Have you ever done “shadow work”?
I first learned about shadow work through the writings of Debbie Ford. Her book “The Dark Side of the Light Chasers” crossed my path several times and I couldn’t bring myself to read it because I thought the title was so dumb. (#Truth)
When I finally read it, I was in love, because it was a form of the work I’d been doing with clients for years, and her work emboldened me.
It was shortly after that my mentor, who was unaware I was reading this work, told me that he saw me as a Debbie Ford. (Wow!)
I’ve done loads of work on my own shadow selves since, owning my own apathy, selfishness, laziness, ingratitude, victimhood, and then some. Each time I integrate a part of myself that I’d previously judged as wrong, an interesting thing happens.
Life gets easier.
Like not just a little bit, but significantly, remarkably, easier.
The amount of work that we do to hide our shadow… the qualities within ourselves that we don’t even know are there because we’ve so judged them as wrong… is exhausting.
If you’ve ever gotten to the end of the day and wondered where the time wentbecause the actions you took were not what you set out to do, or were just ineffective, your shadow was probably running the show.
Free from this constraint, we free up time, stress, and all kinds of funky energy.
The work of transformation is the work of integrating the shadow so we can be more whole. The moment we can do this, and become more of who we truly are, we free up our own internal resources. We become more attractive, more fun, and more free!
For me, so much of my own work to integrate has resulted in allowing myself to DO less and BE more. To relax and allow. To trust my intuition and Spirit working through me, rather than trusting the voices of the people who raised me who were judgy of anyone who relaxed for a minute, and constantly encouraged me to not just sit there, “DO SOMETHING.”
The skills I got form learning how to ‘make shit happen’ have been super helpful. And the part of me that was terrified to be judged as lazy, not working hard, or not caring enough to tie myself in knots for other people, that part of me had to go.
Making friends with the parts of ourselves we’ve judged and disowned is necessary in order to own and integrate them, keeping what works about them, and letting go of the rest.
(What works about being lazy, you might ask? Sometimes when I don’t jump in to make it happen, situations simply resolve themselves with zero effort on my part!
What works about being selfish? You can take 100% responsibility for caring for your own needs, releasing others from feeling responsible for you!)
It’s challenging to clearly see and integrate the parts you’ve judged and disowned while in your current environment. The you that is afraid of your shadow constructed your environment so as to hide it from you!
This is why I recommend a RETREAT from your day to day so that the work of transformation can happen with ease.
If your life or business is sticky, your relationship with your shadow (or lack thereof) is making it so! And it’s controlling your ability to set yourself free.
In a new environment, with the right guidance, you can change all that.
Owning and integrating your shadow self is the fastest path to creating ease. Or as my client Renee calls it, “eeeee’s.”
And that’s why I’ve designed a retreat to do this in an environment that is “easy breezy” — Tulum, Mexico!
In our 4-day all-inclusive retreat experience in Tulum you will not only own and integrate the part of your shadow self that’s been making business ‘sticky’ (i.e. unclear, scary, financially problematic, too hard or demanding), you will learn how to do this work yourself with your clients. Imagine knowing exactly how to dismantle the unhealthy patterns their shadow is creating!
When I visited Tulum, I was immediately struck by the way I could feel so relaxed, like time had slowed down, and still get everything done.
In fact it had me create for myself the theme of creating a “Tulum state of mind” in my business!
This is precisely why I know that being here, on these unparalleled white sand beaches, with phenomenal service, and mind-expanding cultural experiences, is the perfect backdrop for the work of our newest Aligned Retreat.
Alignment gives you:
- Clarity about offerings, pricing, marketing alignment, and then some.
- The power to say “yes” and “no” to what works for you and stay in your lane.
- Ownership of your unique brilliance, and permission to talk about it (and charge for it).
- A clear sense of what your soul is calling you to do to expand your own capacity for raising the consciousness on the planet.
- The ability to BE WITH anyone and anything, opening you up to connection and collaboration in ways that were previously not available to you.
- SO MUCH JOY!
If this email is striking a chord, and you know you are ready to set yourself free, I invite you to apply for this unique, small-group, retreat experience: The Aligned Retreat Tulum (LINK)
If you want to do the work of alignment, but prefer to work privately, there are 3 spots open for personal retreats in Q1. You can apply HERE.