What Sisyphus can teach us about shadow integration
Remember the story of Sisyphus? He’s a character from Greek Mythology.
Sisyphus was condemned to spend an eternity rolling a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down… over and over again.
The thing is, it wasn’t all bad for Sisyphus.
The view from atop his hill was mesmerizing and his sense of triumph was gratifying, albeit diminishingly so.
However much solace he may have found in his lot... we might not want to model our own endeavors after his perpetually grueling and repetitive fate.
Well, this is what we’re doing when we try to do personal development work without looking at our shadows.
We reach wonderful heights where we feel like we’ve really accomplished something in our lives, we feel good about the work we’ve done and can access that deeper sense of fulfillment that we seek…
and then, inevitably, we come down as the boulder rolls right back down the hill.
Sisyphus was condemned to repeat this; we are not.
It is by no fault of our own that we’ve fallen into these cycles, and it’s our imperative to break through these unconscious loops we find ourselves living in.
The culture surrounding spiritual and personal development tends to prescribe ‘love and light’ oriented fixes for any problem you’re having, and these do often provide some temporary relief…
And then the problems reemerge,
or new problems emerge…
and we’re back to looking for our next transcendental fix.
So why does the boulder keep rolling back down the hill?
Well my friend, the law of attraction and positive thinking philosophy can only get you so far!
If you’re having a hard time shaking the constant onslaught of negative thoughts/beliefs, dramas or scarcity patterns… then the real change is going to happen when you create that internal shift.
Not on a superficial “happy thoughts” level… I’m talking about de-programming the unconscious patterns that are running your life!
Right now you might be thinking… "Lucy, I love you and I see what you’re saying... I’m just not sure that I need this shadow integration thing."
Here’s the thing…
If you’ve ever tried meditating, you know how distracted we westerners are! Our minds are loud and busy and impatient.. at least mine is!
We like our quick dopamine fixes… no judgement, it’s just the world we live in!
Okay, so we’re not really paying attention, are we?
And yet, somehow we get through the day. We find our way to work and home again… the cat gets fed and all sorts of things happen along the way.
Some of it we remember and are consciously engaged with… much of it, not so much.
Most of those things are happening because our unconscious mind - the part we’re not aware of - is in control of our lives.
We can’t help but to spend most of our lives in autopilot!
What this means is that if we want to change our lives… we need to deprogram our autopilot!
Some of us are able to make real, lasting changes in our lives by finding little hacks to change our minds… many of us just live according to what we’ve always believed our lives would be.
For some of us, this works really well!
For others, those of us who are constantly seeking greater fulfillment and deeper connection, it’s just not satisfying.
and for sure, most of us have some funny little quirks that we’d like to release…
relationship struggles
feelings of loneliness
scarcity (financial or otherwise)
feeling out of control, insecure, frustrated, dissatisfied….
Oh, it’s a long list…
I’ve experienced most of these at one time or another and I’ve found more weird shadowy beliefs in my unconscious mind than I'd ever like to publicly admit...
My friend, once you open Pandora's box… you will see the incredible potential for change.
AND you’ll still find yourself going through the same old motions of the same old patterns… because that’s literally what humans do!
It’s all a lot, I hear you.
That’s why I’ve created Shadow Hacker. Shadow Hacker is a psychedelic exploration of the heart and mind for the rationalist wizard.
AND it's a FREE Shadow Integration Program that comes with a Facebook group.
I’d love for you to join now and become a founding member of this ongoing initiation. I’ll cover all of the important basics with an extended transmission on my absolute favorite shadow integration tool… magick!
Are you ready to accept your mandate? Then, my friend, I recommend you initiate yourself by joining me in the Shadow Hacker community. You’ll want to go straight to the GUIDES tab and watch what I’ve conjured up for you.
With love,
Lucy B. 💋