I have long been an advocate for the wisdom shared on Luna & Sol’s blog Loner Wolf. Years ago when I first started my healing journey, I came across their blog and found information that guided me on my journey. I then went back to them when I discovered I was an empath.
As the years have progressed, I have read many of their articles and am a huge fan of their spiritual and insightful quizzes. So, when they created a journal to help people with their Shadow Work- Illuminating the Dark Side of Your Psyche, I immediately knew that I wanted to check it out.
What is Shadow Work?
A while ago, I wrote a post on Shadow Work and covered it’s history, purpose, cause, and how to go about doing this specialized style of healing. If your interested in the specifics check out my post, but for the purpose of this review I will only cover the basics.
Shadow work is the healing journey we take, when we step into our shadow and bring it into the light. Our, “shadow” as coined by psychologist Carl Jung, is the aspects of our personality that we have rejected and hidden.
We reject these aspects based on what society teaches as “right,” in order to feel loved and accepted, and because these aspects trigger fear within us. Whatever the cause, our shadow lives in our subconscious and is always trying to find the light and be heard. As a result, our shadow can harm ourselves and others, because it is acting without guidance and in unhealthy ways.
The purpose of shadow work is to become aware of those aspects we have rejected and embrace ourselves. Thus increasing our level of health, healing, happiness, and self-love.
As you can see, shadow work is an essential component to creating a thriving human experience. It is also a challenging path of healing, which is why having a solid foundation of self-love is essential. That way when you encounter your shadow you are in a place to embrace what you find, rather than reject parts of yourself further.
It’s important to mention that 90% of your shadow is known as your Golden Shadow. The majority of what has been rejected is actually wonderful skills and abilities that have been neglected. You’ll never know what you’ll discover when you delve into the shadows.
Luna & Sol’s Shadow Work Journal:
Due to the complex and intense journey of shadow work, having a tool on hand to guide your journey is extremely beneficial. Which is exactly what Luna & Sol’s journal does. It takes you through the various aspects of your shadow by providing a series of exercises meant to direct your focus and guide you to all hidden aspects of yourself.
When I discovered this journal I put it on my “to-do list,” and went about my life. What I have discovered about shadow work over the years, is that timing is everything. This work is not like the homework you encountered in school. The goal is not to complete the work, but to learn, heal, and grow from it.
For this reason, although I knew about this journal I didn’t immediately purchase ($15.99) and use it. I waited until I was in a place in my life, to take the time, to sit down and really delve deeply into myself.
One month ago I purchased and started this journal. With 64 exercises, with quotes woven into the journal, I spent a month diligently working through this journal. I paired it with a notebook and would write down observations, thoughts, notes, and ramblings as I worked through this journal.
What I loved about this journal…
Having done a lot of shadow work over the years, I was not unfamiliar with various hidden aspects of myself. But in the past I have always delved into what caught my eye or what I could think of. As a result, my healing journeys were unfocused, unorganized, and meandered all over the place, until I reached my limit and needed to take a break. While this process was essential to my life’s journey and did help me, I needed a little something more this time.
By utilizing this journal I was able to step back from the conductor’s seat and merely participate in the ride. This way I wasn’t splitting my focus between directing my work and my shadow work. I was able to merely focus on the various exercises and the self-love activities interwoven.
What I learned…
Looking back on my month-long intensive healing I can see how far I’ve grown in my self-love, acceptance of myself, and my increased inner peace with life. As I was working through the journal patterns began to appear.
The words I used became redundant, wounds made themselves known, and on more than one occasion I experienced a moment of crying. I was able to address wounds ready to be healed, thoughts I had been too afraid to acknowledge, and thoughts and ideas I didn’t even know I had. This last part was especially important, because it shed light on ways I was introducing worry into my life and ways I was still living a life based on fear.
As a result of my recent shadow work has left me in a better place in my life today.
Using This Journal:
If you are interested in taking some time to do your own shadow work I strongly encourage checking out and using Luna & Sol’s Shadow Journal. Whether this is your first time or your tenth time delving into your shadow, this journal can help you.
While I used this journal over the course of a month, don’t feel that this is the ideal time. I was not only blessed with free time, but I also have done this work before. As a result, I was able to work steadily through this journal. Depending on where you are and what you discover you might need more or less time.
In this case, listen to your inner self. When you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or too much in pain, STOP. Take breaks and don’t forget to approach this healing journey from a place of love. Whether that means taking many breaks, stopping and coming back to it later, or not delving deeply or at all with some exercises. Whatever you need to be safe.
During the course of my work there were some exercise that I didn’t delve massively into. I completed the exercise and moved on. While other exercises triggered a cascade of other work and insight. You won’t take care of your entire shadow in one journey, so don’t push yourself to places your not ready to go.
Final Thoughts:
I wanted to say “thank you,” to Luna & Sol for their work in creating this wonderful journal. I found it to be both intense and considerate. This journal helped me in my own healing journey, and I know that it offers a lot to anyone interested in learning how to embrace more of themselves and live a life filled with self-love.