Before the Journal Prompts
You can write prompts in 100 journals but until you learn to observe yourself in the moment, the contents of that journal will be useless. Part of shadow work is asking the right questions and when you’re first starting out, a question like “what am I most ashamed of?” is not a good place to start. To do shadow work is to be actively seeking unconscious behaviors. I’m talking heavy, traumatic, deceptive, sometimes dangerous parts of your psyche. None of those characters are coming to the surface without at least 1 or 2 temper tantrums and if you don't know how to comfort yourself when they show up, it’s gonna be some shit. So before you go dredging up stuff from your past, learn how to self-soothe.
Comes Self-Soothing
And Self-Soothing Looks Like...
- Crying in the bathtub
- Picking yourself up off the floor
- Words of affirmation
- Self-hugs
- Telling yourself "I love you" & "I'm proud of you"
- Days off
- Meditating
- Dancing
- Being gentle with yourself
- Self-encouragement
- Reminders of how far you’ve already come
- Showing up differently
- Telling yourself the truth.
- Validating your experiences
- Taking a nap
- Giving yourself permission
- Deep Breathing
- Taking walks in nature
- Giving yourself the love that you've always wanted.
Self soothing allows you to create space to plant tiny pieces of kindness in your psyche. As you move through the healing process, lean on this practice.
When Shit Gets Tough, Remember..
These moments are temporary.
Sometimes it feels like a never-ending saga. You've been wronged and it can be easy to think that it will be like this forever. That's a lie. Remember all of the seasons you went through to become this version of yourself. A lot of those BIG moments from the past are now distant memories.
The only way out is through.
You didn't come this far to stop. Everything you want for yourself is happening throughout this entire process. You are leveling up significantly.
Emotional expression is healing.
What’s to come is so. much. better.
I mean, you'd be shocked to see that version of you. The power, the freedom, the peace. You feel at home in your body. Moving through life with an ease that only comes from knowing who you are and what you want. It's extraordinary to see. I love that for you.
