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Shadow Work: Break Open
Shadow Work: Break Open
Autumn and winter are the seasons for shadow work, whether in the Jungian sense or the witchcraft sense. This writing exercise prompts you to explore your triggers and produce a piece of writing about them. I hope to make this a series about progressing through a shadow work system.
As always, I would love to read whatever you write!
Flows of Desire
Flows of Desire
When and how did you last feel strong sexual excitement? When and how did you last feel strong irritation? Embarrassment? Disgust?
Do you want others to think you're cool? Do you want others to want you to think they're cool?
How would you define good sex? Great sex?
What is it that you want, need, crave above all else? In life generally? From your lovers and friends? In art?
Where do you lack agency in your life? Where do you lack love, compassion, and understanding in your life?
What are you angriest about? What gets you the most worked up?
What are your deepest fears and insecurities? Do you know why?
Where do shame and guilt live in your body? In your soul? In your behavior? Do you know where it comes from? Do you know what damage it causes outside of yourself?
What motivates you? Why?
Do you feel wanted? In what ways? What are you?
Skip the Pleasantries
Skip the Pleasantries
What is your plan for the impending collapse of civilization? What's your nightmare post-apocalypse scenario? What's your ideal post-apocalypse scenario? What would you miss most about your current lifestyle?
What roles do you most often play in your own (sexual and non-sexual) fantasies? If I feature in your fantasies, what roles do I play?
What kind of artist are you? What kind of animal are you? How do you move through the world?
What kind of god are you? What is your cosmology? When I say, "The Devil made me" - what does that mean to you? What do you picture? How do you interpret that phrase?
Where is your favorite place on earth? What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Where and when do you feel most comfortable, cozy, serene?
What shapes does love take in your life? Define it. Describe it. What does "love" mean to you? How do you know? What does it feel like? What should love do? How does reality fall short?
What does your inner-teenager need most? How were you treated as a teen? How did you feel most of the time? What does your inner-child need most? How were you treated as a child? What did you spend most of your time doing?
What is sacred to you? How much can we profane that concept together in a way that is healing or fun for you? Where must it stop? What are your most important values?
What are your unbreakable boundaries? How can I reassure you / make you feel secure (other than respecting those boundaries)?
Where do I end and you begin? How do we merge? How do we commune? How must we remain separate - either because you prefer it that way or because you believe it's not possible to connect any deeper?
How much effort am I worth to you? What does that mean? How are we responsible to each other? How much effort do you want to feel - how could a person best show you effort, care, compassion, attention? - and when does it start to feel stifling?
What are your favorite individual words, either for their sound or meaning (or both)? Why these words?
Can you describe a time you felt transcendent - that is, connected to something bigger than yourself, something known or ineffable? Can you tell a good story?
Joy
Joy
How is joy different from pleasure or happiness, in your opinion? What texts and experiences thus far have helped guide your thoughts?
Share one of your happiest memories or anything else that brings you profound joy. Use all your senses to describe the details and bring this experience to life. We should feel this joy with you.
Based on The Anthropocene Reviewed, describe a pandemic experience and rate it 1-5 stars. Explain your rating.
Think about your community. Who is rooting for you when you meet challenges? Who worries about you or frets over you? Who benefits most from your joy and success?
Who can you learn from to better practice joy as you understand/define it? How/why?
What are you most grateful for and what are you most hopeful for? Are these things related, and why or why not? What does this have to do with joy?
How do you take care of yourself and others? How do others take care of you? How do others bring joy into your life in simple and complex ways? How do you bring joy into others' lives?
Describe your writing process lately and explain how/why anything you wrote about brought you joy. Discuss specific changes or struggles you've experienced with your writing recently and how you are learning from them. Is writing joyful to you?
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