By Lori Lines
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The Inescapable Call of Shadow Work:
Exploring the Necessity of Shadow Integration

Who wants to walk in the shadows when you can bask in the sun? That is how some people view shadow work. It doesn’t help their perception that they associate shadow work with encountering bad, ugly, shameful aspects of themselves. When, in fact, the shadow self doesn’t have to be the unsightly, unwanted pieces of self that one would rather forget, if we willingly commit to the shadow integration process. With a healthy approach to shadow work, the shadow is better understood as parts of oneself that become recessed and hidden from our conscious experience. Because to truly bask in the sun means being fully exposed!
 
Why We Need Shadow Work
We journey from lifetime to lifetime to ascend to the 4th and 5th levels of consciousness. This is done by consciously choosing the path of spiritual growth to achieve higher awareness, consciousness, and vibration, along with more profound compassion and unconditional love for the self and others.
 
This requires we release limiting beliefs and emotional wounds, relinquish the victim role, respond to our triggers with healing instead of reacting, and move through the world with authenticity and personal integrity. This is all made possible through reconciliation with the shadow self, making it an integral part of the journey of ascension.

Only through acknowledging, accepting, and embracing the shadow self can we rediscover self-love, higher awareness, total presence in the present, and oneness with the collective and the Divine that are the stepping stones to ascension.
 
Oneness Through Integration
Oneness with the collective and the Universe starts with oneness within. Because if we are fragmented within ourselves, how can we resonate with the unity and harmony of ascension? When we have not reconciled with the shadow self, we view ourselves as a disjointed assembly of good and evil, shadow and light, loveable and unlovable, and so on. This holds us at odds with ourselves.
 
Once you begin the process of soul integration, you will realize that you are whole, lovable, and Divine in yourself. Only then can one stop judging people based on one’s own measure of good and evil or worthy and unworthy and start seeing others as whole, lovable, Divine beings. 

Shadow work is the process by which we overcome the conditioned perspective of good and bad, better and worse, us and them, and the like. As the soul integrates, so too does the collective, making shadow work an essential toll station on the road to ascension.

Unavoidable By Design
To those who ask, why can't I be happy and high-vibing without doing shadow work? One might say, “Just try and see!” You see, by Divine design, shadow work is an inescapable process. Of course, one can put it off and avoid it, but this would lead to a stagnant, painful life during which one would encounter the same heartaches, failures, losses, and wounds in perpetuity, never learning but always hurting.
 
The shadow will keep restlessly stirring, contributing to dysfunction, cultivating crises, and reacting instead of responding to triggers, which often only worsen things. One way or another, the shadow self is determined to make itself known and be acknowledged. It will continue to rise to the surface until it is integrated and healed in preparation for ascension.
 
Not until we acknowledge, accept, love, heal, and integrate the shadow self can we be authentically “happy and high-vibing.” Until then, one is destined to keep going in circles, making the same mistakes in different contexts, and meeting the same person in different personifications.
 
Therefore, shadow work may be avoidable, but it is inherently inescapable. To ascend, we must be complete, view others as whole, and achieve unity with the collective. This can only be accomplished when we stop running and commit to becoming integrated again. Because this isn’t a new state of being for you, it is a return to how your soul has been and will be for eternity.
 
Ascension Begins Where Polarity Ends
We’re conditioned from the beginning to exist in a polarized place, and we need to move out of this to integration to achieve ascension. In the spaces between you and them, shadow and light, enlightened and unenlightened, negativity such as limiting beliefs, egoic masks, derision, and “otherness” fester. Not until we understand and manifest the continuity of energy, soul, and love between everyone and everything can we elevate to a 5th-dimensional consciousness.

