What is Shadow Work?

What is Shadow Work?
The term ‘Shadow’ was first used by Carl G. Jung to describe the traits that
we deny exist in ourselves. Your shadow is that part of your natural human
make-up which you decided to repress, probably in childhood, and which
you unconsciously still strive to keep at bay. This stops you from being the
fully expressed person that you could be. And it saps your energy.
Shadow Work was originated in the US by Cliff Barry and developed with
co-founders Mary Ellen Blandford, Erva Baden and Dimitri Bilgere. It uses
a unique synthesis of ancient and modern tools to identify and process
these repressed Shadow parts.
Meeting your Archetypal Energies
Jung also developed the theory of Archetypes to name and personify
specific controlling energies within the human psyche. Shadow Work
uses four of these Archetypal energies - the Sovereign, the Warrior, the
Magician and the Lover - as tools to focus on and transform the shadows
in the individual’s psyche.
Seeing your Shadows
One reliable way to identify your shadows is to look at what you project
onto others. When you deny a trait in yourself you tend to be very aware of
that trait in other people and you become unduly annoyed by
them or overly admiring of their talents. You can also spot your shadow
by looking at the things you do by accident , or by noticing how you
repeatedly say one thing yet always do another.
In Shadow Work you can bring out that hidden part
of yourself, look straight at it, and then transform it
so that it works for you instead of against you.
Carl G. Jung first used
the word ‘Shadow’ to
describe the repressed,
hidden or denied part
of the Self.
“Most people have fun
doing it and they feel
free, happy and
powerful afterwards.”
Nicola Kurk, Facilitator
’This is the most powerful means of exploring my own inner
world that I’ve ever experienced.’
Shadow Work specialises in using psychological tools that are fast,
clean and incisive, moving rapidly to the root of the problem that
you choose to examine.
‘The safest environment I have met in 20 years of group
work.’
Yet you always have the choice about how far to go. The process
always respects you and your needs in every moment both in the
group workshops and the private one-to-one sessions.
‘I had to do something to get some balance back into my
life’
Shadow Work can address any issue you want to address and
move you through a process to understand it better. The effects
can be life- changing, life-enhancing and long-lasting.
‘To re-experience strong feelings from the past and see them
change, is priceless.’
Everyone holds parts of their lives in shadow, usually the parts
that carry strong feelings of unexpressed fear, grief, anger - even
joy. These parts manifest themselves in many ways and always
indicate some profound dissatisfaction with the way things are..
‘Now I just feel healthier, more energetic’
In Shadow Work you can quickly get to the bottom of these
issues and then release the old patterns that you have held tightly
in place. In so doing, you will find new energy flowing through
you because you are more relaxed and at home in yourself.
‘our relationship has deepened’
"To me, each person’s
story is totally unique.
I see the world.
transforming as people
change, literally, before
my eyes during a
workshop.
Shadow Work can help you discover what lies at the root of
your relationship problems - often something unexpected
which then allows you to break free of inhibiting and
destructive patterns. Shadow Work is not another relationship
technique, but a way of seeing how powerfully your childhood
parental bonds might still be calling the shots in your adult
partnerships.
‘I was finally able to see my authority issues’
John Kurk, Facilitator
Many of us go on repeating our school issues in our work life,
wondering why we feel irrationally angry with the boss or
frustrated by colleagues. Shadow Work can help you see why
you have become over-responsible, domineering, or a
workaholic. It can also address where your sense of failure
comes from, your inability to stick at things, or your lack of
career drive.
‘Our sex life was in a rut, boring’
Shadow Work gives you a safe space to explore deeply hidden
issues that are significantly controlling your natural impulses,
sex being the major one. You can look at your guilt and shame
and you can separate your true values about sex from the
values you inherited. In a society obsessed with overt sexual
imagery, it can help you release your own authentic sexual
nature.
