7 Reasons to Practice Forgiveness & Shadow Work

Why do I focus so much on Forgiveness and Shadow work? I’m going to give you my compelling reasons and then provide a checklist for you to decide if you have been missing the clues.

1. The single and most important reason for doing all my forgiveness and shadow work is happiness. I am a happier and lighter person now living a fully expressed life.

2. FREEDOM. I put this in all caps because this is the reason that drives me to do all the work. I have the freedom to live the life of my dreams.

3. Now that I am free, I am free to love and accept myself as I am, which in turn allows me to love and accept others as they are, which causes loving relationships.

4. As my emotions become healthier, I am in turn more powerful in living the life of my dreams because I am not distracted by my wounds and emotional trauma.

5. Freeing myself of the wounds allows me to be profoundly compassionate.

6. The combination of forgiveness and shadow work helped me to clear the toxic self-image I carried that sat in the deep of my subconscious.

7. The changes I made, because I worked very deep, have been permanent.

It wasn’t until I made this work a cornerstone of my life’s work that I truly reaped the benefits. I will always stay fresh with my practices because I can now track my consistent trend upward toward greater happiness and expanded freedom. Here is a list of prompts to help you decide whether or not you would benefit from this work. Be honest with yourself. The cost of not doing the work is a stunted life, living without the benefits. I will add some focus questions for those who identify as spiritual or religious.

Be honest, check off everything that applies:

 I react to things without knowing why.

 I find myself automatically not liking someone I just met.

 I get angry and can’t get myself calm once I am angry.

 I find myself being jealous.

 I am envious of people I know, neighbors, and even people I don’t know.

 My health is a constant roller coaster.

 My blood pressure is through the roof.

 I don’t really trust people – whether I know them or not.

 I struggle with my minister, priest, boss, manager, or group leader.

 I manage people who don’t trust me, and we are always battling.

 I am always struggling with money.

 I cannot seem to find a job where I am happy.

 I live at the mercy of my fears – some justified, some not.

 I often feel overwhelmed and anxious without an apparent reason.

 I have recurring negative thoughts that I can’t seem to shake.

 I hold grudges for a long time, even over small issues.

 I feel stuck in my personal growth and can't seem to move forward.

 I frequently feel unworthy or not good enough.