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Shadow Self Care Tips

April 22, 2021 by Marian Buck-Murray Leave a Comment

Self Care. I just love a healthy dose of indulgent self care.

Time alone. Meditation. A salt bath. A trip to the salon. A couch, a book, and a cup of tea. An afternoon nap. The list goes on.

Self care feels good. And though it might feel indulgent, it is essential for our wellbeing. It helps relax the nervous system, calm the mind, and rejuvenate depleted energy. It’s especially crucial for sensitive, empathic people, who tend to absorb the troubles of friends, family, and the world.

Yet, often, our self care routines don’t go deep enough. We hover at the surface, tending to the basics, when what lies beneath is begging for our attention.

Going deeper means tending to our shadows. It doesn’t always feel pretty, or comfortable. But with consistent, compassionate care, our shadows will lead us into true alignment with ourselves.

Here are some tips to care for your shadow. ENJOY!

Peace, Marian

Finding Flow

March 18, 2021 by Marian Buck-Murray Leave a Comment

When we’re in flow, we’re in the zone, that beautiful place of creative expression. It’s typically accompanied with ease, grace, and a lost sense of time. Flow is place where new ideas sprout and grow. It’s where we feel energized and engaged in creative pursuit. In short, flow feels great.

Who doesn’t want flow?

But where do we find flow? And how do we move into it when we’re reeling from the world around us?

The past year has been triggering, disruptive, distracting, overwhelming, and for some of us, downright traumatizing. It has left so many of us feeling completely and utterly exhausted. It’s been easy, even necessary, to revert to old coping habits that allow us to escape, tune out, and numb down our feelings.

And, it’s exceedingly hard to flow when we’re experiencing any of the above.

So, if this is where you find yourself, know that you have my compassion and deep understanding. And, along with my compassion, I bring you some tips to find your flow again. Tips I use all the time to get back into my own flow.

Stay with your feelings — Feelings, when embraced, will begin to dissipate, and feel more manageable. This will allow you to stay in the moment, and it’s in the moment where we find flow.

Get your energy moving — Don’t wait for motivation. Move your body on a daily basis. Yoga, walks, workouts, dance. Movement will break up stagnant energy, helping you move into flow.

Take one step –– Get started. Jumpstart momentum by doing one small thing at a time. We strangle our flow by focusing only on the massive work we have to get done. Focus instead on one thing at a time and you will get it done. This helps you stay present, in the moment, and will increase feelings of accomplishment, and flow.

Let go of stagnating habits — Easier said than done, right? Yes, definitely, but here’s a way to start.

First, get clear about the habits which keep you stagnated. Notice which feelings trigger the desire to indulge in a habit. Stay with these feelings. When you do indulge in your habit, notice what happens to your sense of flow. No judgement here — just mindfulness. Remember — limiting habits start as coping strategies. The key is to stay with the feelings that we’re trying to avoid. Again, staying with your feelings will them process and become more manageable. This in itself will facilitate flow.

Acknowledge your shadows – Shadows are those disowned places within us. These shadows are often activated more acutely during times of stress. Learning to recognize them as they arise helps us form a new relationship with ourselves. Click here for my video on working with your shadows.

Use energy work — The goal of energy work is to help stuck energy move into a healthy flow. Recurring habits, reactions, and emotions signal that energy flow has been disrupted. Practices such as EFT Tapping, Matrix Reimprinting, Acupuncture, along with other energy modalities, are effective for clearing disruptions to flow.

Wishing you abundant flow,

Marian

For more information on using EFT Tapping to help let go of stagnation, and move into flow, click here.

Shadow Love — A Call For Unity within Ourselves

February 2, 2021 by Marian Buck-Murray Leave a Comment

Unity, such a beautiful word. During these times of deep division, many of us have been calling for it. But, let’s face it, it can be hard to find common ground with those we call our enemies. At a time when it might feel easy to dehumanize, condemn, or ‘cancel’ those whom we judge, why on Earth would we want unity?

It’s all very understandable — this ‘us and them’ mentality. Yet, our lack of unity leaves us polarized. And it’s difficult, if not impossible, to move forward when we’re feeling polarized.

Now I’m not suggesting that we befriend or agree with everyone. Rather, what I am suggesting is that we seize this moment to befriend those parts of ourselves which we’ve condemned, hidden, neglected, and judged. It’s when we make peace with ourselves that we find it easier to find peace with others.

We all live with some degree of inner polarization. It shows up as that struggle to accept ourselves just as we are. That habit of hiding who we really are. The masks we wear to please and impress. The lies we tell to save face.

However, it’s when we reintegrate the shadowy places within us, that we find profound inner peace.

