In order to ascend as a Twin Flame and be able to reach spiritual and physical union with our Twin Flames - permanently, the hardest and most necessary aspect of this journey is in fact our beloved healing and shadow work. This is the most dreadful part of it but at the same time the most rewarding out of them all. This means, healing everything we don't want to face again and everything we have been running from our entire lives. Healing is not linear so this is a long-term process but it is the only way for one to ascend and achieved permanent union in the third-dimensional plane with our Twin Flame.

What is shadow work?

As the name suggests, it is a process of dealing with our own shadows. We have shadows that we are consciously aware of and then there are subconscious shadows. They both require great commitment to heal.

Conscious shadows

Conscious shadows are shadows we are aware of, its those pieces of ourselves that we already have the answer for and can label. Its those pieces that we can understand and pinpoint when they started or we have a rough idea of why you act a certain way.

Subconscious shadows

These are the tricky ones to deal with as we have either little to absolutely no awareness of them. Subconsciously these shadows might have a major impact in our lives because they are buried deep in our subconscious. They often things that we are absolutely renouncing to such an extent that we are not even aware of them. These subconscious shadows are often things that other people see in us but until they point it out to us we have no clue or we don't even realise what we are subconsciously doing.

I just want to add that every human has these and every human does this, so this is completely normal to experience at one point or another. If you are one of those people that believe that you don't subconsciously do this, then I hate to break it down to you my friend but you are indeed dealing with subconscious shadows, you are just in denial of them.

When it comes to Twin Flame connections, subconscious shadows have a major impact since both counterparts act as a reflection of one another. Both mirror these shadows to one another in an attempt to raise awareness of the work that needs to be dealt with. A lot of the Twin Flame journey consists in healing and shadow work as you can't ascend until the shadows are no longer holding you back.

How do you do shadow work?

The first step to start your healing and shadow work journey is to accept your shadows and acknowledge that they only have the power you give them. From the moment we start being consciously aware of how are actions are being led by these little culprits, they start to lose grip over us and we are able to stand in our power. Let's explore further.

Identifying our triggers and patterns

Although this may seem easy, it is actually not. Part of the reason the shadows are hard to deal with is because they are hard to find in the first place. Furthermore, sometimes we are consciously aware of them as still we decide to brush them off to deal with them later, other times we don't deal with them at all. What once was a small shadow turned into a bigger one from all the times that we fed them its energy.

A good way to find your shadows is to find certain patterns in your life that keep repeating, not only within yourself but in your mundane connections too. Do you keep repeating the same patterns in relationships? Do you keep attracting people with similar or the same characteristics? Although these may seem coincidences, they are definitely not.

Healing is not an easy process and it is not linear either, so some things will be easier to identify and deal with and others will be more stubborn and hard to action.

As an example, let's explore the fear of vulnerability. The fear of vulnerability is a pretty common fear in the world of Twin Flames, specially when it comes to the runner vs chaser dynamic. Becoming too vulnerable with another person means they face could potentially face rejection or heartbreak, so as a way of controlling the potential outcomes one withdraws or pushes people away before it even gets close to it happening. This can come up in a lot of ways and it is different for everyone but it is something that will affect those in mundane connections but specially those in Twin Flame dynamics.

Healing the core events and memories of the trigger

The only way to fully heal from this is to cut the fear lose, so we have to dive in straight to the root cause of the shadow. There are quite a few tools that help us with this, some include meditation, Reiki Healing, journaling, etc.. They are all equally effective and they work best combined, however, it is a matter of consistency and see what works best for you. At the end of the day, this is a journey of self-love and self-improvement and it is about adapting healthy coping mechanisms that have good long-term effects for you.

Create a healing routine

Sometimes we enter shadow work, specially in Twin Flame connections with the idea that this is it. We done our part, healed the shadows that we have identified  and now my twin is gonna come running back to us. This is not the case at all. We must make this a habit and keep repeating our healing. Not only this helps us to hold a energetic safe space for our Twin Flame to heal and do their shadow work but as previously mentioned there is a lot more to it than what meets the eye.

Healing is not linear, sometimes we have to go over it to make sure no energetic debris or memory was left to heal. As you progress through your healing and shadow work, identifying things will become easier and the healing process will run smoother for you. Consistency and discipline are key.