When it comes to sabotaging behaviors, whether in relationships, finances or any other area of your life, the culprit usually lies in the shadow self. We all know we have a dark part of ourselves, the one that thinks those unthinkable thoughts and at times wishes the worst for other people or even ourselves.
But do we really acknowledge this part of ourselves and most importantly, do we embrace it?
The shadow self is the part of you that is running in reverse, it represents all the past identities of yourself that were created when you made choices that were not in line with your Higher Self and somehow you failed to heal or resolve later on.
The shadow self represents all the parts of your-Self that you are consciously suppressing or unconsciously repressing, including all the unresolved pain, suffering, fears and much more.
The Consequences of Not Integrating The Shadow Self
Failure to integrate your shadow self represents one of the greatest blockages to your emotional, mental and spiritual evolution. It doesn’t matter how much yoga you do, how much you meditate, how well you eat or how many books you read, if you don’t embrace your shadow self you will never be able to transcend your Ego and take full responsibility for your creations.
The shadow self doesn’t want to be looked at directly. If the shadow self is a dark entity then consciousness represents the light that vanishes it. But don’t be fooled, thinking or talking about your shadow self will not allow you to transcend it, if this was the case every person that attended psychotherapy would have done it. You must shine the light of your consciousness the moment the shadow self begins to awaken in you, not later on when it has successfully created a mess in your life.
I know… you are probably thinking “Easier said than done.” and you are right because the shadow self doesn’t play easy to “get”.
Instead the shadow self likes to sneak up on you the moment where you are least conscious, that’s exactly when it takes over your mental and emotional body. When this happens you are fully identified with the shadow self, you are at the mercy of its thought-forms and through words, feelings and actions you are now giving it life.
This is how the shadow self continues to grow and sabotage your life, creating more pain so it can thrive.
How Can You Integrate Your Shadow Self?
There are many ways to transcend your shadow self. I have found two very effective ways to do so and I’ll start with my favorite one: lucid dreaming.
Some people dread having nightmares but for others nightmares are a gold mine filled with spiritual wisdom and growth. Lucid dreaming is the art of becoming conscious that you are dreaming while in a dream.
If you desire to know more about lucid dreaming there is plethora of information on the internet (these are my two favorite lucid dreaming books: Book 1 and Book 2) and rather than explaining what lucid dreaming is I am simply going to tell you about a lucid dream I had where I integrated my shadow self.
My Lucid Dream
Prior to falling asleep I had already set the intent to have a lucid dream and integrate my shadow self, this is what happened once I entered the dream:
“I was back in parents house but I couldn’t see clearly, something was blocking my vision and it felt like I had some sort of veil wrapped around my head. I stepped outside the house and as I was walking through the sidewalk I saw a check on the floor, it caught my attention but I continued walking.
As I kept walking I was still thinking about the check so I turned back, picked it up and put it in my wallet without taking a good look at it because I was still struggling to see clearly. I headed back to my house and one of my younger brothers was there (I have 3 brothers and this one in particular I had looked down upon for many years, projecting my own unresolved issues).
I went back to my “room” and there I began to think about my intent to have a lucid dream. I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed that my hands were enormous and I had like 6 fingers on each hand (this is a very common dream sign for me). Instantly I became lucid and requested clarity of vision.
I placed my hands over my eyes to heal my dream sight and commanded to the dream “Clear vision now!” Instantly I could see clearly, I remembered my intent and proceeded to declare “It is my intent to embrace and integrate my shadow self.”
As I kept staring at the mirror my self-image wasn’t distorted (it is quite common when you see yourself in a mirror while in a dream to see a very bizarre reflection).
Suddenly two dark figures appeared behind me (one had a masculine energy and the other one had a feminine energy) and I had the intuition to turn around and embrace them. As I was hugging these dark figures I was chanting my intent and I felt a very strong energy transmission as these dark figures or aspects of myself merged with me.
I woke up shortly after that, feeling a deep sense of wholeness and ecstatic that I had successfully accomplished both becoming lucid and integrating my shadow self.
The beauty about lucid dreaming is that it is available to anyone, it simply takes a lot of commitment, dedication and practice. Once mastered, lucid dreaming opens the doors to great psychological, emotional and spiritual healing and evolution.
The fact that you are shattering a wall between your conscious and subconscious mind and you are literally entering another dimension of consciousness has a tremendous effect in waking reality. Shortly put, lucid dreaming translates into lucid living.
The Second Option To Integrate Your Shadow Self
The second way I integrate the shadow self is by connecting to my Higher Self while I am awake and using energy directing techniques and Sacred Geometry Codes so I can consciously transmute the past identities, karmic imprints and soul fragments that spawn my shadow self.
Although lucid dreaming is my preferred method (it’s super cool!) of integrating my shadow self, at the moment I am unable to become lucid every night.
On the other hand connecting to my Higher Self has become second nature to me and I can do it everyday, multiple times a day. So when I sense my shadow self is coming to the surface and sabotaging my life in any way, I can instantly perform an energy clearing and process it.
Each technique has its benefits and complements the other. What I love about lucid dreaming is that it’s a full immersion experience, I am literally in another dimension of consciousness and operating mainly from my dream body or Soul Identity. When I connect to my Higher Self in waking reality, although I shift to my right brain and intuitive self, there is a part of me that is still grounded.
Incorporating these two techniques has allowed me to embrace my shadow self and every time I integrate more my shadow self, the less I project my unresolved issues to the world and others.