In the same way that avoiding shadow work is a self-perpetuating vicious cycle, soul integration begins a self-propelling process of increasing vibrations as you release who you are not and rise toward who you truly are. Understand that shadow work is not a deviation or a delay along the journey of ascension but a stepping stone. Just as soul integration elevates your consciousness and raises your vibration, reunifying with the collective is the natural progression of shadow work and another step up on the ascent toward enlightenment.
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Final Thoughts…
Shadow work will always seem daunting, perhaps unachievable, when we look at it from a 3rd-dimensional consciousness projecting itself into the 5D. Instead, try to look at shadow work with a 5th-dimensional consciousness looking back at themselves in the 3D (as best you can).  From this higher vantage point, shadow work seems like such a small effort for such an expansive state of being. What would you do to experience the greatest joy, freedom, and love you have ever known?
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“The awakening is the purpose. The awakening of the fact that, in essence, we are light, we are love...”  - Dolores Cannon

In love and truth,
​Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

As we move into a new Era, we (most of the collective) have entered the fourth dimension, which marks a necessary quantum leap for humanity. It is time for us to take a quantum leap in our consciousness and embrace the fourth dimensional reality. This requires us to gain a fifth dimensional understanding that invites light into our lives. We must transition from the third dimensional Piscean world to the edges of a whole new world.

For centuries, we have been living in a world having three dimensions - length, width, and height. However, the theory says space has three spacial dimensions and one dimension of time - the fourth dimension. The four-dimensional universe is a concept that paints general relativity, which explains gravity as a curvature of space-time.

As we have entered the fourth dimension, the transition phase of our evolution has begun. Our reality is no longer limited to the fluctuating third-dimensional patterns and creations that we have been accustomed to. Now, we can operate in three dimensions while expanding our awareness to include the fourth dimension.

This expansion means that our dimensional patterns will fluctuate, and it will involve awareness of multi-dimensional space and its various kinds. Choice is now available to change how we perceive space and dimensional space.

By allowing our subconscious mind to come to the fore, we are able to tap into the consciousness of the fourth dimension, which changes our awareness and consciousness in the third dimension plane.

It is important to recognize that awareness travels and passes through different states, which can take some time and patience as this transition occurs within. This means that our awareness states affect not only our mind but also our intellect, our emotions, and how we experience events in our lives.

As we progress through dimensions towards the seventh dimension and beyond into the astral plane, changes in flow become more apparent. Opening to learning these new concepts involves a choice to change how we perceive space and dimensional space.

This phase of our evolution is a concept that highlights the need for a strong third dimension in order to see the vast space containing the physical universe. As three-dimensional beings, we are confined to experiencing reality within three dimensional space, but by tapping into pure inner space and superconsciousness, we have the potential to expand our dimensional capacity.

This allows our evolving consciousness to transcend higher dimensions and alter our perception of reality beyond physical earth embodiments. Learning involves the understanding we have a choice to change how we perceive space and dimensional space by visualizing ourselves in different picture layers and following subtle directions from our superconsciousness.

By doing so, we can begin to break down the boundaries of perception that hold us back from experiencing higher dimensions where events occur beyond the limitations of our body and physical realm.

In other words, if you are not already experiencing this, you will begin to experience your other lives because your awareness is bleeding into the other dimensions where you reside. You may be doing a mundane task when, all of a sudden, your awareness is diverted to a life you are experiencing on another dimension from the current timeline. It may appear like a daydream but the FEELING will be more pronounced as you experience it.

How to navigate this? Get MINDFUL. Meditate. Practice PRESENCE. That way, you will not feel as if you are losing your mind. Know it's just a new state of being and your body is attempting to acclimate to this new way of perceiving reality.
It's OK! It's why we are HERE! To ground and to bring in New Earth.

In love and truth,
​Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

To know if you are living in the 3rd dimension, it's essential to understand that there's a 4 and 5D reality. The 5th dimension of awareness is where things like unconditional love, compassion, and oneness exist. In contrast, the dimension 4D reality is where time and space become more fluid with the understanding we create our reality. In addition, I see the 4th dimension as a space of transitional choice. The 3rd dimension of consciousness is where most people exist, but as one elevates their consciousness, they move towards the fifth dimension of awareness. This shift happens when the soul takes over instead of being ruled by the material world of body/feelings, judgment, rules, etc…


To know if you are living in the third dimension, you need to understand what third-dimensional consciousness is. It's a state of being where we are only aware of our physical reality and the limitations that come with it. However, as we evolve, we start experiencing multiple dimensions and become more aware of our thoughts and emotions. The fifth dimension is the next step in this evolution, where we operate at a higher frequency known as 5th dimension frequency.


