I feel wonderful today as I write this, and not because my life is perfect, or even because the sun is shining, but because I am alive, and I have the gift of another day to do my work. And when I say ‘work’ I mean what everything I was born to do.

But that’s not the central topic of this blog post, even though it’s linked. I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the notion of the shadow, first described by Car Jung, and sitting having breakfast I realised I had a burning desire to express why I think working with the denied and repressed parts of ourselves is possibly the answer to everything!

Let’s start with a big question.

How ready are you to embrace ALL of yourself, even your potential for greatness, your limitless possibility, your Inner Genius?

We often talk about the shadow as if it is only the dark part of ourselves, but actually it is all of the parts of ourselves that we have pushed away, even our light. The shadow is buried in our inner storehouse of treasures.

I am going to share with you 6 powerful questions designed to raise your awareness of your shadow and then I will explain why the more I think about it and feel into it, the more I know that embracing our shadow is actually the answer to all of the world’s problems. Thank you Mr Jung!

So here are the questions;

  1. What qualities in others really wind me up?
  2. What parts of my body do I actively dislike and try to hide?
  3. What am I deeply ashamed of?
  4. Who do I admire with a passion and what do I admire about them?
  5. If I had a superpower what would it be?
  6. (my favourite) If I didn’t need money, what would I do?

After you’ve had a think about putting them in order of challengingness (new word) I offer to you these questions as something to journal on.

Why do this?

Really, we are love and light.

This ‘bag we drag’ (Robert Bly) actually started being filled a long long time ago, even before childhood. In it we find not only our own shadow but our parents’ shadows, our ancestors’ shadows, our cultural shadow and our historical shadow. Some bag then! A giant rucksack. I see it as a gift. By being aware and then integrating our shadow aspects (the things in our bag) they get lighter and become fuel for our growth. We are actually just like the lotus flower that is transcendentally beautiful but grows out of the

Working with our shadow, instead of projecting it onto others (the default way of dealing with it) creates space in our being, it energises us, improves our relationships, enhances our creativity and contributes to world peace. War, terrorism, cruelty, domination, all violence, rejection, punishment (I could go on) are all aspects of the collective shadow. By starting with our own bag and helping others with theirs is the key to the creation of the beautiful world that we want.

My new Genius Activation VIP days™ are now open and include shadow work as an integral part. In them, I help you to see, recognize and embrace your fears and other buried treasure, so you can gather strength and purpose to transmute them into the fuel that lights you up and reveals you in our glory once and for all. Perfect if you want to birth a new project or ignite one that has stalled.

These highly intensive immersive 1:1 experiences can take place totally or partially outside in nature, in an art gallery, a forest, a cityscape – anything that lights up your imagination…or, if you are far away from me, by Skype or Zoom, or even telephone (you would be amazed at the possibilities of this!)

If you want to find out more about working with me in this way click here.