How Do I Start My Shadow Work? A Simple Guide

Last Updated on April 29, 2024 by Isabelle Dias

If you are looking for how to start shadow work for beginners, you’ve found the right place!

Today, let’s embark on a profound journey into the realm of shadow work! I prepared a simple guide to help you understand where to start this process, which can be challenging but also oh-so-rewarding.

Make sure to pin this for later, so you can always come back to it for reference!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. This means we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase using a link we share. There is no additional cost for you, and it helps us to keep creating awesome content! So thank you! 💘✨

How to do shadow work for beginners?

Step #1 Understanding what is shadow work

First of all, what the heck is shadow work really?

Here is a background story from Psychology Today that is one of my favorite ways to start explaining the concept:

The idea of a ‘shadow side’ has been around for decades thanks to Carl Jung. He was a student of Sigmund Freud but he was less fatalistic in his attitude towards the human psyche. He was optmistic and hopeful about the essence of individuals and believed that people could improve their lives with self-reflection, analysis, and awareness. Jung describes the shadow as the first layer of our unconscious (and there are many, many layers) and it is the layer that we don’t like, we don’t know, and we don’t want to know. It is the part we want to hide, we don’t want others to see, it is not pleasant. But it is part of us, it is who we are and to deny it is to deny our truth, our essence and to deny our flaws and awesomeness. – Psychology Today

If you want to get poetic, you can also think of shadow work as strolling through a moonlit forest, where every tree casts a shadow, weaving a tapestry of darkness and light.

Similarly, within each of us lies a terrain of unexplored emotions, memories, and facets. The shadows are not to be feared; they are the gateways to self-awareness.

Shadowwork is the lantern that guides us through the internal forest of our psyche, illuminating the hidden corners we sometimes didn’t even know were there.

Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it?

How do I find my shadow self?

Step #2 Understanding why Shadow Work Matters

Our life story is not only written in daylight; much of it unfolds in the shadows.

Have you ever noticed some of your reactions, choices, patterns and thoughts:

“Why do I do this?”

Well… the answer might be in the shadows. In your shadows.

To understand why shadow work matters, we must see it as a gentle search that allows us to rewrite our stories. Transforming the shadows from mysterious adversaries into allies of self-discovery and personal development journey.

Step #3 Embracing Self-Compassion

Now that you know a little more about what is shadow work, and why it’s important, the next logical question might be where to start with the process.

Well, shadow work starts with being kind to yourself. It’s like taking a moment to sit in a peaceful garden and hold a warm cup of tea. Remember to show yourself that same kindness and compassion.

It’s important to acknowledge that your flaws are not something to be ashamed of but rather an important part of who you are. Embrace them and accept them as an integral part of your being.

Remember: they are just information about yourself and not who you are.

I know this last sentence might take a while to understand. So read it a few times until you reeeeally take it in. Because this mindset is essential for a healthy shadow work journey.

♡ Other Posts That Might Help With Self-Compassion

Ten Simple Ways To Practice Daily Self-Care

30 Positive Self Love Affirmation Quotes

How to Create Your Daily Self Care Checklist

20 Self Love Affirmations To Turn A Bad Day Around

Starting a shadow work journal

Step #4 Peeling Back the Layers

One of the best actionable ways to start shadow work is through journaling.

Journaling can help you discover what’s been holding you back, such as your fears and insecurities and the stories you’ve been telling yourself that might not be true.

By identifying these things, you can start to change your responses and move forward with more confidence.

When you start looking inside yourself, it’s like peeling an onion, one layer at a time. You keep going until you reach the core, just like an onion.

Each layer holds a fragment of your story waiting to be discovered, and journaling can help you start that process in a way that feels safe and self-paced.

I have tons of guided journal prompts and self-discovery plans with lots of journaling prompts around the blog (and if you are just starting out in the personal development world, you might wanna check out my free personal development checklist for beginners).

But when specifically focusing on the start shadow work, these are some of my favorites:

Best journal for shadow work

Journal Prompts for Healing: If you’re feeling a little lost about where to start shadow work and want to focus on finding inner peace and working through self-discovery, this might be the answer!

