What is shadow work?

[Louisabell]

I see this concept of shadow work being brought up a bit, and I also referred to it in a previous post, but it occurred to me that I don't have a very good idea of what it actually is and what it looks like when being done. So I would appreciate any answers to this or any quotes from Ra/Q'uo which point to it. Thanks!

[Sena]

I see this concept of shadow work being brought up a bit, and I also referred to it in a previous post, but it occurred to me that I don't have a very good idea of what it actually is and what it looks like when being done. So I would appreciate any answers to this or any quotes from Ra/Q'uo which point to it. Thanks!

Loiusa, that is an interesting question. In one quote, Ra seems to link the concept of "shadow" to that of "archetype":

79.29 Questioner: Now we are getting to what I was trying to determine. Then at this point were there still only nine archetypes and the veil had just been drawn between the Matrix and Potentiator?

Ra: I am Ra. There were nine archetypes and many shadows.

79.30 Questioner: By shadows do you mean what I might refer to as the birthing of small archetypical biases?

Ra: I am Ra. Rather we would describe these shadows as the inchoate thoughts of helpful structures not yet fully conceived.

These terms of archetype and shadow were also used by Carl Jung. I have to say I do not have a deep understanding of Jung's writings. Here is a link:

https://alastairmordey.com/carl-jungs-th...rchetypes/

A quote from that article:

We are as likely to find ordinary people hiding their shadow in the shopping mall, as we are to find power-mad politicians concealing their real agendas in the houses of parliament or the senate. This philosophy of ‘total responsibility’ could also be extended to the whole populace as far as Jung was concerned. Seen in this light, genocidal leaders and dictators are nothing more than manifestation of a ‘collective shadow’ – the shadow of the people.

[Anders]

Ra: I am Ra. Rather we would describe these shadows as the inchoate thoughts of helpful structures not yet fully conceived.

I like that explanation. I looked up the word 'inchoate' and one meaning is: just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.

So the shadow then can be seen as undeveloped parts of oneself. That's easier for me to grasp than repressed subconscious material, which may be inherited and assimilated through osmosis from society etc.

[Dtris]

Shadow work is a more new age spiritual term. The usage I have heard most commonly is to work on the darker aspects of self. This usually involves the negativity and emotions surrounding past trauma.

In terms of Ra material I see it more simply as attempting to utilize past catalyst which was previously unused.

Another common usage is to explore the tendencies toward violence, power, rage, manipulation, etc. The parts of the self which exist and are usually kept in shadow of polite society. This is not to say the person is attempting to polarize negatively, but to understand these tendencies and where they come from and how to accept and transform those energies into positive ones is more common.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

To my understanding it is the lower ego as the ego is formed from trauma generally speaking

[Louisabell]

Thanks Sena, Anders, Dtris and Ohr Ein Sof! That has helped clear things up for me. I do see how it can be seen as a process of learning and understanding the self - making the subconscious conscious, as it were, and integrating the 360 degree person. There is a lot about how to do this in the LOO and the Q'uo channelings, but not termed in so many words.

[the]

I took following course, it's great. explained what shadow is, and how to shining the light on shadow.

Module 2: Shining the Light on Shadow
https://zingdad.com/dreamerawake

[Ohr Ein Sof]

Thanks Sena, Anders, Dtris and Ohr Ein Sof! That has helped clear things up for me. I do see how it can be seen as a process of learning and understanding the self - making the subconscious conscious, as it were, and integrating the 360 degree person. There is a lot about how to do this in the LOO and the Q'uo channelings, but not termed in so many words.

Absolutely.
This is why it is imperative that we interact with one another on a level that is open and honest. Fortunately (depending on one's preferences), we are able to speak to one another through typing out our words where one 'can see the words for themselves' as if it is able to review what comes from its mind and mouth (hands). But even then, much will be missed as it is the most intensive work for us to realize our own darkness and how wisdom has a cold, hard factness feel to it in which people who lean toward Love and Understanding have the most difficult time with because it is viewed as being 'bad' or 'evil'. There is an archetype that explains this and it can be found in the final 7 archetypes. I feel I want to say it is the moon or the devil archtype. I think it is the moon because the moon casts a shadow that must be embraced but this is very tricky at this point in one's journey that treads upon the positive path. I am sure EP knows better than myself and can articulate the words more eloquently, my words fail me frequently, I apologize.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

The collective unconsciousness of man must be worked out and anyone who stands in the way of that impedes its progress, or tries rather; he goes against the grain of nature. We must LEARN to accept what is not acceptable and forgive what was not forgivable in our past/present or we will never get out of the 3rd density's ways of being (lower 3rd density). Imagine of someone were to stop the ocean's tide from coming in because they viewed it as dangerous as when it recedes it takes anything on the shoreline with it. We do not do this but rather educate one another about the dangers of a high tide and learn to work with the ocean's ways of being. We become conscious of its rhythms; which is much easier than trying to stop the ocean from being what IT IS. We are not that much different than the ocean when we consider our thoughts and words and deeds how they come to the surface and recede again and sometimes things are swept away in the wake of this work. What cannot be realized now will be realized later as consciousness proceeds forward at all cost, this is nature. What is dark will be brought to the light perhaps not now but in time it will be.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

Good thread

[Diana]

Great question. 