Sometimes we’re so afraid of our shadows, we’ll do everything possible to get away from them. But, alas, we can’t outrun our shadows. Avoidance won’t make them disappear. In fact, they usually come back even stronger, popping into our lives when we least expect it. As long as we’re driven to avoid our shadows, they will continue to sabotage our lives.

It’s when we turn to embrace our shadows, that they help us transform our lives.

During times of stress, it’s easy to fall back into our shadow patterns. Those habits, behaviors, and moods, we’d rather not admit to. So, what if, instead of judging ourselves, we pause to notice what’s happening. As painful as it might feel, our shadows are calling for healing. When we move into acceptance, we can take a deeper dive to see what’s hiding beneath the surface.

So, how do we embrace what we don’t want to embrace? How do we feel compassion for a part ourselves that we truly dislike?

A good start is to approach our shadows as we would a scared child. When we approach ourselves with gentleness, compassion, and non-judgement, we can listen on a deeper level. This simple act of compassion helps illuminate what’s truly needed to feel better, happier, and empowered to transform our lives.

It takes time, and commitment to work with our shadows. But it’s worth it. EFT Tapping and Matrix Reimprinting are particularly helpful tools in shadow work. Contact me to learn more.

Peace,

Marian

Interested in shadow work? Learn more about my new Shadow Love Programs.

Befriend Your Shadow

September 30, 2020 by Marian Buck-Murray Leave a Comment

So often, especially for sensitive people, our personal shadow side is difficult to acknowledge. It’s as if acknowledging the shadow will somehow negate the good we’re doing in the world. Or perhaps the sheer presence of a shadow means we haven’t done enough ‘work’ on ourselves. Or that we’re not spiritual enough. Or, worse, that there’s something permanently wrong with us.

Yes. Our shadows are tough to explore. They’re designed to be tough. Tough enough to keep us away from those unwanted parts of ourselves, banished so long ago. Sometimes we don’t even know they’re there.

The problem with shadows, though, is that they never truly stay hidden. They creep into our behavior, our reactions, our moods, and our personalities. Sometimes they scream at us. And they always push us out of alignment. They will continue to push us out of alignment, until we begin to take notice. Until we embrace them. Simply put, until we befriend our shadows, we will never be able to find true fulfillment.

If you’re new to shadow work, here is a brief description of a few common types of shadows.

3 common types of shadows:

Dark Shadows: These include mistakes, wrong-doings, and traumatic events. This is where we harbor shame. We typically spend inordinate amounts of energy trying to hide, deny and avoid these dark shadows. Neglected, they can lead to all sorts of negative, and even harmful, behavior towards ourselves and others.

Unacknowledged Gifts: Here we find our natural strengths and talents which have been pushed into the shadows. This usually happens during youth, as a result of some form of rejection. They can get triggered by someone else’s success, along with resentment, anger, or jealousy. These shadows can lead to all sorts of self sabotage from unfulfilling jobs, to procrastination, to overall stagnation.

Light Shadows: These shadows can stem from an inner belief that we’re not good, lovable, or valuable enough. Often these shadows include an unresolved need to be loved, or validated. They can lead to overly-friendly, overly-giving, and overly-responsible behaviors.

An effective way of approaching any of our shadows is with forgiveness, compassion, and love. Woven into our shadows are layers of pain and suffering, yearning to be healed. EFT Tapping, meditation, therapy, journaling, prayer, and deep self-care routines, are all helpful methods to assist you as you work with your shadows.

Remember, shadow work takes consistency, patience, compassion, love, and help from others. It’s worth it. It’s an experience that will truly transform your life.

Reach out to me if you’d like to learn how to use EFT Tapping to work with your shadows.

With Love,

Marian

Harness the Power of Mercury in Retro

June 1, 2015 by Marian Buck-Murray Leave a Comment

Aahh. Mercury in Retrograde. We’re almost done. Until next time.

Mercury went reverse on May 18, and turns direct again on June 11. But alas, this powerful cosmic event casts a long shadow — this time stretching from the start of May until the end of June.

Of course, there are all those annoying disruptions sprinkled throughout — computer glitches, financial glitches, communication glitches… and more. This time I got hit harder than usual.

And then there are the shadows. Dark shadows. Old anxieties, old habits, old insecurities, old problems…..all tend to surface now. It can feel as if everything we thought we had already dealt with cycles back for another round.

Though it feels uncomfortable to have our insecurities triggered, it’s also the absolute best time to clear them.

One of the basic premises of EFT Tapping, is that we need to clear the negative to make room for the positive. Being thrust into our own shadows, whether during Mercury in Retro, or any other time, allows us to see what still needs healing.

Mercury in Retrograde is the perfect time to use techniques such as EFT Tapping, in order to clear old painful patterns.

When we embrace and heal our shadows, we emerge more empowered than ever.

Interested in using EFT to clear your shadows? Contact me about a free Unlock Your Brilliance Clarity Call.