Shadow Work 5: Setting Up Your Shadow Work Journal

Previous blogs about shadow work:

Previous blogs about shadow work:

1.      Part I - What is Shadow Work?

2.      Part II - Your Shadow at Work

3.      Part III - Using Images to Explore Your Shadow

4. Part IV - Why Do We Need the Devil?

Journaling is a powerful tool when it comes to shadow work (And the work of introspection in general). In fact, most “shadow workers” will tell you that it’s an indispensable tool. It’s not just a place to record our darker thoughts, it’s also a private (shadowy) place to give voice to the shadow itself. There are many approaches to shadow work and to journaling and I will offer a particularly intense kind here. It’s a simple approach, but its simplicity is also its fault – it is direct and confronting. I suggest you try it, but don’t be surprised if you slip in deeper than you expected. Prepare yourself for it – comfort food, a TV show you like, perhaps have a friend on standby. This is a contingency plan in case you feel overwhelmed. No need to inflict unnecessary suffering on yourself, shadow work is hard enough. Have someone or something to provide some comfort and love.

General instructions

-         Do it as a challenge, give yourself a week to try it and do it daily that week.

-         Set aside 20 – 30 minutes every evening

-         Write only when you’re alone

-         Adjust the space to fit the topic: play appropriate music, adjust the lighting, wear different clothes; whatever you need to “get into the groove”.

Step 1 - Observation

This is not an activity that you need special conditions for; instead, it’s something you to all day. As you go about your day, try to remember (or jot down in real time if you can) any instances where you’ve noticed your shadow peeking through. This is not as easy as it seems, since we usually really try not to get in touch with our shadow so you’ll have to be mindful and observant. Look for a moment of anger, jealousy, rage, discontent, irritation etc. It doesn’t have to be anything explosive or intense, even a passing thought is enough.

If you can find more such examples per day, that’s great, but for this journaling process, all you need is one.

Step 2 – Grounding and mindfulness

No, you don’t need to be a mindfulness practitioner and you don’t need much about it. At the end of your day, when you prepare your journaling space, before you actually start the work, take a few moments to settle your mind. Do a 5-minute mindfulness exercise or a breathing exercise.

A clear, rested mind will help you connect to your emotions better.

Step 3 – Voicing the shadow

Take a look at the notes you bad during your day. See if there’s a common theme. If there isn’t, then select the one that makes you the most emotional or the one that’s a part of what you’ve already recognized as your shadow.

Give it a name. It can be Sadness, Destruction, or Roger – it doesn’t matter, as long as it makes sense to you. If you’re the type to visualize, spend a couple of minutes imagining your shadow as a person. You will soon be taking the perspective of this person, so having a visual image might be helpful to connect to your shadow’s point of view.

Then write in first person. One or two paragraphs of text at least, but you can write as much as it feels right. The more you do it, the better. There are two prompts to write about.

First, you voice the shadow. Here’s an example that my client had shared with me two years ago (client’s name changed):

My name is Envy and I live behind Sarah’s back. I follow her around and I covet. Today, I saw Marcus, that self-important prick. And even though I despise him, I coveted. I coveted his charm. He possesses the kind of beauty that opens doors for him and I wished someone would scar his face, knock his teeth out so he couldn’t smile and flirt with Rosa. I wanted to have the ability to flirt my way to promotion just like he did. I coveted his organizational skills. I wanted to be him.

This is only an excerpt. Sara’s entry was a page long and it only got more graphic from there. She included very specific situations at work and described, in first person, how Envy saw them and what it thought of them.

Then, you voice the other side of the shadow. The useful one. Here’s how Sarah did it:

My name is… I don’t have a name just yet. I see people who are good or gifted and I feel horribly insecure. I forget about my power, my ability to change and I just want them to lose what they have so that I don’t have to be reminded of my shortcomings. But now I remember my power and my power is to change. When I yearn for what Marcus has, I yearn to get his social skills. I get so blinded by him that I forget that a skill is something that I can develop. When I get a name, I will remember that every interaction – especially with Marcus – is a chance to practice said skill. Every time I covet, I can start growing up. He bugs me, feels me with envy, and it’s a skill to be kind to him. I feel Marcus is cold, so I can practice engaging. I can look and I can learn. My power is to observe and do.

Once you’re done writing, when you feel like you have nothing more to add or you feel overwhelmed, end the session with another grounding exercise. If you like to use meditation, a 5 – minute loving-kindness meditation is a good idea.

Step 4 – Repeat

Repeat the procedure for a week.

Step 5 – Analysis

Once you’ve done your journaling challenge, leave the pages alone for a few days and to the extent that you can, go back to your regular life without trying to spot your shadow at work. Then, come back to the journal and re-read your entries. Pay attention to the following:

-         What are your shadow’s preoccupations?

-         What does it usually want?

-         What makes your shadow satisfied and what makes it angry?

-         From the point of view of your shadow, what are you missing as a person?

Create a story in your mind, and every story needs basic elements: setting, character (and character development), conflict, resolution, a theme, etc. Write your shadow’s story by emphasizing an act of transformation, one that is revealed in the way in which you usefully reimagined your shadow in the entries.

The story can be actual fiction or a mixture of fiction and autobiography. The idea behind it is to slowly start integrating aspects of your shadow in a coherent narrative, ultimately integrating it into your self.

You may repeat this periodically but give yourself breaks in between journaling cycles.