Shadow Work
Creative Choice & the Archetypes That Guide Us
Every archetype carries both light and shadow. This isn’t a flaw—it’s a truth rooted in natural law. Everything holds duality. It’s not good or bad, right or wrong—it just is. Our lives are shaped by both conscious choice and unconscious patterning. We are not working alone. We’re shaped by what we’ve lived through, and by what lives in the collective.
Our actions—subtle or overt—stem from this dynamic. What we don’t heal, we repeat. What we repress, we project. Personality is often just a pattern that got practice. And when we’re stuck in those old grooves, our lives begin to shrink.
I’ve come to believe that being asleep to our own patterns is a kind of captivity. To live unconsciously is to remain bound to pain that isn’t ours anymore. When I’m caught in a grudge or a habit, I’m not free—I’m repeating a closed loop. But when I choose to respond differently, even in small ways, I remember I have agency. I can choose healing. Again and again.
Creative choice is a sign of healing.
I see it in my clients. I see it in myself. Watercolor is one of the ways I practice creative choice. So is saying no. So is taking a breath before reacting. These micro-moments remind me that my life is still in motion. Still mine.
When I act from my shadows—out of reactivity, avoidance, or performance—I know I’m living someone else’s pattern, not my own intention. Through practices like metta meditation and embodied coaching, I come back to the truth: I am loving awareness. I am awake. And when I’m awake, I can choose vitality over survival. Choice over repetition. Life over performance.
Shadow work isn’t trendy. It’s sacred.
It’s not something you “do” in a weekend workshop. It’s a lifelong practice of integration—of facing what’s been hidden and remembering that all parts of you are welcome here. In my own work and with clients, I lean into frameworks that help make the unconscious more visible:
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Archetypal mapping
Nervous system literacy
Breath and movement practices
Visualization, writing, and reflective tools
The Kim Krans Archetype Deck has been a long-time ally in this work. I’ve studied it deeply, not just as a tool, but as a language—a way to help clients see themselves more clearly, and with less judgment. Each archetype invites a conversation: What role are you playing? Who’s making your decisions? What part of you is asking for attention?
I’ve guided clients through grief, transitions, burnout, and breakthrough using this deck alongside coaching tools, embodied processing, and emotional regulation strategies. Together, we explore the full range—rage, numbness, desire, shame, grief—and build a relationship to those states without letting them run the show.
Some guiding principles I offer in shadow work sessions:
Safety comes first. Nothing moves without a grounded sense of safety. That includes nervous system safety—not just emotional comfort.
Shadow work often chooses you. It shows up unannounced, often through conflict or discomfort. Resisting it only increases suffering.
Surrender is not collapse. It’s presence with what’s real, right now. Without force.
We are both human and spiritual. Leaving either out of the process creates fragmentation.
Creative expression supports healing. Journaling, movement, and drawing often say what words cannot.
Self-forgiveness isn’t optional. It's essential.
You are not your emotions. They’re temporary messengers, not permanent states.
Isolation makes things worse. Shadow work is personal, but not meant to be done alone.
Empathy is medicine. Especially for yourself.
Clients often tell me that working together feels like coming home to themselves—sometimes for the first time in years. The goal isn’t to “fix” anything. The goal is to see clearly, choose consciously, and stay connected while doing it.
This work isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence.
It’s about waking up, one creative choice at a time.
If you’re navigating emotional overwhelm, burnout, or repeating patterns that no longer serve you, you’re not broken. You’re ready. And I’m here for that part of your journey.
