start creating a plan on how you’re going to create this life you’ve only kept in your dreams. Start with the vision, the big picture, and work backwards to find your starting point and the journey.
Whatever you do, just do something each day that moves you forward, whether it’s working on your internal traits, or whether you are doing one thing that gets you closer to your beautiful manifestations! And always keep in mind, that you don’t have to be perfect to launch something. In fact, these 3 letters are very important “MVP”, meaning “Minimal Viable Product”. Start with the minimal viable product, and go with that. You can always make it better along the way, improving your product, service or strategy. But just start! Don’t let perfection hold you back from being in your light.And remember your light can come from multiple sources, it doesn’t have to come from one. Many things can light you up, and that’s perfect!
EXPAND
Whales are not only massive, they use their voices to be heard miles away. To expand means to take up space like whales. Allow yourself the permission to take up space in this world, shout to the world who you are and share your gifts!
The whale is offering guidance to help you become a mover and shaker who will take charge your life without hesitation. The whale supports us in communicating clearly from our hearts to bridge large distances with others. When we do what we love, we have the ability to connect with others just like whales! Making space to give birth to your fullest expression and flowing creativity.Ivy symbolize the rising of oneself and the movement towards light, and our higher consciousness. Ivy supports our higher purpose, and our divine flow as they use their roots to climb around other trees and follow the sun upwards.
They symbolize the rising of oneself. You are advancing and moving towards the light, towards higher consciousness, happier outcomes and great insights. Your spiritual journey has begun and you are changing as a person towards a more fulfilled, ideal version of yourself. Embrace the light, and let’s rise together!
As we honor that, we are urged to expand the distance of a supernova whose luminosity after eruption suddenly increases many millions of times its normal level.
It’s interesting how many of us are afraid of taking up too much space in this world. We try make ourselves as little as possible, feeling as if we are undeserving, or unworthy or taking up room. We may have figured out what lights us up, what we’d like to manifest, and we are ready to step into our light, but for a lot of us, we will step in, but still with some reservation, with some hesitation. We step in, but not fully.We are scared we may fail. We are worried that we may not be as good as we’d like to be, or as good as the next person. Maybe we’re not as skilled, as experienced, as graceful, as talented as the person we are comparing ourselves to, but this is never a reason to not take up space. We may attempt our dreams for a time, and then we give up, much too soon.
We live in a world where we are so accustomed to comparing, to feeling inadequate, to feeling “less than”, and to be in competition with each other.
What if we changed that world? What if it started with us?What if we stop comparing ourselves, stop judging ourselves, and just step into our power no matter what that looks like, and no matter what that looks like in comparison to someone else?
Because no one is more worthy than another. We are all deserving of love, of happiness, of joy, of success, and everything else you’ve ever dreamed of having, being or feeling. Can we use others as a source of inspiration and guidance instead of competition?
Expand is asking you to take a step, and then take a bigger step. Go in, and go in fully! Expand is asking you to let go of whatever fear is stopping you from completely stepping into your power, and embracing your fullness. It’s asking you to let go of the comparisons and the judgements.
Maybe you haven’t started moving in the direction of your dreams yet?
Maybe you have embarked on your dreams, maybe you’ve been at them for some time now, but you’re plateauing?
What are people who are in the same “industry” as you, who are doing “better”, reaching a bigger audience, able to travel to more places, stay longer, have more sales, more reach, more impact, have time for more events… what are they doing different to you?
Perhaps they are spending more money on advertising?
Perhaps they have more professional photos?
Perhaps they are using better quality materials?
Perhaps they just come across more confident?
Perhaps they seem like they may believe in themselves more?
Explore, and write these things down, and incorporate, and use what works and throw what doesn’t.
Figure out what these difference are, and what you could be incorporating into your life that will take you to the next step, so you can expand and take up much more space! Keep going, not to get to any end goal, but to journey in the light, and journey well, and to get better at your craft and to impact more people, because they deserve to experience your magnificence, your gifts, your talents and your light!
So get out there and be the whale! Take up some damn space!
May you embrace who you really are and step into your divine power.
I truly hope that The Sacred Flow Box has provided you with peace, tranquility, healing, and the ability to fully embrace yourself... your shadows and your light. I hope you remember who you really are and go out into the world shining your light, because the world deserves to experience you in your fullest!
Shiri Takacs