I think Ra provides us with some insight on working with shadow, and that is represented (for one) in the Archetype, Experience of the Spirit.

Ra: I am Ra. The power of which you speak is a spiritual power. The powers of the mind, as such, do not encompass such works as these. You may, with some fruitfulness, consider the possibilities of moonlight. You are aware that we have described the Matrix of the Spirit as a night. The moonlight, then, offers either a true picture seen in shadow or chimera and falsity. The power of falsity is deep as is the power to discern truth from shadow. The shadow of hidden things is an infinite depth in which is stored the power of the One Infinite Creator.
[font=system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui,]80.8[/font]

As you can see in the tarot card, the path walked in this reality is not just what is conscious or in daylight and that which is hidden from consciousness, in other words, two neatly separated things; it is a confusing path and more complex. 

And:

80.15 ▶ Questioner: Now, the obvious only significant difference, I believe, between the positive and negative adept in using this shuttle is the way they had polarized. Is there a relationship between the archetypes of the spirit and whether the polarization is either positive or negative? Is, for instance, the positive calling through the sixteenth and the [chuckling] negative calling through the fifteenth archetype? I am very confused on these points and I imagine that question is poor or meaningless. Can you answer that?

Ra: I am Ra. It is a challenge to answer such a query, for there is some confusion in its construction. However, we shall attempt to speak upon the subject.

The adept, whether positive or negative, has the same Matrix. The Potentiator is also identical. Due to the Catalyst of each adept the adept may begin to pick and choose that into which it shall look further. The Experience of the Spirit, that which you have called the Moon, is then, by far, the more manifest of influences upon the polarity of the adept. Even the most unhappy of experiences, shall we say, which seem to occur in the Catalyst of the adept, seen from the viewpoint of the spirit, may, with the discrimination possible in shadow, be worked with until light equaling the light of brightest noon descends upon the adept and positive or service-to-others illumination has occurred. The service-to-self adept will satisfy itself with the shadows and, grasping the light of day, will toss back the head in grim laughter, preferring the darkness.

So, because we are under a veil, Ra speaks of "the discrimination possible in shadow," which is accessed by the processing and acceptance of catalyst, along with discernment (wisdom), and with this combination and focus, light may be shined upon the shadows for STO-polarized individual. No easy task, as is represented by the scorpion on the tarot image, waiting there when one "missteps."

There is one approach which is quite accessible to any here, now, and that is the typical shadow work addressed by us in the mainstream (or new age sector); and I am thinking mostly of inner child work, where we unearth and deal with childhood trauma which consists of a lot of our blockages in this world. This is something which can be successfully processed as an adult if accessed, and will unblock portions of the mind. Ultimately, the adept would reach further down through the tree of mind to forge a clear path to the spirit:

30.2 ▶ Questioner: Thank you. Would you define mind, body, and spirit separately?

Ra: I am Ra. These terms are all simplistic descriptive terms which equal a complex of energy focuses; the body, as you call it, being the material of the density which you experience at a given space/time or time/space; this complex of materials being available for distortions of what you would call physical manifestation.

The mind is a complex which reflects the inpourings of the spirit and the up-pourings of the body complex. It contains what you know as feelings, emotions, and intellectual thoughts in its more conscious complexities. Moving further down the tree of mind we see the intuition which is of the nature of the mind more in contact or in tune with the total beingness complex. Moving down to the roots of mind we find the progression of consciousness which gradually turns from the personal to the racial memory, to the cosmic influxes, and thus becomes a direct contactor of that shuttle which we call the spirit complex.

This spirit complex is the channel whereby the inpourings from all of the various universal, planetary, and personal inpourings may be funneled into the roots of consciousness and whereby consciousness may be funneled to the gateway of intelligent infinity through the balanced intelligent energy of body and mind.

You will see by this series of definitive statements that mind, body, and spirit are inextricably intertwined and cannot continue, one without the other. Thus we refer to the mind/body/spirit complex rather than attempting to deal with them separately, for the work, shall we say, that you do during your experiences is done through the interaction of these three components, not through any one.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

Great question. 

I think Ra provides us with some insight on working with shadow, and that is represented (for one) in the Archetype, Experience of the Spirit.

Ra: I am Ra. The power of which you speak is a spiritual power. The powers of the mind, as such, do not encompass such works as these. You may, with some fruitfulness, consider the possibilities of moonlight. You are aware that we have described the Matrix of the Spirit as a night. The moonlight, then, offers either a true picture seen in shadow or chimera and falsity. The power of falsity is deep as is the power to discern truth from shadow. The shadow of hidden things is an infinite depth in which is stored the power of the One Infinite Creator.
[font=system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui,]80.8[/font]

As you can see in the tarot card, the path walked in this reality is not just what is conscious or in daylight and that which is hidden from consciousness, in other words, two neatly separated things; it is a confusing path and more complex. 