To know if you are living in the third dimension, pay attention to your emotions and intellectual theory. The third dimension is dominated by self-created thoughts and feelings, which can entangle your awareness through attachment to people and narratives. In a rapidly changing world, it's easy to get lost in the endless cinema of our thoughts and emotions. However, our nervous system response is an indicator that we are living in the third dimension. As the third dimension gains prominence, we tend to compare ourselves with others and focus on what happens around us rather than our interaction with the world and our inner processes.


Living in the third dimension is an experience that we all go through. It is a reality where our perception is limited to our five senses, and we are bound by the Earth-bound laws of physics. We experience people and events around us, and these experiences shape our understanding of the world. However, it is important to understand that this reality is just one dimension of many. The fourth dimension adds time to the equation, while the fifth dimension involves movement in space-time. Knowing if you are living in the third dimension requires an awareness of your limitations and an understanding that your perception creates consciousness. To work with other dimensions, you must learn the truth about your existence, assist others in their journey toward truth and create concepts that allow for exploration beyond what your senses perceive. Living in higher dimensions allows for a fuller experience of life as it involves a greater understanding of consciousness and its role in shaping our reality.


Living in the 3rd dimension means having a virtuous inner life and a virtuous outer life. It is an important time for humanity as we are on the brink of making the jump to higher dimensions. Earth is one of the last holdouts, but more and more souls are beginning to rise up and join the bandwagon of ascension.

Signs of 3rd-Dimensional Reality
Physical sensations and experiences in the 3rd dimension are some of the most obvious signs that you are in this reality. In the 3rd dimension, we experience a physical body with all its limitations and sensations. We can touch, taste, smell, see, and hear everything around us through our physical senses. We also experience the passing of time as a linear progression from past to present to future.


In this dimension, our physical bodies are subject to gravity and other laws of physics that limit our movements and capabilities. We feel hunger, thirst, pain, pleasure, and all other sensations that come with having a physical form. Moreover, we experience separation from others and feel like individuals with distinct identities. We have ego-driven desires for material possessions, status, and power.


All these experiences are unique to the 3rd dimensional reality which is why it is called the realm of duality or separation consciousness. However, as we evolve spiritually, we can transcend these limitations and access higher dimensions of awareness beyond our physical senses. One of the signs that you are in the 3rd-dimensional reality is having a limited perception of time and space.


In this dimension, time is perceived as linear and limited, with a past, present and future. People tend to live their lives based on schedules and deadlines, feeling rushed or pressured to complete tasks within specific time frames. Likewise, space is perceived as limited, with physical boundaries that cannot be easily crossed. This can lead to feelings of confinement or restriction.


In the 3rd dimension, people are also often limited by their five senses - sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell - which can only perceive a small fraction of the vast spectrum of energy that exists in the universe. This can limit one's ability to understand or interact with higher dimensions of reality. However, it's important to note that these limitations are not necessarily negative or limiting in themselves; they simply reflect the specific characteristics of this dimension. One of the signs that you are in a 3rd-dimensional reality is the emphasis on duality and separation.


In this dimension, we often see things as black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. This type of thinking can lead to a sense of separation from others and the world around us. We may view ourselves as separate from nature, animals, and even other humans. In a 3rd dimensional reality, we also tend to place a lot of emphasis on material possessions and external factors such as status and power.


This focus on external validation can create a sense of competition and comparison with others. However, as we move towards higher dimensions, we begin to shift away from this dualistic way of thinking. We start to see everything as interconnected and interdependent. We recognize that there is no true separation between ourselves and the world around us.

​By becoming more aware of our thoughts and beliefs about duality and separation, we can begin to shift towards a more holistic perspective that honors the interconnectedness of all things. One of the signs that you are living in a 3rd-dimensional reality is an attachment to material possessions and external validation.


In love and truth,

​Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

Seeing With the Soul and Sensing With the Heart
Many of us have done it; You have a big decision or a nagging question keeping you up at night, so you ask Spirit for a sign. Next, you reach for an Oracle deck, but the wisdom of the deck and the message from Spirit are conflicting. This leads you to reach out to your favorite psychic or intuitive, the answer they share further contradicts the guidance you’ve received, and you reach out to a new seer to make sense of it all. This new seer’s reading is somehow different from the last! 

