Shadow work is a term that is widely recognized as being rooted in Jungian psychology. It is commonly understood as a process of facing hidden aspects of ourselves in order to achieve greater understanding of our nature. However, this work is often cloaked in the idea or concept that we will need to face negative aspects of ourselves in order to gain more self-awareness. I agree, facing "negative" aspects of ourselves is absolutely a part of this process. However, I am suggesting that we need to identify who or what is labeling these aspects as "negative." Who is the judge in these situations? Is it societal judgements? If so, we must examine the society that classified these aspects as "negative," because they might not be as "negative" as was once thought. I know that this might sound a little far-reaching, so please allow me to deconstruct this notion prior to illustrating the life-changing reasons of facing these hidden aspects.

In much of Nietzsche's philosophy, he encourages society to continue to examine our societal norms in order to make sure that they are still applicable—to make sure that we are not adhering to an outdated understanding of our human experience. As forward-thinking as this might sound, it is actually very realistic. Here is an example of how practical this notion is.

Imagine you were a child who was born into a societal construct that shamed individuals who were left-handed (perhaps you really were). Not only would the left-handed individual be shamed, but also punished when they worked with their left hand; as a result, this individual would try to hide being left-handed. Hence, after a time of shame and punishment, the ability of working with their left hand would be hidden away—moved into their shadow self. Moreover, let's add the notion that you are not only a left-handed writer, but a gifted painter who can only paint with their left-hand. But you might never know that you have this gift due to the "negative" connotations that were placed on you about being left-handed. What if this gift was hidden due to the outdated societal norms present when you were a child? What a tragedy that the world will never witness this artistic expression! Only until this individual is able to understand that being left-handed was not an affront to society but simply another way of being would they be able to be their authentic self.

Although, shadow work may not be this cut and dry. With shadow work, we do not know what we will find simply due to the nature of being a shadow that is hidden within the darkness, a place of the unseen. Then again, not all parts of our shadow are actually negative; they might have been labeled as such due to our initial encounter with our first social groups (our family, our community, and, in some situations, our church). Examining who deemed these aspects of ourselves as "negative" may shed light on why we hide these aspects in the first place.

Shadow work might be difficult, but it can also lead to deeper understanding of who we are, why we behave in the manner that we do, and ultimately free us from old constraints that have kept us from self-love. I delve deeper into the process of shadow work with my book Shamanism and Your Shadow. Within this book, I assist the reader in approaching shadow work from a Shamanistic understanding or point of view. No, you do not need to be a Shaman or to learn Shamanism in order to work through this book. In short, it is simply a different way to look at shadow work, viewing it from a more organic, natural world way. Everything that the light touches in the natural world will cast a shadow. Hence, it is natural to have a shadow side—we all do.

In writing this book, researching different aspects of shadow work, and performing shadow work in my personal life through the lenses of the shadow being organic, I am able to relax and allow this healing work to be. Here are three main reasons why I would highly recommend doing life-changing Shadow Work.

1. Uncover Hidden Aspects, Gifts, and Talents Within
Uncovering your hidden aspects, gifts, and talents is a wonderful benefit of doing shadow work. I don't think that I have ever met an individual who hasn't met the challenge of "moving beyond who they once saw themselves to be." This is evolution. When we continue to grow and develop, we not only grow into something that we haven't experienced before, but we also grow into something that we might innately recognize within ourselves (possibly a part of ourselves that was never nurtured, or appreciated from our childhood social groups like friends, family, and community).

I am not here to shame these social groups, or to rationalize them. I am simply stating that this is a fact of life. Hence, once we engage in our personal shadow work, there are aspects of ourselves that were not completely mined, appreciated, or encouraged. As a matter of fact, these same attributes might have been the opposite—discouraged. Because of this, these aspects have moved into our shadow self. (Just like with the story about the left-handed artist.)

2. Discover Inner, Personal Peace
The second life-changing benefit of doing shadow work is finding inner peace. The inner peace that comes from doing shadow work is unexpected at first. Often, individuals will wait until it is about time to say goodbye before coming to terms with their personal experiences. This happens within jobs and relationships, yes, but most importantly it happens with our personal mortality. Personally, I am not close to my own death; however, doing shadow work has provided me with a deep exercise into personal development, personal understanding, and personal acceptance of who I am and why I have chosen the directions and path in my life that I have chosen.

Due to my personal spiritual and soul calling, I am here to inspire, encourage, and empower individuals to be their authentic self. In such, I have walked many pathways with many different people, much of which is me assisting them in understanding who they are, and why they may have made certain life decisions. Some decisions that we make are due to survival, some are due to love, and others are due to unresolved pain from our past (to name but a few reasons).

Unresolved pain is a hard one. At times we find that our pain was caused by another, and at times we recognize that some unresolved pain was caused by our own selves—the latter of which is hard to come to terms with. This is what life is really good at: providing opportunities to discover and reveal circumstances where we can grow and mature. Doing shadow work assists us with all types of pain and leads us towards deeper understanding. This can also benefit those who we love and cherish, as one could imagine.

All of that being said, we will never truly understand ourselves, where we need to grow and how authentic we are, if we do not take inventory. Doing shadow work helps us to take stock in our life, our experiences, and the decisions that we have made. Doing shadow work provides us with some powerful insights to ourselves. As a side benefit, it can also provide us with deeper understanding into those who we love.

3. Know Yourself
The third life-changing benefit is to know thyself. Not knowing ourselves will leave us open to being manipulated and controlled. I know that this might sound a little harsh or melodramatic, but if you think about it, it is true. The more that you know who you are, where you come from, and why you make the decisions that you make only strengthens you as an individual. Hence, the opposite is also true: not knowing yourself will leave you open to other people or organizations being able to tell you who you are. And, not only telling you who you are, but also how you should act or behave, and ultimately directing the decisions that you are making (this will come without question). If you do not know who you are, you wouldn't question if others tell you who they want you to be for them—without consideration of you being you, which is, moreover, being what the creator created you to be.

I understand that this is harsh, so please allow me to share with you one of my personal stories so that you can see the extent of my passion here. My father, Rev. Jackson Yazzie, was born in the spring of 1932 as a full-blooded Navajo boy. Before he developed as a person, he was stripped of his Navajo roots, tradition, and culture when he was taken to a residential school, to be indoctrinated into another tradition and culture. He didn't have the opportunity to know who he was authentically, prior to being conditioned. I now carry his story as a beacon to you: don't miss an opportunity to get to know yourself!

Doing shadow work might be frightening, but not doing shadow work…well, then we never get to truly know you as the amazing individual that you are. Give yourself a gift that will change your life: shadow work.