How Doing Shadow Work for 10 Months Has Seriously Improved My Life
This intense inner work led me to greater self-acceptance, creativity, purpose, presence, and wholeness.
Sitting at our kitchen table, my friend asked, “What are your intentions for this mushroom trip?” I just want to get rid of all this darkness. “Greater self-acceptance,” I said. Though I had prepared my space for a zen-like psychedelic journey, I soon felt waves of self-judgment flooding my mind. Tossing around in bed, I endured a distinct sting from flashbacks, numerous moments of judgment towards myself and others.
My psyche zeroed in on what may be my biggest life challenge: high self-judgment. I also gained reverence for mind-altering substances and decided to seek more accountability.
Like most people, I pursued self-knowledge out of necessity; decades of repressed anger and emotional trauma found their way to the surface. My anxiety and stress levels reached an unfamiliar high. I carried ongoing loneliness and was burning out at my job. As the Covid lockdown curtain closed in, I took a sabbatical from work to pour into self-discovery.
Over the past year, I’ve been engaging in shadow work, depth therapy, Jungian psychology research, and personal experimentation.