Who’s wrong, and who’s right? Is Spirit “testing” you? Are the psychics you spoke to frauds?!  Going down the rabbit hole in such a way can leave us frustrated, stressed, and feeling misled or taken advantage of. However, there is a very good reason why your message from Spirit, Oracle cards, favorite psychic, and new reader have differing responses.

All About Perspective
As a child, do you remember gazing off into the distance with one eye closed and the other open and then musing on how the vision changed when you switched which eye was open and which was closed?  That was your first lesson in perspective. You received four different answers because you looked at your conundrum from 4 different perspectives. 

It is all about perspective! You may have heard of the folklore of the three blind men who encountered an elephant. The man who felt the trunk surmised that it was a snake, the man who touched the tail said it was a rope, and the man who met the elephant’s flank discerned that it was a wall.

In the case of intuitives, psychics, and your personal forms of divination, the perception shifts are often due to the levels of consciousness. Each of you vibrates at your own frequency, accessing varying levels of higher consciousness and spiritual perception. Moreover, you have all had different life experiences, spiritual journeys, and mental, emotional, and spiritual dispositions. What does this mean? Confirmation bias has entered the chat!

The Lens of Assumption
Confirmation bias is the innate tendency to frame our experiences and understanding in a way that maintains and substantiates our previously established beliefs and perspectives. For example, if you tell two psychics that your partner has been withdrawn and emotionally unavailable. Psychic #1, who has had an unfaithful partner, may perceive the information Spirit shares in a way that supports their belief that people cheat. Whereas Psychic #2, who struggles with anxiety or depression, may perceive the voice of intuition in a way that maintains their view that people internalize their emotional pain. 

Confirmation bias isn’t limited to personal experience. Current mainstream political, social, and media influences can also shape an intuitive’s perception of the wisdom they channel. And we all do it to some degree as a subconscious means of automatic processing. This is why Spirit sometimes communicates with psychics in a shorthand that they understand. For instance, one seer may associate roses with funerals, while another associates them with romance. As a result, psychics who share your reality, level of consciousness, and value systems often give readings that seem to resonate most.

Like Attracts Like
Based on the Law of Attraction, we attract people and circumstances that match our vibration and level of consciousness. This means that you are likely to attract like-minded intuitives. However, what happens when your frequency changes or your consciousness expands? Though the psychic is still doing their “job” to the best of their ability, you will likely start to get answers you don’t expect or don’t seem to fit into your current narrative or experience. You may even follow their advice and fail to get the results you desire or the seer predicts.

The beautiful thing about the Divine is that even when things seem misaligned, Spirit can still guide us towards our greatest good and highest purpose! When your favored seer no longer matches your frequency, it can still serve as a moment of growth and transformation. Ideally, this energetic mismatch will inspire you to embark on a journey of inner reflection, spiritual seeking, and intuition building. In this way, a psychic can still further your spiritual evolution whether you see eye-to-eye or not.

Seeing With Your Soul
Even the best intuitives and psychics can’t deliver wisdom as purely as a direct connection to Spirit can. Psychics are channels; as they channel, their spiritual insights will be filtered by their lens, even by the smallest amount. The true calling of a seer is to help you strengthen your own intuitive gifts and psychic knowing. Whether dramatically with a dissonant message or subtly with a confirmation of your senses.
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Ultimately, it is a journey to help you fully realize your intuition and psychic knowing because your intuition is your most trusted guide and honest friend. Intuition is seeing with the soul and sensing with the heart. All you need to do is cultivate the courage to follow it and the confidence to trust it. 

In love and truth,
Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

In today’s mass media culture, we are often flooded by a current of opinions, reflections, and perspectives. Go on any social media platform right now, and your feed will be awash with the statuses of celebrities, politicians, friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances far removed, like your brother’s high school girlfriend or someone in your spouse’s softball league; Do you genuinely need their political opinion?
 
Many, if not most, of these opinions or responses could be left unsaid. Still, once they are presented to the masses, they will surely offend someone. And, inevitably, someone’s offense will offend someone else. Then, the original poster may apologize, and either someone will find an issue with the tone of the apology or the motivation to apologize in the first place.

Don’t Take it Personally
People tend to take it personally when they see or hear something offensive. People will say, “that is offensive!” But what they feel is, “you have offended me!” They confuse their personal feelings with the feeling of being personally targeted. When the truth is, it is rarely personal. 

