SHADOW WORK®
RECLAIMING THE GOLD
IN THE WOUND
by
Janine Romaner, ND
Carl
Jung first coined the word ‘shadow’ as a term for the
repressed, denied, split-off parts of the self. Unfortunately,
many assume that anything repressed, denied or shadowy must be
bad. On the contrary, Shadow Work® is a way to reintegrate the parts of yourself you may have
forgotten you even had, and to bring the power and energy of
your true self into your daily life. It is an opportunity to
share and heal in a safe and balanced community in a way that
synthesizes ancient and modern tools for growth and
self-fulfillment.
In
"A LITTLE BOOK ON THE HUMAN SHADOW", Robert Bly says that
infants are born in a 360-degree personality. As infants, we
expressed the full circle of our human nature, without editing
or censoring. As we grew up, however, we learned that certain
slices of our 360-degree pie were unacceptable to the people
around us. Maybe we were shamed for crying, or punished for
being angry. We may have been ridiculed for wanting attention
or acting proud of ourselves. So, we learned to repress these
slices of our pie. According to Bly, “We spend our life
until we’re 20 deciding what parts of ourselves to put into
the bag, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to get them
out again.”
So,
what’s different about this approach?
For one thing, it works!
Clients experiencing individual sessions, or participants in
the weekend seminar experience fundamental changes without
“processing” for years. While Shadow Work®,
as many other approaches, utilizes role-playing or
psychodrama, metaphor and other familiar tools, the unique
dimension in Shadow Work® is that deep structures of the human self are accessed through
archetypal energies. ARCHETYPE simply means ANCIENT (arche, or
archaic) IMPRINT (type or print). So, this approach provides
tools to connect with ancient imprints; far more ancient than
family heredity goes back.
The archetypes of Sovereign, Warrior, Magician and
Lover have been increasingly incorporated in men’s and
women’s gatherings and publications across the
United States
and abroad. Many people now see that these imprints have
traditionally been understood to be the building blocks of the
mature masculine and feminine. The psychological research that
led to the naming of these archetypes as the four fundamental
configurations which, in dynamic relationship, constitute the
deep structures of the mature psyche, was first presented in a
series of lectures at the Jung Institute of Chicago and first
published in a series of best-selling audiotapes. These four
archetypal energies have been revived and developed by
psychoanalyst Robert Moore and mythologist/pastoral counselor
Douglas Gillette in a series of books they co-authored.
By using a combination of non-confrontational tools in
a group context, participants are assisted by skilled
facilitators through an interactive process whereby they
reintegrate parts of their shadows. For instance, a woman who
experienced the loss of a loved one early in life had not been
able to deeply love in a relationship for fear of experiencing
the same pain of losing again. Through a unique grieving
process, the energy that had been internally bound is freed
and reincorporated into her self-expression. Another example
is a man who is hurt or abused during childhood and is
repeatedly taken advantage of in his adult life. Because of
his attempt to be kind and to not hurt others as he had been
hurt, he had not developed the ability to maintain appropriate
personal boundaries. In Shadow Work®,
he learns to make a distinction between strength and hurtful
behavior. He energetically reintegrates his ability to be
strong and, at the same time, learns that he has the power to
consciously choose how he wants to behave. As a last example,
if a person has been hurt prior to thinking or speaking age
very early in childhood or during the birthing process, this
wound or dynamic is not stored in mental memory. It is recorded, however, in the cells of the body, and so it
must be healed where it is. No amount of talking will get to
the root of the issue if it is not recorded in the mind. This
is where metaphor performs its magic, by going directly to the
place of origin: the cells. In Shadow Work® we cannot change the reality of what may or may not have
transpired years ago, but we can change the way it is living
in our minds, bodies and emotions today, and therefore how we
live and interact from this point forward.
Shadows which are not reintegrated are destined to
remain as unconscious compulsions for behavior. I may say,
“I’m not angry,” yet my life may be littered with the
results of my unintentional lashing out. Or, my life may be an
endless attempt to gain love and recognition while, to myself,
I say, “I don’t deserve to be loved.”
Most of us spend so much time just keeping things
contained that we don’t have enough energy to live the way
we want. Half our energy is repressed and the other half is
repressing! No wonder we’re exhausted and depressed! Who we
think we are is locked in battle with who we thing we are not.
“If the Ego is a photograph, the Shadow is the
negative,” says Jung. “The Shadow is an autonomous
complex, which holds opinions, expressed feelings, and
generally wills an agenda radically different from the
Ego’s… Unless reintegrated (the Shadow) forever seeks to
sabotage the Ego’s plans and behaviors.”
I believe that every shadow conceals a kernel of inner
strength, which we can use to power our lives. Your shadows
are like a gold mine of creative, useful energy. Shadow Work® provides the tools to uncover this gold and harness its
potential.
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