THE DIAMOND NET

SHADOW WORK
VISUALIZATION
Shadow Work
Visualization Practice

Step One:
Find a quiet place to sit where you will be free from distractions
and disturbances for at least 30 minutes.
Step Two:
Sit upright in a comfortable chair. You will want to sit in a place
that's comfortable enough to relax but not so relaxing that you risk
falling asleep.
Step Three:
Focus all of your attention and awareness on the sensation of your
breath entering and exiting the lungs. If your thoughts pull your
attention away from the breath, simply bring your attention back
to the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. Remain in this meditative
state for five minutes prior to beginning the visualization.
Step Four:
Begin the following visualization:

You are driving a spacecraft that is drifting through outer space. As

you're floating along, you notice a small planet off in the distance.
You decide to move in closer to get a better look.

As you approach the planet in your spacecraft, you notice that this
world looks very similar to Earth, as it has lots of land and water. You
decide to explore the planet.

As you land your craft and look around, you realize that this planet is
a direct reflection of your personality. All the landmarks are direct
representations of your feelings, preferences, memories, and
demeanor. All things on this planet symbolize you. Look around and
notice what you see.

As you're exploring this planet, you see an elevator leading down

underneath the ground. This is the elevator that will take you down
into your Shadow, which is a part of your unconscious mind where all
the parts of your personality reside that you are unaware of. This
includes aspects of yourself that have been rejected and potentials
that have yet to be realized.

You step into the elevator and push the button that brings you
 down to the deepest parts of your Shadow. You ride the elevator
down for a few seconds and the door slides open to a subterranean
realm.

Look around you. Notice what you see.

Are there any other people or beings around? If so, what are they
doing? If you speak to them, what do they say?

Are there any significant locations around? What do your

surroundings look like?

Let your mind fill in the details of what's happening in this

underground space. If you notice any people, animals, creatures,
objects, places, or other visuals make a mental note of them. You
may also attempt to interact with them.

Use this visualization to explore the Shadow. Let your imagination fill
in the details.

Step Five:
Once you finish with the visualization, write down all the things
that you experienced. Write down any beings, objects, places, or
interactions you had as they may be symbols of what's happening
in your Shadow.
Step Six:
Look at everything you've written down and see if there are any
symbols that you can find meaning in. For example, if you notice
that the Shadow elevator opens out to an underground library,
consider what a library might mean to you individually and what it
might mean generally.

For example, a library might have personal significance to you if

you have some important memory that happened in a library. Or a
library might simply be a general symbol of being a place of
learning. Either one could tell you something about what might be
happening in your subconscious mind.

Or if you have an interaction with a person or creature down in the

Shadow, you can see if this person reminds you of anyone that you
know. This might indicate that your associations or memories of
that person are significant to understanding a part of your Shadow.

Step Seven:
You can revisit elements of the visualization and gain more context
for the symbols you discover by using Active Imagination. This is
where you create a scenario where you can explore more deeply
into things you come across in dreams, visualizations, and
everyday experiences.

To learn more about Active Imagination you can click here to check
out my video on the topic.