We’ve begun with social media as an example—such as the off-the-cuff quip about a foolish politician. It is easier, at least for some, to take a step back and realize that despite feeling personally offended, the comment was not personal. Yet, what of the family member who reacts to your disinterest in having children by saying, “no family is complete without kids,” or the co-worker who assumes that “you don’t mind filling in for me because it’s not like anyone needs you”? These instances could be a little harder to distance oneself from. However, the family member may be unconsciously voicing their desire for children. Or the co-worker could be envisioning what it would be like if they had no children. 

Be the Observer
To see things as they are, as opposed to how your ego, trauma, or conditioning has framed them, is to question the underlying intention of the offensive behavior, speech, or situation. Depending on your approach, it can be a fascinating exploration, like reflecting on a piece of artwork; Why did the artist use that color, put the brush stroke there, or paint that person or object? In other words, why did that person say those words, use that tone, choose that action, or express those emotions? When you look at an “offense” as something outside of yourself, it is easier to observe it objectively and create distance from it emotionally.
 
When observing the offense instead of internalizing it, you can see beyond the ego mask and witness someone’s wounds and trauma. Take, for instance, the friend that has nothing good to say about your partner, “you shouldn’t trust him,” “he isn’t good for you,” or “he’s going to let you down”; instead of being offended, imagine how she must have been let down by her partners or possibly family or friends, that would cause her to say such disheartening things. With enough consciousness and willingness, you will soon see how offensive behaviors and comments often call for a generous dose of love and compassion!

Rise Above or Go Under
People who cannot override their trauma, ego, or conditioning remain easily offended. When we are easily offended, we get stuck in a vicious cycle of offense after offense until we program ourselves to seek reasons to be offended. Moving through life in a perpetual state of frustration, anger, hurt, disappointment, and angst won’t make unpleasant people, offensive words, or rude behavior any less likely or less objectionable; It will only lower your vibration, pollute your thoughts, and destabilize your emotions.
 
Worse still, people who get stuck in the victim stance end up forfeiting their power and sovereign authority. They identify as victims and view themselves as vulnerable, helpless, and doomed. So, what is the solution? The only way out of this cycle is to look within.

Never Stop Questioning
An impersonal perspective towards being offended helps us see that these offenses are where wounds are, whether they belong to the “offender” or the “offended.” When we witness the pain of others, we can cast the light of love and compassion on them. When we acknowledge our own trauma, we must reclaim our power and accountability. The first step is to ask what is being revealed, what needs to be recognized, and what requires healing.

To question creates possibility; to remain offended is limiting, pulling down your mood, vibration, and perspective until you are trapped in a prison of your own creation. You instantly lift your temperament, raise your vibration, and gain a higher, more objective perspective when you are willing to ask the right questions. Such as how I can show this person or myself more love, embrace forgiveness, and find the acceptance to move on.

The Most Important Questions
Ask yourself what this world would look like if nothing offended anyone. People who were intentionally distasteful or rude would get no response to fuel their behavior and instead be forced to examine their actions. Everyone else would enjoy a world of conscious thought, healing discourse, harmony, and compassion.
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Of course, each of us must do our part to create a world of love, unity, and peace. It begins the next time you feel offended; ask yourself a crucial question, how can you make the world a better place by choosing to see the world as a better place?

In love and truth,
Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

Are you “living the dream” and relishing the “good life”? If one were to ask most people that question, the honest answer would likely be no. Why are more people not “living their best life”? Because often, we have been conditioned to believe that the best life is a one-size-fits-all ideal of what is supposed to make us happy. 

Early Education
Many people in western society (and beyond) are taught from a young age, through media, family modeling, and social norms, that a life well-lived means a university education, a “respectable” career, and a committed relationship leading to marriage, resulting in children. Based on media depictions, idle adult chatter and gossip, and admonishments by teachers and parents, as children, we are programmed to see people who don’t want or don’t have what has been dictated as outliers who are lazy, selfish, aimless, and lost. But what does it really mean to be lost?

