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I love the title you gave your post, "Honoring the Shadow Side." I like how you didn't word it as dealing with or tolerating the shadow side, but honoring it. That's hard to do. For many people it's difficult even admitting they
have a shadow side. And exploring it can be painful, disappointing, shocking, a number of things. It's good to work with some kind of counselor whenever doing this kind of inner work, or at least working with someone you can confide in and trust with your personal matters.
Regarding your poetry, my vote is to keep it, even if you put it in a box and give it to someone close to you for safekeeping, just to physically distance yourself from it for a while. I'm loathe to think of someone discarding their most heartfelt poetry. Such things seem so precious to me. I still have one poem I wrote during high school at (what felt then like) my lowest point. I could not dream of throwing away that flimsy, tattered and yellowed piece of typing paper (eventually, I had to put it in a sheet protector) that traveled so many miles with me, both physically and emotionally.
I think it's important to embrace my shadow side as part of me at
all times, good and bad, so I like saving things like that, and looking back on my journey from time to time. But, you have to do what feels best for you, and discarding old things seems to have worked well for Isis3Anubis in the past, so the same may likewise work for you. By the way, I like Isis3Anubis's pointing out that crystals used in certain ways, such as how she described, would eventually have served their purpose, and as one's energy changes, so would our need for them change. I have experienced this, as well.
Also, Isis3Anubis's experience of addressing and comforting one's wounded inner child is a powerful therapy. There are guided meditations of that which you could find online (I had a link to one, but don't remember it now; they're not hard to find, though). Another technique is to write that side of yourself a letter. This can be difficult at times, and you may need more than one session of writing to complete it. You could take that one step further and write a letter
to yourself
from that side of yourself.
Amazing what comes out. These letter-writing techniques are also helpful in "communicating" with people in our lives with whom we may be estranged for whatever reason (example, a difficult parent, an ex, someone passed to spirit, or anyone with whom we've had a hurtful relationship). You write them the letters and never give them to them (unless you want to), and the self-expression alone is cathartic, healing and enlightening.
Really glad to hear the
EMDR therapy worked well for you. I've known about it, but I've never read about anyone here actually to have undergone it, and with successful results, so the feedback is insightful.
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