The 21-Day Self-Discovery Plan: Want to speed up the process and get a structured plan with someone guiding you through each and every step? The 21-Day Self-Discovery Plan might be your perfect match! I’ve pieced together a game plan that leads to finding your true self and having the roadmap to your dream life in 21 days. And I’ve packaged it up for you into something you can implement to be disciplined enough to stick with your routines and do all the things you want to (spoiler: this will lead you to create your dream life on autopilot). It’s the perfect way to jump-start your shadow work journey if you are ready for faster results.

23 Journal Prompts to Find Yourself: For a straightforward approach that will help you get your toes wet in the shadow work world, these journal prompts are the way to go! Covering a little bit of every area of life, you can use them as a starting point to learn where to place your focus during this initial phase.

25 Essential Self-Love Journal Prompts: As I’ve shared before, self-love and self-compassion are key elements to start shadow work in a healthy way. If you know this is something you need to pay special attention to, consider working through these guided journal prompts.

Shadow work exercises

Step #5 Invoking the Power of Reflection

Shadowwork might feel like a lonely process. But the way I see it, it’s actually an ongoing conversation with your inner self.

“Hm… and how can I do that, Isabelle?”

I’m glad you asked, dear! Engaging in reflective practices is one of the simplest ways to do so.

When talking about reflective practices, mindfulness and meditation are great places to start!

Because your thoughts are like mirrors reflecting the complexities of your psyche (aka the “hidden places” inside yourself), mindfulness and meditation can work as a bridge between your conscious and unconscious realms.

This will help you observe this new information from a safe distance. Creating opportunities to take you deeper into the introspection necessary for healthy and effective shadow work.

If you are brand new to this world or have been out of it for a while (or tried the whole mindfulness and meditation thing before without much success), I know it can be daunting. Actually, this is the place where most people leave this whole process behind!

Best shadow work guided meditation

Knowing that I’ve done some digging into beginner-friendly and non-overwhelming ways to start reflective practices for beginners. That’s when I found Aura.

Known as the “Spotify of mindfulness”, Aura is one of the best beginner-friendly ways to start adding mindfulness and meditation to your daily routine.

Their app allows you to create a hyper-personalized experience for your shadow work and inner healing journey, offering not only guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, but also stories, sleep tracks, life coaching, cognitive behavioral therapy, breathwork, hypnosis, and much more.

One of the things I really like about the Aura app is that you can choose your goals in advance (so for shadow work, you might add “healing” to your selection, for example). Once you’ve made your selections, the content you receive will be completely customized to match your goals and preferences.

It’s a great way to ensure that the content you see is tailored to your specific needs and interests. No wasting time looking for the perfect match—the app will do that for you!

Aura was super kind to offer an exclusive deal for my readers, with a 7-day free trial and a 40% discount if you decide to go for their subscription.

This way, you can start for free today and have fun browsing through their hyper-personalized selections! You can click here to get your 7-day free trial and join their 7 million satisfied users worldwide.

Step #6 Confronting with Compassion

Ok, so far you have:

✓ Learn what shadow work is and why it’s so important

✓ Acknowledged your flaws from a place of grace and self-compassion

✓ Started peeling back the layers within yourself through journaling

✓ Jump-started some self-reflective practices to observe what has been hiding beyond the surface

…And now what?

Well, it’s time for one of the most challenging parts of the whole process: confronting your shadows.

Confronting your shadows is nothing more than taking all your findings from peeling back the layers, observing your inner thoughts, and starting to make connections between them.

Understanding the reasons behind those feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and patterns that seemed inexplicable at first.

Best shadow work exercises

This may come through “aha moments,” contacting memories that were once blocked, or just never again feeling clear about a situation.

It’s like you are finally able to see beyond the fog.

When you confront your shadows, you may experience intense emotions as you confront the forgotten aspects of your identity. So, it’s extremely important to approach this meeting with compassion once again.