“Midlife” Crisis
We are all familiar with the idea of a midlife crisis when people deviate, at varying degrees, from their careers, relationships, value systems, or lifestyles. However, the truth is that this can happen at any time in an individual’s life. The sooner, the better in most cases, because this crisis of personhood is often a rejection of the conditioning, education, training, conformity, and spiritual imprisonment we have been taught to submit to.

After doing everything we have been taught would make us happy, many are still met with unhappiness, lack of fulfillment, and emptiness. The career and relationship that was supposed to validate them have let them down. Now, because they have so closely intertwined their personhood with these external circumstances, they have lost their identity; they are awash with anger, frustration, apathy, angst, and depression. This is what it truly means to be lost.

The Power to Question
At this point, the “midlife” crisis, starts to look a lot like the Dark Night of the Soul. So, why would you want this crisis of self to happen sooner than later? Because the sooner it happens, the sooner you can begin to question! It has been said that it is not the answers that enlightens us, but the questions themselves. This could not be truer in this case. Beginning to reflect is the first step in uncovering who you are and what you truly desire; These are the first steps in revealing the soul’s purpose.

What is soul purpose? It is how you chart the path of destiny, the role the Divine has bestowed upon you that no one else can fulfill, and to complete it is to ascend on your unique journey of enlightenment. Soul purpose may have everything or nothing to do with our education, our training, or our profession. It can be what you do full-time or what you can only squeeze a few weekend hours into. This higher purpose can be what you share with other souls or a gift of healing, learning, and loving you give yourself. It can make you rich with material wealth or in Spirit, and for some, both!

The Light at The End of The Tunnel
Finding your soul’s purpose can be an overwhelming prospect in a world of infinite possible callings. Where to begin? Start where the greatest truths are not known but felt; follow your heart. In a world where nothing is forever, and no promises are made, following your happiness and fulfillment must become your number one priority. 

Make no mistake; this can be a painful, fearful, and lonely process at first. First, you must admit that you have fallen off track and lost your way. Remember, your time has not been wasted; everything you have been through has brought you to this junction of cataclysmic change and infinite possibility! Next, you must step off the well-trodden path, forging through the unknown with tentative steps. Finally, accept that only you can walk this course. It is yours and yours alone; no one has ever walked it before, people may not understand, and they may judge.
 
Still, casting off the shackles of conditioning by listening to your intuition and higher truth, following your heart, and eschewing the need for ego-comparison and conformity is so purely empowering, freeing, and enlightening that the sacrifices all but disappear in comparison to what is gained!

The Ultimate Purpose
When fully seeking and expressing your soul purpose, you will find that not only provisions for your needs and desires follow—but most importantly, wholeness, happiness, and fulfillment. Yet, ultimately, seeking purpose, the self-realization, self-actualization, healing, liberation, and awakening you achieve can be purpose and fulfillment enough.
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It has been said in many ways by many theologians, philosophers, and gurus that the fundamental purpose of life is to devote your whole heart to seeking purpose. When you can do that without ego-comparison, expectations, norms, and “obligations,” you no longer need to seek love, success, and wealth; it inevitably finds you!

In love and truth,
Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

What is shadow work, and how do you do it?
Therapists, coaches, influencers, and daytime tv hosts – everyone is talking about shadow work. It can be a buzzword to get likes, presume sagacity, or establish a pseudo-guru status. However, shadow work is more than a hashtag; it is a profound tool for meaningful healing, trauma recovery, relationship rehab, and self-actualization.
 
Fundamentally, shadow work is a healing journey of personal reclamation and soulful integration. It is the recovery of lost parts of the self that have fallen into the obscurity of the unconscious – the shadow self.
 
Meeting The Shadow Self 
Id, Ego, Superego, Inner Child, Higher Self, Lower Self, Mask Self, Conscious Mind, Unconscious Mind, Subconscious Mind, Soul, Spirit, and Shadow Self…

There are many aspects and labels for states of being and aspects of personhood. The shadow self relates to all aspects of the self that do not respond to the ego ideal and become unconscious with time. Despite the ego and shadow, conscious and unconscious, or shadow and light becoming disjointed, they are still part of the same soul, resulting in dis-ease from a fractured spirit. This is painful because it is not a natural state!

