Shadow Work is Harrrd! How Can Rewilding Dreams Help?

Hello Shadow

This is my parents’ new puppy. While I was home visiting, she was a gentle guide in remembering to embody my true nature.

If only shadow work were as sweet as her…

And why can’t it be? For those of us who have experienced working with the shadow either through dreams, therapy and/or other forms of healing modalities - we know there can be struggles as we break free from old beliefs, deep programming, negative voices, to name a few. There are also times when it’s challenging to honor, embrace and integrate another side of the shadow, which I call our GOLD shadow aspects.

The NEGATIVE shadow will try to keep us boxed in, caged in a mold that only fits into the over-culture and societal norms.

How does this show up? You may notice parts of yourself feeling unworthy of your gifts, patterns of patriarchal thinking, and conscious/unconscious behaviors that lead to numbing out, addictions or depression.

You can bet your shadow will show up when you’re on the precipice of a breakthrough, transition, spiritual awakening or alignment, letting go, stepping into a new phase of life or creative path. Sometimes it shows up to protect you, support you, or keep you small, which manifests in struggles with the unacceptable part of one’s nature.

What are the “unacceptable” parts of one’s nature? This depends on what qualities / traits / behaviors were valued, accepted, nourished, or unaccepted and disregarded in your home, community, culture, and society. There is an inability to see, feel and know your truth.

For example:

*If you never knew how to create boundaries in relationships before, and you begin to set them with others - this potentially would show up as a shadow aspect - making you feel as if you are wrong in your intentions to create healthy boundaries.

*If your gifts and talents were never recognized and nurtured, it may be hard to believe you are worthy of a life utilizing those gifts.

*If you grew up being told you are poor, you may have feelings of lack.

All of these examples can manifest in different ways of intense spiraling; anxiety, depression, self-sabotage, guilt, longing, etc.

How can our dreams help? Our dreams can support and show us how to rewild to our true nature, where the soul lies and lives. The shadow tries to keep the parts of ourselves which are “unacceptable” from becoming embodied, from living through you.

When we embrace our shadow aspects and integrate them into our daily practices, rituals and share these gifts/qualities with others - this is when we begin to feel whole, nourished, cared for, seen as we truly are. With ALL PARTS INCLUDED.

What is Rewilding? Rewilding means to RESTORE to its natural uncultivated state or original habitat. For us humans, I see it as returning to embody one’s true nature.

How do I embody my true nature? Allow yourself to thrive through blessings and love, care and listening. Clarissa Pinkola-Estés, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves, said healers from her culture, would first ask and listen to what the individual’s soul needed. One way to listen is through your dreams. Honor your gifts and blessings. Remember who you are, who you are here to be. Communicate within -- Ask your Soul what it needs.

You’ve heard of soul purpose right? The soul comes alive through the creative things you love to do. This is what makes you unique to who you are. Your soul purpose is found in allowing yourself the time, space and energy to live honoring all the parts of yourself.

Types of dreams showing signs to suggest and/or support rewilding :

• Animal Dreams or Unknown Creatures - they may come fierce, larger than usual and many of them

• Nature Dreams - being with the land, plants, new territories

• Running/Hiding from Predators (this usually shows up as authority figures, dark, male)

• Tower Dreams such as natural disasters, dismemberment, death

• Losing Identity & Searching for a New One, ie. clothes, shoes, personal belongings, items with meaning

• Baby & Child Dreams - pregnancy, children showing up, searching for a child

If you’re interested in exploring your Wild, Shadow through Dreams & Embodiment

Please join me for this very special workshop

FRIDAY April 16

6-8PM

NOLA Cottage Magick

New space, recently opened, in person!

601 Elysian Fields, New Orleans, LA 70117

COST $35

Space is limited to 12 - Get your seat today!

Additional Workshop Elements & Benefits:

• Understanding the language of your dreams

• Discover the dream symbols that guide you to your authentic self

• Learn to use dreams as a resource through transitions & turning points

• Honor / Integrate the Shadow

Me, Too - The Intruder in Our Dreams

Image from Marie Louise Van Franz's Interpretation of Fairy Tales

Me, Too - The Intruder in Our Dreams

There is one that penetrates me deeply to the bones and it’s the man within my own psyche.