‘I got to see the burning anger in me’
If the untapped depth of your own rage troubles you, Shadow
Work has the tools to let you step into it and experience it in full
fury without harming yourself or anyone else. It is cathartic and
healing. But the Shadow Work process takes you beyond simply
expressing the unexpressable - it also enables you to integrate this
powerful energy more creatively and positively.
John and Nicola Kurk
Shadow Work Facilitators
John and Nicola Kurk are certificated Shadow Work
facilitators and have led Shadow Work seminars in the
UK, Europe and North America since 1993. They are
active members of the International Shadow Work
Guild and are qualified to train others in these skills.
Both are experienced group leaders who have led
personal development workshops, separately and
together, for the last 18 years. She also offers one-toone coaching to individuals and couples using Shadow
Work methods.
More recently they have taken these skills into global
corporations and now lead business retreats in the UK
and North America as well as training executives in
leadership, facilitation, and communication skills.
As Shadow Work facilitators John and Nicola are both
recognised for the safe and shame-free context they
provide in both group and individual settings.
Get this...
‘There are things that happen to us in a moment that can
make our lives much worse. What most people don t know
is that it is possible to set up circumstances where your life
can get much better in a moment. That’s exactly what you
can do for yourself in a Shadow Work session.
‘Shadow Work has helped me to understand and transform
my own self-defeating, destructive and sometimes
downright incomprehensible behaviour.
Carole Brown, Catering Manager, The Cotswolds..
‘I was finally able to see the authority issues that have held
me back - particularly in my career - since I was at boarding
school.
Dimitri Bilgere, Shadow Work Facilitator.
Philip Batchelor, Astrological Counsellor, Gloucestershire..
‘If you have ever felt that NLP doesn t quite reach the parts
that will really make the difference for you then Shadow
‘After eight years in therapy I can honestly say that this
Work is a powerful next step. Personally, I have tapped into process is the most powerful means of exploring my own
a dynamic creative energy I never knew I had and I have
inner world that I ve ever experienced.
never felt so focused as I do now.
Jim Shipley, European Training Manager, IA.
Lorraine Calland, Managing Director, Metacoach. ‘I watched my husband work through a sad and painful part
of his childhood. It was a revelation to us both and it s
enabling us to talk about things now that we both used to
avoid at all costs. It s certainly deepened our relationship.
‘I had already spent several years in Recovery when I heard
about Shadow Work. I found it a great tool for dealing with
the intractable issues I was unable to resolve using the 12step process. And because safety is so deliberately ensured,
I could relax, knowing there would be no violation.
K.B. Marketing Consultant, West Midlands.
‘Punching pillows has never done anything at all for me, but
B.H., Personnel Director, Dorset. this time something shifted. I got to see the burning anger
‘I was able to re-enact the feelings of the three year old me. and I moved through it. I felt cleansed, initiated. I got a
Suddenly, I found I had access to all the beauty and
sense of having boundaries, a notion which had always
playfulness that had been trapped along with the hate and
puzzled me.
anger. Shadow Work is the safest environment I have met in
M.G., teacher & trainer, Warwickshire.
20 years of groupwork.
‘My work in the centre enabled me to unravel some of the
Debbie Collins, Therapist, Warwickshire. conflicting voices in my head and helped me to understand
some of the confusion I have had about my experiences in
‘The opportunity to re-experience strong feelings from the
life. Now, I just feel somehow healthier, more energetic, and
past and see them change, is priceless for me.
more at peace.
Brian Holden, Partner, Smart Holidays (aged 62).
R. B., Consultant, Dorset.
21st November 15.00 - 23rd November 17.00, 2014
Villa Fe, Çatalca, Istanbul
Early bird, till 1st August 640 Euro*
Till 15th September 690 Euro*
After 15th September 750 Euro*
*The price exludes accomodation fee and taxes.
The program will be in English. There won’t be any translation
For further information and registration please contact
Ms. İpek Arcan
[email protected]
www.ciyoturkey.org