Shadow Work is Pearl Diving

"Do not look away. Do not avert your gaze. Do not turn aside."
~Joanna Macy, the teaching of Buddha Akshobhya's mirror

I was reminded last weekend, when guiding a ritual based on Joanna Macy's Work that Reconnects (in memory of her, because she recently crossed the veil), that I can be bolder about telling people that I really actually LOVE shadow work.

​Shadow work isn’t about fixing what’s broken.

It’s about curiously dipping beneath the surface, into the subconscious, into the unknown waters…and discovering the hidden pearls that have been waiting to be liberated and made useful in our lives.

Every shadow you turn toward is a shell that holds a gleam of truth. Every tender place, a secret door to more freedom.

You don’t have to fear what you find in the depths — especially when you have the power of alchemist, the one who operates from their center and engages all things with steady witness, curiosity, and creative play.

How do you cultivate this inner alchemist?

Well, it does take a lot of cultivated work (which we do in the Body & Soul Sanctuary), but there is a core concept you can ground and root into, which is to this: the treasure (the pearl) has always been you, not separate from you, but a deeper, clearer, wiser, more expansive you, hidden from sight. The key to unlocking your evolutionary journey.

Shadow work gets such a bad rap in our culture, and it also gets twisted and mis-represented, as something "spooky" and "taboo." But it's simple really. And can actually be gentle, though potent, deep, and ultimately liberating.

Because when we bring what’s hidden into the light, along with the tools of compassion and wisdom, the brilliance of your essence can shine unclouded.

 So when you do enter the dark waters, remember you do so not to be lost, but to return with the pearl that has always been yours.