I feel this fear every time I have this dream. I can feel it now as I am writing about it.

Recurring Dream:

I am running from someone. A man. Him. I am trying to find a place to hide. It’s dark out. Night. I go through multiple places, sometimes an empty hotel or convention center or a house. Trying to find the best place to hide...I run through showers, spa like areas and locker rooms until I find a bathroom to hide in. (Bathroom, a place to express oneself.)  I crouch down, I am silent. I sweat. I feel the cold, damp floor. I wait and listen to see if I hear him coming. My heart beats. I’m terrified.

He, is the Intruder, that prevents me...all of us...from furthering. From owning our own power, beliefs, identity. 

I recognize him as my masculine shadow aspect in the self that "manifests as the spirit of courage" in all that we do including our thoughts, feelings, using your voice to express your needs and developing one's own spiritual beliefs. (Clements, Analyzing Your Dreams Dictionary).

I see him as the collective unconscious’ masculine energy energy associated with doing, creating, destroying, opposed to the female which is being, containing, nurturing. (Clements, p106).

In dreams, we may meet him and experience him through feeling fear of him.  He is the dark man in the shadows. In my dreams, no light ever sheds on his face or his build. I never see him hunting me, but he is behind me, coming after me. He is the intruder in our psyche.

The intruder doesn't only show up in women's dreams - he shows up in men's too.  You may be running from someone, authority, conflict or fighting with another man.  This would reflect the shadow not acknowledging this unconscious aspect of yourself, there is conflict between it and the ego.

I was unconscious of him for a very long time. Night/darkness unconscious. I had many different versions of this dream over the years. My sister recently shared one of hers with me, which was similar and carried the same weight of dread upon her. It wasn’t until I was well into dreamwork, studying Marion Woodman’s theory of feminine consciousness when I spoke of one of these dreams. It was suggested to me to begin reading “Women Who Run With the Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

There it was! Chapter 1: Stalking the Intruder, the Beginning Initiation - the story of Bluebeard. For those of you who do not know this tale, Estés will indeed tell it better than I, so please do read her stories. She also has a live performance series called “Theatre of the Imagination”, which is very powerful to listen to. Her storytelling is healing and truly transformative.

Bluebeard is a tale of a frightening man with a blue beard who entices the youngest of three sisters to marry him. This young woman is lovely and innocent and naive. Unlike her sisters who had the intuition that something was not right with Bluebeard, he had some sort of power over her. The young woman was not in touch with her instincts yet. There was no mother or father to teach her these things. As the story goes on, her sisters attempt to guide her. Through her unconscious desire she does something she was told not to do, which leads to the undoing of Bluebeard’s power over her life and so many other women like her.

I finally stopped dreaming of running and hiding in the bathroom, when I began to acknowledge my strength as a spiritual being.  I began embracing my power within and honoring my own beliefs, gifts and creativity. All the things I wasn’t authentically doing.

THIS is how we change consciousness. Tuning in, listening to the dreams, sensing, feeling - in order to become aware of the beliefs and belief systems handed down to us from generation to generation and making a conscious decision to believe you have the power within to change them, the power to think and act differently, the power to use your voice and discuss with each other - as I see so many sharing "Me, Too" stories on Facebook. 

So how do we share this power of awareness to those that were never taught differently or our young? How do we build trust in our feelings and instincts through our sensing abilities when something doesn't feel good or right? How do we protect our innocent, vulnerable, and delicate youthful beings? This is a discussion that I would love to be having.

I believe we all have to live this way. We have to trust our inner guidance, use the power of our voice and support one another through feeling. And stop letting others make poor decisions for us, our communities and our country. The transformation begins within. 

NOTE: Posts may only include part/s of the dream. 

*BOLD TEXT = DREAM IMAGE

*italicized text = interpretation and/or what resonates for the dreamer