8 Shadow Work Side Effects

There are many shadow work side effects that many people never consider.

To some people, these side effects may appear as benefits. But to others, they seem like issues.

Your perspective is entirely based on your level of consciousness development.

Shadow Work is a practice that is naturally higher in consciousness.

If you’d like to learn everything you need to know about these levels of consciousness or Spiral Dynamics, make sure to check out A Light Among Shadows: A Guide to Self-Love & Being.

Without further ado, here are:

8 Shadow Work Side Effects

Loss of Fear

One of the most advanced concepts you will learn doing shadow work is that everything is One.

Oneness means that everything is interconnected by Love and that believing there is anything “other” is a delusion.

The most obvious example of this is projection. We project our disowned qualities onto others because, despite having the quality within ourselves, our mind chooses to project the given quality onto others.

We are actually seeing ourselves within this person.

If you go deeper within the psyche, you’ll learn that everyone has an “inner ideal” or archetype for every object you see in the world.

For example, in your psyche, there is an image of the perfect flower. Therefore, anything you see in the real world that looks “similar enough” to this image, you will call a flower along with any expectations of flowers that come with the archetype.

The same applies to man and woman.

You have an image of what a man or woman is in your psyche. When you see a man, you project the expectations tied to your psyche’s “man image” onto this living person.

People who hold stereotypes or prejudice in their minds will assume that certain groups of people will live up to the image a person has of them in their psyche.

All of this projection is a trick of the mind intended to create a separation of you and others. But this separation doesn’t genuinely exist.

The qualities you project are your own that you’ve disowned or expect to see in the given object or individual.

Fear comes from the idea that you are losing control. When in reality, you don’t control as much as you think.

And you can only fear what you believe is separate from you.

What you fear is what you haven’t accepted as a part of you.

Of Oneness. Perfection. As a part of perfect reality where what is meant to happen will happen.

Because the universe is only trying to create more love, the ultimate result of everything that happens is love.

(Here’s a little secret. Universal Love and Self-Love are the same things. So learn how to love yourself, and you will learn how to love everything.)

Increased Creativity

If you’ve been doing shadow work, then you’ve allowed yourself access to all the qualities that are within yourself.

This means you have integrated the competitiveness and deviousness of a power-hungry bastard.

You’ve integrated consistency, values, integrity, and a solid work ethic of the idealist.

You’ve learned how to be pragmatic, not only to make a living for yourself but to be resourceful enough to be effective in the world as a businessperson.

And you’ve integrated your compassion and spiritual importance of others and the world around you, like an emotional hippie.

With an understanding of these temperaments and qualities, you have more creative potential than most people.

For example, a tree-hugging hippie will be close-minded to the ideas that a pragmatic businessman comes up with.

And a power-hungry bastard is very likely to take advantage and abuse the conforming idealist against the approval of others.

Someone who has performed the shadow work to allow each of these qualities a place in life will have much more creativity and inner resources than someone who has a lower consciousness.

Healthy Reliance on Intuition

There is a healthy combination of heart, head, and soul in an integrated person’s actions.

Not only has this person allowed logic and emotion a place in his inner council, but he’s given his intuition a place as well.

Doing shadow work strengthens a person’s bond with their unconscious.

Understand that the conscious is limited while the unconscious is limitless.

Having a solid connection with the unconscious gives a person more inner resources than they will ever be fully aware of (typically with a keen eye for life’s synchronicities).

More Compassionate & Understanding of Others

Since a person who does shadow work tends to be higher consciousness, they will be able to relate with people based on their past experiences when they were in the same level of consciousness.

For example, you will notice how power-hungry individuals are more concerned for action over theorizing. As a result, they are much more likely to act before they think.

You can be empathetic towards them because you know how they think and how that causes them many problems in life.

Or you recognize when someone is having an existential crisis because their marriage partner isn’t the faithful Christian they believed them to be.

