No one talks about how hard it is once you’ve healed. When the chaos finally simmers down and the pain no longer defines you, there’s an unexpected silence. You’re left wondering ”now what?”.
Because there are a million manuals on how to survive the breakdown, but almost none on how to rebuild.
Peace can feel disorienting when you’ve spent years surviving storms. When you’ve been wrestling for months, maybe years, and the moment you finally unclench your fists, you look down and realize they’re empty.
And because shadow work is a lifelong act of awareness, many of us stay in the loop of what we call “our healing era.” We become so accustomed to excavating our wounds and over-identifying with them that we forget how to live beyond them.
So what happens in the aftermath?
I don’t think the aftermath sounds like: “I’m healed. I’m done. I’ve arrived on the other side.”
It sounds like: “I’m aware now. I have a greater understanding. The wisdom I’ve gained from my past makes me think and approach this differently. “
That’s where the process of Light Work begins. It’s the phase most of us miss, unfortunately. The tender middle ground where you’re not necessarily broken and confused anymore, but you’re not yet blooming. It’s the most fertile time for new beliefs, new ways of being, new energy.
If shadow work is where you meet your pain, Light Work is where you meet your potential.
If shadow work helps you face what’s unconscious, Light Work helps you embody your full truth, consciously.
They are two sides of the same coin: the descent and the return.
What is Light Work?
“Light work is a form of tending to your own energy. Your light is your energy source. It’s the force behind your breath, the motivation behind your animations and expressions, the boast in your laugh, the rawness in your eyes watching the clouds go by. The flex in your muscle when the thought arises in the midst of turmoil, “I am strong enough to overcome this.” Your light is your greatest gift. It’s what gives you life, purpose, motivation, inspiration, strength, hope. It’s what fuels your spirit.”
— “The Light Work Journal” Excerpt, Keila Shaheen
(unreleased, available to pre-order here only).
Light Work helps you:
Activate your natural-born strengths and gifts
Strengthen your emotional and energetic boundaries
Reconnect with your sense of aliveness and creative purpose
Generate and radiate your light from within
If this sounds like a path you want to illuminate in your life, be the first to receive a copy of The Light Work Journal HERE.
This is a new practice, and I know you’ll have questions about it. I want to know them all! Ask away in our community chat below, where Dr. Connie and I share prompts and answer direct q/a’s. Come as you are.
With Light ✨
Keila Shaheen
🖤 Thanks for reading Shadow Work to Expand Awareness: a space where inner work meets the outer world through shared prompts, writings, and livestream conversations with Dr. Connie Zweig, Ph.D and Keila Shaheen.
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– Keila’s books: The Shadow Work Journal · The Lucky Girl Journal · The 369 Journal · The Book of Shadow Work · The Light Work Journal NEW! pre-order
– Dr. Connie’s books: Meeting the Shadow · Romancing the Shadow · Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path · The Inner Work of Age
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