Are you looking for shadow work for fear and risk?
Before we get into that, we need to quickly go over some key concepts.
What is Shadow Self & Shadow Work?
Your shadow self, or shadow, is the side of yourself you have no awareness of. It holds all the qualities you disowned during your formative years.
Although you learned to repress these qualities and push them outside of your awareness, they still live underneath the surface.
They unconsciously guide your actions and are the unseen cause for many of the troubles in your life.
Shadow work is the intentional practice of becoming aware of your unconscious shadow and integrating these neglected qualities into your being—becoming whole.
This is a process of building self-awareness, self-acceptance, and universal Love.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
Carl Jung
NEXT READ: Everything About Shadow Work (Comprehensive In-Depth Guide)
Shadow Work for Fear & Risk
Everyone naturally avoids risk, despite taking risks being necessary to experience life.
When you fear taking risks, you can feel you are placing another "above" you. Idolizing another as worthy to judge you for your efforts.
However, the situation may not be as severe as you perceive it to be. It's necessary to figure out how much of your fearful instincts are grounded in reality.
Risk has always been part of living, and in the far past, it was just something human beings accepted as part of life. However, when society was less civilized, everyone accepted these risks and understood that much was outside of one's control.
We are much safer and feel so secure that many people believe they can have complete control over their lives in modern times.
Although you have a human level of control over your life, the risks have only changed form—not gone away.
Thanks to science, we are blessed with enough security to believe we have control over risk.
But in another sense, science has cut us off from Reality. We don't realize that there is much more out of our control than we realize.
Fear & Being Cut Off From Life
A false sense of objectivity has empowered the ego—that which seeks control—at the cost of connection with the Self, spirituality, or Oneness.
Not engaging with nature inhibits your connection with your instincts. This alone can damage your perception of Reality.
For example, everyone experiences a sense of "awe" when they are out in the woods, witnessing a thunderstorm, or sitting onshore by the ocean.
This sense of bewilderment surrounding these natural "superpowers" are you regaining your connection with your instincts.
Deep down you know you know you are powerless against these natural "monstrosities."
A Healthy Ego Can Take Risks
It takes a healthy ego to take on a reasonable amount of risk and not back away. Because a healthy ego is willing to take a chance because it knows it can bear the consequences.
These days the risks we face are more likely mental; not being socially accepted, taking a job across the country, having second thoughts on your commitments.
Much of the risks we face in the modern age are of that feeling "inwardly uncomfy," as opposed to physical death in the past.
This is why it's essential to take a step back and determine whether your fears are based on real, objective risks or fantasy risks conjured up by the ego.
Shadow Beliefs & Inner Wounds
Part of the human condition is giving these negative fantasies too much credit in our decision-making.
This is especially true when you realize how tied these fantasies are with our shadow beliefs and inner wounds.
Much of us are following limiting beliefs without realizing that we are. It's these beliefs that give rise to the harmful fantasy material that prevents us from taking risks.
When someone is locked into their own paradigm or self-limiting ideology, it's almost impossible to give them objective information for a more accurate sense of reality.
This is why many people don't change until they have to. Which are cases where staying the same is more painful than moving forward.
Remember, these negative fantasies are meant to keep us away from discomfort.
Shadow Work for Fear
Overcoming your fears of taking risks involves developing the ego strength to know you are enough as you are. Because you are more than the sum of your parts, specifically when you have the support of your family, or you allow for a higher power—or even a drive made of self-hate or willpower.
From a perspective of Oneness, anything you consider "other" is what you fear or is not by your own design.
What you fear to take a risk on is something you idolize and fantasize about as a sort of punishing god.
It's by confronting these fears that you integrate these experiences.
That which you don't control—becomes that which you know.
You accept fear by "allowing the chips to fall where they may." And it is by this surrendering, or Love, that you integrate what you fear—
Becoming Whole ("again").
You won't ever realize how much the World is taking care of you until after you've taken a leap of faith.
Fear of the Call
The calling you feel from within is meant to be answered and honored. But many times, this calling goes against the norms of society or even security.
Instead of listening to their gut instincts, people have a tendency to let their fear guide them instead.
In fact, many of the issues a person has aren't revealed until a person becomes aware of their inner voice's calling.
It's worth pointing out that telling the difference between your intuition and your feelings gets easier as you age (because feelings get familiar over time).
Check out Shadow Work Prompts for Anxiety 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!
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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.
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