Although your experiences won’t directly match those on different levels of consciousness, you will be able to relate and understand enough about the experiences they are going through and why.

Observant of Others, Seemingly Emotionally Distant

When you get deep into shadow work, you’ll notice that you become very observant of people’s actions. As a result, you’ll attempt to discern more than people typically would.

One good example is when you hear about a pedophile getting arrested and how nobody knew this person was capable of such an act.

While everyone is disgusted and condemns the pedophile, you are more likely to say, “well, you don’t know if he has some weird trauma and issues that led him to do that.”

The average person will condemn you because they will think you are trying to defend the pedophile.

You, on the other hand, will think that pedophilia being wrong is a given.

You’re more interested in why they did it. What was happening inside of this person that would guide them to take such actions?

You essentially take a more impersonal approach because you are more curious and lean towards compassion.

(I am not encouraging any type of sexually illegal behavior. If you think I am, you are tremendously stupid, and you need to leave this website.)

More Individualistic

You will spend a lot of time in solitude to practice shadow work.

Top that with the more observing nature, you will inevitably adapt, and you’ll find yourself being much more individualistic.

Since you’ll have a better understanding of people than most people ever will about themselves—

You’ll find yourself in a situation where you are “the only doctor in a small town.”

Although you can see and help everyone else, there isn’t anyone who can help you when you need it.

You’ll also get sick of lower consciousness individuals. Unless it’s to have fun!

Otherwise, they’re crabs in a bucket…

Visionary Ideas

At this stage, you will gain considerable interest in things like spirituality, psychology, religion, science, tech, or your natural inclinations that relate to these topics.

You will constantly have new ideas and want to add them to your projects.

This enthusiasm will eventually lead you to neglect your relationships because you get great joy in the possible ways you can impact humanity.

Of course, this only encourages individualistic behavior. Which would change to collective-oriented behavior once more people can reach this level of consciousness.

The constant influx of ideas can overcomplicate plans and lose pragmatic quality.

With new ideas constantly being fetched by the unconscious, you can fall victim to being a visionary…

In the insulting sense of the word.

Meaning that you’re ideas are not as impactful as you thought they would be. Perhaps you are ahead of your time. Or maybe you have lost your sight of reality and can’t see things as they are.

Either way, you’ve fallen in love with ideas, and you’ve fallen too far into theories.

The best cure is to refocus on relationships.

Go get laid. Touch grass. Spend time with family. Things like this.

Don’t forget your 30 FREE Shadow Work Prompts here.

Here are some resources I recommend:

A Light Among Shadows is a guide to self-love and being that helps you overcome negative self-talk, instill genuine self-acceptance, and overcome self-hate and resentment by making sense of people’s level of consciousness and your spirituality.

Shadow Work for Beginners Series helps you beat negative patterns and beliefs, integrate your shadow, heal your inner child, reclaim your projections, build emotional maturity, and take back your life by becoming whole.

Shadow Work for Relationship Series helps you heal your attachment style, navigate relationship issues, and build a healthy, mature relationship.

Advanced Shadow Work is an ongoing publication with continued in-depth insight and practical advice you won’t find anywhere else on the internet for practicing shadow work, self-awareness, inner healing, spiritual development, and more!

Approved Tools

Tarot Cards (incl. Manifestation Manual ebook) provide insight and intuitive guidance for personal growth and decision-making.

Chakra Crystals (incl. Ancestral Healing ebook) can bring balance and harmony to your mind, body, and spirit.

Book of Shadows (incl. Shadow Work Journal) is your own special journal that you fill up with your energetic intentions as you scribe your own inner practices to be passed down to others.

Subliminal Bundle uses different hypnosis tracks to subconsciously improve your health, love life, motivation, self-love and much more.

These products are not affiliate links, we do not get a commission when you purchase these tools. We are supportive of our partnership with Sinful Goods for offering small websites a chance to promote their brands.

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