Writing in my journal and painting are the ways I meditate. I recently sat to “meditate meditate” for five minutes and “received” the image of a dog chasing its tail. Could this is what it looks like to chase one’s shadow — or to be chased by our shadow self?

We all have a shadow self. It’s is the part of us that we don’t see or don’t want to admit we have. Like the dark side of the moon, it remains a mystery until we become aware of it enough to embark on a “personal shadow adventure.”

Learning to recognize when our shadow self is active can dramatically impact our lives.

Before painting, I sketch the idea. It’s important to know that it all fits on the page!

“That which we do not bring to consciousness appears in our lives as fate.” ~ Carl Jung

If our shadow self snaps at others when we’re cranky or annoyed and we become aware that’s what’s happening, we might be able to soften our responses — or apologize once we realize it’s happened.

There’s more that I don’t know about shadow selves than I do know. Lately, it keeps coming up in my awareness in the form of questions.

We’re each unique — and there’s a “boat-load” of unique individuals on Earth today. I believe we’re here for a reason, and the reason must be HUGE! Why else would there be so many of us?

If only we knew why! The reason could lie in the shadow self of our collective consciousness.

Last autumn, I awoke to a booming (I MEAN BOOMING!) voice in my head saying,

“EVERYTHING CHANGES!”

It scared me. I had NO idea what it meant. Of course, everything changes, everything always changes!

We often think we know what’s happening, or what to expect next, but we don’t know. We live with a false sense of security.

I’m no psychiatrist. I’m an introspective artist consciously choosing to make friends with my shadow self.

Is the shadow self the one who stops us from moving forward when we feel fear or shame?

Is it as simple (and mean) as the “inner critic”? The one who wakes us up at night to berate us for something we did or didn’t do the day before?

Is the shadow self the part that thinks we have to be perfect before we share our work with the world?

Is the shadow the part of us that thinks we DON’T have anything worth sharing?

Is the shadow self the one who “flies off the handle” when we’re frustrated?

“Who’s Pulling the Strings?” — You, Your Shadow, or the Great Unknown? Do you notice anything different between this photo and the previous photo?

For now, let’s make friends with the shadow as best we can and continue asking questions.