Embodying the self - embodying YOUR self, YOUR body - as a priority - is embodying the shadow.

Embodying the self – embodying YOUR self, YOUR body – as a priority – is embodying the shadow.

However you were abused, abandoned or rejected, the message to the body-psyche was: not safe to be you. Not here. Not now. Not ok!

Today, all the people that trigger you are holding pockets of this original unacceptability. Every time you challenge this basic fear and prioritize your truth – feeling all the sensations and conditioning that comes up in defense, without reacting – you are embodying shadow and so becoming a more whole human.

There can be no wholeness without shadow.

One hack to get more comfortable with trying shadow on is to notice who triggers you, who upsets you, who makes you grind your teeth. In a quiet moment – ideally when you’re not around this person – ask yourself, what is it this person is doing for themselves (usually without even knowing it) that I don’t feel permitted to do? Do they trust themselves fearlessly? Do they take up space? Do they just not care what people think? Do they always assume they’re right?

Next, actually /try/ on this physicality, like a character in a skit. Walk around your room, shouting like this person, frowning, stomping, smirking, laughing – be how they are in the world, as you see it, honestly, no judgement.

Chances are, there is an aspect of your awakening tied up in your everyday, trained disallowance of this aspect of embodiment. And since it’s not limited to the thoughts they think or the way they speak – it’s in every part of their beingness, in who and HOW they are – you can practice embodying the character of them as a gift to the becoming of yourself.

Your soul will hear this silent offering as an increased willingness to embody your true nature in the world.

(PS I even made a shadow altar, where I printed out pictures of the people that challenge me, and I work with those daily. I’ll post more on this soon.)