And:

80.15 ▶ Questioner: Now, the obvious only significant difference, I believe, between the positive and negative adept in using this shuttle is the way they had polarized. Is there a relationship between the archetypes of the spirit and whether the polarization is either positive or negative? Is, for instance, the positive calling through the sixteenth and the [chuckling] negative calling through the fifteenth archetype? I am very confused on these points and I imagine that question is poor or meaningless. Can you answer that?

Ra: I am Ra. It is a challenge to answer such a query, for there is some confusion in its construction. However, we shall attempt to speak upon the subject.

The adept, whether positive or negative, has the same Matrix. The Potentiator is also identical. Due to the Catalyst of each adept the adept may begin to pick and choose that into which it shall look further. The Experience of the Spirit, that which you have called the Moon, is then, by far, the more manifest of influences upon the polarity of the adept. Even the most unhappy of experiences, shall we say, which seem to occur in the Catalyst of the adept, seen from the viewpoint of the spirit, may, with the discrimination possible in shadow, be worked with until light equaling the light of brightest noon descends upon the adept and positive or service-to-others illumination has occurred. The service-to-self adept will satisfy itself with the shadows and, grasping the light of day, will toss back the head in grim laughter, preferring the darkness.

So, because we are under a veil, Ra speaks of "the discrimination possible in shadow," which is accessed by the processing and acceptance of catalyst, along with discernment (wisdom), and with this combination and focus, light may be shined upon the shadows for STO-polarized individual. No easy task, as is represented by the scorpion on the tarot image, waiting there when one "missteps."

There is one approach which is quite accessible to any here, now, and that is the typical shadow work addressed by us in the mainstream (or new age sector); and I am thinking mostly of inner child work, where we unearth and deal with childhood trauma which consists of a lot of our blockages in this world. This is something which can be successfully processed as an adult if accessed, and will unblock portions of the mind. Ultimately, the adept would reach further down through the tree of mind to forge a clear path to the spirit:

30.2 ▶ Questioner: Thank you. Would you define mind, body, and spirit separately?

Ra: I am Ra. These terms are all simplistic descriptive terms which equal a complex of energy focuses; the body, as you call it, being the material of the density which you experience at a given space/time or time/space; this complex of materials being available for distortions of what you would call physical manifestation.

The mind is a complex which reflects the inpourings of the spirit and the up-pourings of the body complex. It contains what you know as feelings, emotions, and intellectual thoughts in its more conscious complexities. Moving further down the tree of mind we see the intuition which is of the nature of the mind more in contact or in tune with the total beingness complex. Moving down to the roots of mind we find the progression of consciousness which gradually turns from the personal to the racial memory, to the cosmic influxes, and thus becomes a direct contactor of that shuttle which we call the spirit complex.

This spirit complex is the channel whereby the inpourings from all of the various universal, planetary, and personal inpourings may be funneled into the roots of consciousness and whereby consciousness may be funneled to the gateway of intelligent infinity through the balanced intelligent energy of body and mind.

You will see by this series of definitive statements that mind, body, and spirit are inextricably intertwined and cannot continue, one without the other. Thus we refer to the mind/body/spirit complex rather than attempting to deal with them separately, for the work, shall we say, that you do during your experiences is done through the interaction of these three components, not through any one.

Experience of the Spirit
80.8 Questioner: I am sorry for my lack of penetration of these mechanisms and I apologize for some rather stupid questions, but I think we have here a point that is somewhat central to what we are presently attempting to understand, so even though my next questions may be almost unacceptably stupid, I will attempt to try to understand what this power that our visitor seeks is and how he uses it. For it seems to me that this is central to the mind and the evolution of it in which we are involved.
As this entity that is our visitor increases his power through these works, what is the power that he increases? Can you describe it?

Ra: I am Ra. The power of which you speak is a spiritual power. The powers of the mind, as such, do not encompass such works as these. You may, with some fruitfulness, consider the possibilities of moonlight. You are aware that we have described the Matrix of the Spirit as a night. The moonlight, then, offers either a true picture seen in shadow or chimera and falsity. The power of falsity is deep as is the power to discern truth from shadow. The shadow of hidden things is an infinite depth in which is stored the power of the One Infinite Creator.
The adept, then, is working with the power of hidden things illuminated by that which can be false or true. To embrace falsity, to know it, to seek it, and to use it gives a power that is most great. This is the nature of the power of your visitor and may shed some light upon the power of one who seeks in order to serve others as well, for the missteps in the night are oh! so easy.

This is the quote I was considering when we speak of shadow work and embracing the darkness within.

[flofrog]

Thank you for all those answers.

I have a feeling how much trauma creates that shadow with the hurt and fear that stays, so I viously forgiving ourselves and others is key. Trust in both then lights up. Fellows, we’ll make it