Embracing Your Shadow — Finding Light in the Darker Days
- Cathy Page
- Oct 5
- 3 min read
Autumn is a season of release, transition, and reflection. Just as the trees shed their leaves, we too are invited to let go of what no longer serves us — old patterns, emotions, and memories that have run their course.
It’s a time to slow down, turn inward, and harvest the wisdom our experiences have offered. This season gently encourages us to meet the parts of ourselves we’ve kept hidden, energetically declutter, and make space to welcome transition, change, and soul growth.
Turning Inward: Healing the Parts We Hide
Have you ever found yourself reliving old, uncomfortable memories — moments you thought were long behind you? This isn’t a setback. It’s your soul’s way of bringing forward what’s ready for healing into the light.
We all have “skeletons in the closet” — memories, emotions, or experiences we’ve tucked away and kept hidden in the recesses of our mind - hoping these parts of ourselves might disappear given enough time and water under the bridge.
But pushing away unwelcome thoughts rarely brings the peace we hope for. True healing happens when we open the door, welcome them in, and sit with them - even though this may cause us discomfort.
Acknowledgement is the first step. This is the moment we allow ourselves to feel what’s rising up inside. When we can sit with it — or in it — without judgment, and the energy of it can begin to transform.
Fear shifts into peace. Emotional pain softens into understanding. Darkness steps into the light.
A Simple Soul Practice for Healing Your Shadow Self
If you’re ready to meet your shadow self in a gentle and compassionate way, I invite you to try this simple self-hypnosis practice the next time old or painful feelings or memories surface:
Pause and breathe. Take three or four deep breaths into your belly, allowing it to expand, and imagine this breath as a glowing light within you.
Sit quietly. Be with the feelings and notice where they live in your body.
Observe. Ask yourself, “What memory or memories, moment or moments, is this feeling connected to?”
Listen. Ask your inner voice, “Why is this emerging now?”
Transform. Offer gratitude for the experience of this memory. Saying compassionately:
“Thank you for showing me this experience. I now choose to release it with love.”
Cut the chords. Visualise energetic cords connecting you to the memory and imagine cutting them in whatever way feels right to you. This could be a connection to a person, place, or event.
Bring in light. Imagine a glowing light surrounding you completely and flowing into your body. Let this light embody the opposite emotion — for example bring in joy if the memory was sad, calm to replace anger, peace to substitute fear and so on.
This simple practice can help reprogram the subconscious mind, transmute stuck trauma and bring your emotional body back into balance.
Reflecting on the Shadow
Shadow work is a journey, not a one-time task.
Trust that old memories and emotions will rise to the surface exactly when you're ready to acknowledge and heal them, presenting an opportunity for fresh understanding, breaking old patterns, and activating your soul’s growth.
I invite you to take some time to reflect on the following questions:
What old patterns or memories am I ready to release now?
How can I meet my shadow self with compassion and gratitude, instead of fear and resistance?
What areas of my life do I wish to invite in, more light, peace, love, or understanding?
Notice what comes up for you when you take time to pause and reflect on these questions. It may be loud and clear, or the tiniest of whispers. Noticing, listening, acknowledging, and offering gratitude towards the things that arise can create ripples of change and transformation in both your inner and outer worlds.
Autumn reminds us that reflection, release, and renewal are all part of life's natural rhythm. When we shed what no longer serves us, we make space for new growth, healing, and happiness to flow in.
Want to find out more? Drop me a line and let’s chat!
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