It’s essential to keep in mind that you are not battling adversaries. So instead of seeing this moment as confronting the “bad parts of you”, see it as welcoming back fragments of yourself that are asking to be seen, recognized, and acknowledged.

As I write this, I can totally picture a little kid having a complete meltdown. It’s crucial to remember that they’re not acting out because they’re bad kids but because they’ve got some needs that aren’t being met.

With their limited emotional intelligence, they just can’t quite handle those needs in a more constructive way, so they end up crying and screaming. But hey, all they really need is an adult who gets where they’re coming from and can provide the right tools to help them work through their big emotions.

Can you be that adult for yourself?

Is it hard to do shadow work?

Step #7 Integrating and Healing

Whew! That was a lot! If you made it this far, please stop right now, take a deep breath, and say to yourself:

“I am proud of us!”

I will wait.

Ok, now that you high-fived yourself, it’s time for the grand finale: integration.

As we have been learning throughout this blog post, shadow work is all about getting to know yourself better.

It’s about looking at the parts of yourself that you might not be so proud of. Those bits that you keep hidden away from everyone else.

But the really cool thing about shadow work is that it’s not just about staring into the abyss. It’s also learning how to integrate those shadow aspects into your life in a healthy and natural way.

Confronting the darker parts of yourself takes courage, but the payoff is huge. Over time, you can learn to weave your shadows into your identity in a way that feels balanced and authentic.

How to work on your shadow work

After the confrontation, you have the answers to your initial whys. But then, what do you do with that information?

Once you had time to process your findings, start looking for ways to work through the emotions and triggers feeding your shadows. Take your time to learn what healing might look like.

One of the awesome things about this process is that journaling, meditation, and mindfulness activities are actually part of the toolkit for not only getting started with shadow work but also for integrating it along the way. These practices aren’t just helpful on their own, they can really boost the whole self-discovery journey.

By incorporating journaling, meditation, and mindfulness exercises into your routine, you can dig deeper into your shadow aspects while also fostering a greater sense of self-awareness and inner balance. It’s like having an extra set of tools to support you on this amazing personal exploration!

Shadow integration work

Use them as ways to explore and embrace the new self you’re uncovering. Also, to understand how you can prioritize your needs from a place of emotional well-being and balance.

Healing happens when you fully embrace and integrate all the parts of yourself that have been kept hidden for a while.

It’s a transformative process that turns them from perceived adversaries into trusted allies.

Your integrated self can be likened to a captivating work of art, where you carefully craft and blend different elements to create a masterpiece of self-discovery.

Just as an artist combines colors, textures, and techniques to bring a vision to life, embracing your integrated self allows you to explore the depths of who you truly are, revealing a beautifully unique composition.

Because you are a work of art, my dear!

Does shadow work ever end?

Embarking on shadow work is like taking a deep dive into the vast ocean of self-discovery. Those shadows that once scared us now hold invaluable treasures of wisdom, resilience, and untapped potential.

So, as you navigate this inner landscape, don’t be afraid to dance with your shadows. After all, they are the rhythm and melody of your personal transformation.

Embrace the beautiful mosaic of your emotions and experiences, and remember, shadow work is a journey we all share as human beings.

Get ready to uncover the hidden gems within!

Make sure to take advantage of Aura’s exclusive offer to my readers, with a 7-day free trial and a 40% discount if you decide to go for their subscription.

This way, you can jumpstart your shadow work journey with a beginner-friendly way to start your powerful reflective practices while browsing through their hyper-personalized selections tailored to your goals and needs (to make sure you are getting the best resources for shadow work, remember to select “healing” as one of your initial goals when you log in the app for the first time)! You can click here to get your 7-day free trial and join their 7 million satisfied users worldwide.

Now, I want to hear from you! Have you tried any of these shadow work exercises? Do you have any specific tools of your own that have been a game-changer? Leave a comment below, and let’s chat!

If you found this post helpful or know a friend who could benefit from it, make sure to share it! And don’t forget to pin it for later!