Each lifetime we arrive as an integrated soul, ready to learn, grow, and enlighten. Yet, over time and across interactions, we are conditioned to view certain aspects of ourselves as unacceptable and unlovable. These internalized beliefs, often established by what triggers the shadows of others, such as parents, define the shadows self.  We refuse to acknowledge and accept these shadows as a defense mechanism to avoid dissonance resulting from shame, guilt, and self-loathing. 

The Darkest Shadow
It is important to remember that the shadow self isn’t bad; we are only conditioned to believe it is “bad.” There may be gifts and talents repressed by the shadow self because we were mocked or punished for them, like the creative mind of a daydreamer or a little boy’s love of dance. What is actually “bad” are the harmful effects of denying who we genuinely are. Self-denial leads to disconnection from the higher self, Source, the destiny they co-created, and the path of enlightenment it leads to.

As a result of this unnatural, disconnected state of being, intrapersonal issues arise, such as 
Emotional Triggers such as anxiety, depression, anger
Emptiness and lack of personal fulfillment
Lack of life purpose
Negative self-talk
Self-loathing
Self-victimization
Self-harm, such as alcoholism, drug abuse, overeating, overworking, etc.

The harmful effects do not happen in a vacuum, extending beyond our inner being into our interpersonal experience. These challenges include
Toxic relationship patterns – domestic violence, infidelity
Jealousy and envy
Being overcritical due to projection
Alienation  and loneliness
Unhealthy or lack of boundaries – co-dependence, defensiveness
Generational trauma

Ultimately, we can’t be or give our best, or even better, selves if we cannot first be our whole selves. 

Coming to the Light
Shadow work isn’t all love and light, nor doom and gloom. Recovering “unlovable” parts of who you are can be painful, jarring, and disorienting, but it is also profoundly freeing, healing, and empowering. It doesn’t take years and years of probing deep within the depths of your soul to experience the transformative power. Some people successfully embark on and accomplish a solitary journey of soul retrieval. Because shadow work can be facilitated by practices that override the conscious mind, like hypnotherapy, art therapy, and shamanic healing, some people seek therapists, counselors, or Shamans. But shadow work doesn’t take degrees, certifications, crystals, herbs, or leatherbound journals. 

Shadow work requires an open awareness of what has been hidden and a willingness to welcome it into the light. You neither forsake the light nor eradicate the shadow. There may always be aspects of yourself you are uncomfortable sharing or acknowledging, just as there will be aspects you want to put front and center. The goal of integration is awareness, acceptance, and allowing- awareness of both your shadow and light, accepting them both equally, and allowing the authentic experience of both.

The Shadow is the Greatest Teacher 
There are many paths along the shadow work journey. It is your soul; therefore, you know best how to retrieve the aspects that make it whole. Still, the following past-present-future perspective should offer some illuminating guidance for every step of your journey.

Past
Review – Take an inventory of your life thus far; journal prompts can be very helpful in this respect. Examine your childhood, relationship history, personal accomplishments, and regrets. As you do inventory, take note of any recurring themes and patterns.

Accept – Understand that you may experience some discomforting revelations and recover painful memories. Accept that what is done cannot be changed, but by acknowledging it, you can change your future! 

Present
Observe –Practice being the watchful observer, taking a non-judgmental, unemotional look at your reactions and responses. Pay particular attention to your emotional triggers. Remember, not all triggers flare immediately. A midday occurrence in the office may come to a head in the evening during an interaction with a spouse.

Question – Once you have gained insight as the watchful observer, identify any patterns that arise. Question the who, what, when, and why surrounding an emotional trigger. Next, explore where; At what point in my life did this trigger start? Finally, how does this connect to my shadow?

Future
Allow – Integrating the conscious self with the unconscious self is a process. All aspects of the shadow won’t reveal themselves at once, nor does unlearning conditioning happen overnight. Change and healing are not linear; trust that your shadow will reveal itself at a pace that honors your greatest good and highest purpose. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
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Honor – You may not love or even like all you discover as your awareness expands. No matter what you face, try to honor your shadow self, even if you aren’t ready to embrace it. Shadow work is a journey of awareness. The more awareness you gain, the more fully embodied you are as a conscious being sovereign over your personhood and path.  Only in your fullness and with agency and authority can you live your destiny and follow your fate – your authentic and unique path to ascension and the brilliance of enlightenment. 

In love and truth,
​Lori Lines