Have you ever wondered why you dislike someone you’ve only just met and don’t even know? You may have known them in a past life but it’s more likely they reflect part of yourself you choose to deny.

Each of us has a self we show to the world and one we often prefer to hide. Just as there is night and day, there is light and dark within us. The ancient Egyptians were well aware of this. They depicted light and dark within their gods and goddesses. For example, Horus (light) and Seth
(dark). They knew balance was the key to becoming whole and to true enlightenment. When we deny and squash the parts of ourselves that we find unacceptable they are eventually “acted out” in some way. It’s the time when you “blow up” at a small thing for instance. The root
cause of this incident was most likely something in the past that wasn’t expressed at the time.
Physical illness can also express squashed emotions. For instance, back problems may express a fear of being left unsupported. Tooth problems may express resentment. Denying your true feelings, whether positive or negative, also causes stress, mood swings and low self-esteem. In addition, if
you think about it squashing part of yourself isn’t going to help you learn and grow! In order to achieve growth as a person and as a spirit, we need to work on ourselves, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to integrate the shadow. Expressed appropriately the more
negative feelings such as anger, envy & jealously can be helpful. They show us something is wrong and that we need to pay attention to it. It may be a simple case of our boundaries being crossed.
Alternatively, a negative emotion from childhood may be coming up for healing and expression. Feeling tearful in meetings was something I experienced during the middle part of my working life. I noticed it happened when I wasn’t heard or at least I felt it to be the case. The childhood wound of feeling powerless was something my emotions were trying to get me to acknowledge. Once they were, there were no more tears in meetings but a healthy assertiveness took their place.
How can we deal with our shadow without acting it out in a way that undermines our adult self? First we need to acknowledge our true feelings and then take action to express them. For example, taking exercise when we are angry helps to dissipate the energy from the anger. A walk around the
block can make us think clearly and prevent an over-reaction. We can then deal with the people or situations in a calmer way.
Channelling jealousy in to new creative hobbies or projects is much more beneficial than giving the evil eye to the person you are jealous of. If you envy someone’s success ask yourself why? What is lacking in your life and how can you achieve what you want? Plan and make goals. It’s less likely
you want what they have but that you see yourself as less successful, powerful or happy than they are.
Learning how to express yourself fully when to speak up and when to walk away is often a life long task. Once you integrate your shadow and
make it work for you rather than against you, however, you will feel stronger. Like so many things in life, it takes practice and you won’t get
it right every time. Luckily life always gives us more opportunities to try again!

For more information of Ankhra Laan-Ra and her courses and workshops, visit her website: www.krysalistraining.com or call:
0131 555 6044