Inner work is the very core and foundation of the spiritual path.
Without it, we’re wasting our time.
There can be no purging, healing, transformation, and awakening without inner work.
You want a life purpose, a path to follow? The most worthy path (in my opinion) is inner work. When you commit to inner work, you are both turning your pain into power like a true alchemist and you’re also positively influencing others and the world at large.
What could be better than healing, evolving, becoming happier, feeling free, stepping into your power, living in harmony with others, and sending beautiful ripples of change out into existence?
But here’s the thing. Although inner work is such a worthy path, it is also a path we are secretly horrified by. This subconscious disgust we have towards any form of inner exploration is something you’ll need to understand well if you’re a serious spiritual seeker intent on doing deep inner work.
First, some basics:
What is Inner Work?
Inner work is the psychological and spiritual practice of diving deep into your inner self for the purposes of self-exploration, self-understanding, healing, and transformation.
When we do inner work, we are shining the light of awareness onto our inner landscape which is composed of the various layers of our mind: the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious realms.
Your inner self consists of your hidden feelings, memories, thoughts, beliefs, prejudices, wounds, shadows, and other mental/emotional conditions that influence your ability to transform and feel Whole at a core level. By doing inner work, you’ll be able to move past fears, limitations, addictions, depressions, loneliness, and the feelings of unwholeness that tend to plague human beings.
25 Signs You Need to Practice Inner Work
Here are some notorious red-flags:
- You feel lost in life
- You don’t know who you are anymore
- You feel lonely and like an outsider looking in to the world
- You frequently get into fights with others
- You’re always people-pleasing
- You’re not confident being yourself
- You have low self-esteem
- Your thoughts are almost constantly negative and self-critical
- You feel constantly unmotivated and “flat”
- You suffer from chronic health issues
- You can’t sleep properly
- Life doesn’t feel real
- You feel a sense of hopelessness
- You feel a sense of emptiness
- You have fits of intense anger or sadness
- You believe that the world is against you
- You struggle to trust others (or yourself)
- You keep repeating the same mistakes
- You keep attracting the wrong people into your life
- You’re self-destructive and self-sabotaging
- You have a strong drive toward addiction
- You have many strong emotional triggers
- You easily get neurotic and obsessive
- You struggle with high levels of anxiety or panic
- You want to be alone all the time or around others all the time (to escape yourself)
The more signs you can relate to, the more you need to do inner work. We’ll explore some inner work paths below.
Of course, keep in mind that many of the above red-flags are symptoms of mental illness. By all means, seek out a professional therapist who can help if you suspect something is lopsided in your noggin. Inner work is not a replacement for any psychiatric/psychological targeted help. It is, however, a vital complementary practice that is just as essential as sleeping, exercising or anything that does you genuine good at a core level.
Why Most People Are Terrified By Inner Work
It may sound ridiculous. But the truth is that people feel repelled and horrified by inner work on an unconscious level.
Why and how is this the case?
Well just look at the world. We’ve explored the solar system and distant galaxies more than the depths of our own oceans. We know more about how things mechanically work rather than the life force that animates them. We know more about fighting and strategizing against the “enemies” outside of us than we know about facing the enemies looming within us.
As psychologist Carl Jung once wrote:
People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.
The reality is that going deep terrifies us. We will more readily go to war and annihilate other people than look within ourselves for the source of our own suffering. We will more readily point the finger of blame at others, life, god or reality and adopt the victim mentality than dare to give ourselves a good honest look in the mirror. In some cases, we prefer to die in stubborn ignorance than admit we’re wrong, faulty, fooled, or responsible for our suffering and the pain of others.
Our egos are fragile, neurotic, and power-hungry little creatures. Inner work is like kryptonite to this fabricated self we carry around. Is it any wonder that we’re horrified by it deep down?
Of course, many seekers who have undergone a spiritual awakening would give a sly smile at this point and say, “well I am different.” Well no, no you’re not. Sorry to be frank. But you have an ego like everyone else.
The Unfathomable Power of Inner Work
Inner work may superficially look lavish, poetic, and mystical. But when you get into the heart of it, it’s a bone-crushing, gut-wrenching journey of blood, sweat, vomit, and tears.
You aren’t playing with crystals and singing cute mantras while doing inner work (although those things can be complementary and help in their own way). Inner work isn’t Instagram-worthy or something you can wear as an egotistical badge of superiority.
Inner work, in its very essence, is about placing truth and the desire for freedom (Love) above all else. It’s about allowing yourself to be called out, torn down, burned, and built back up a thousand times over. Inner work is a process of eternal death and rebirth. It never stops – even after having attained a higher level of consciousness – for when one believes one has “arrived” that is when stagnation occurs. That is when spiritual narcissism thrives and the shadow rears its ugly face.
Inner work is symbolized as the dance of Shiva and Shakti, the ouroboros snake that eats its own tale, the cycle of life and death, the yin and yang, the primordial dance of the void that is both everything and nothing at the same time.
When we give ourselves over to inner work we are on a quest to embrace the paradox of existence, to walk in the liminal spaces, to be both willing to die and be reborn in any moment, to step into all that we can become, to face our most gruesome shadows, to embody our most divine light, to experience Oneness.
To put it almost prosaically, it’s a hell of a ride!
And understandably, people fear that. It’s much easier to live a mediocre existence. It’s much easier to walk the path others have paved before us. It’s much easier to point the finger at others and neglect taking self-responsibility.
Walking the path less traveled is much more difficult, much less comfortable, and much more demanding. And most people are NOT ready or willing to make that choice. Mediocrity and complacency do provide a morsel of comfort, but it is this comfort that ironically leads to emptiness, soul loss, and the complete deprivation of anything truly real, truly worth living for.
In essence, the path of mediocrity and complacency = death.
The path of existential challenge = life.
Now, there are ways of making the existentially tumultuous path that is inner work more bearable. Connecting with your deeper source of power, your inner free spirit, and your wild Wolf essence, is the first. When you are able to follow your instinct and intuition, see clearly, make wise choices, and protect yourself from those who seek to prey on you, the path becomes more defined. Incidentally, this website is about helping you to reconnect with that wild essence (start here if you need a place to begin).
There are many other ways to empower your inner work path that are too numerous for this article, but your inner work doesn’t have to be a terrible ordeal. Remember that no matter how painful it feels, “the phoenix always emerges from the flames.” In other words, no matter how bad it feels, the pain is a catalyst for deep spiritual transformation.
Finally, I want you to understand that the nature of the ego means it will always be against inner work. It is your soul that drives you towards inner work, so you’d do well to learn how to distinguish between the voice of fear (the ego) and the voice of your intuition (the soul). See our article on How to Trust Your Intuition for more guidance.
3 Profound Inner Work Pathways
There are many inner work pathways in existence right now and I don’t profess to know all of them. I can only share with you those I have tried as well as those that have legitimately worked – meaning they have created deep and long-lasting change.
Here are the top three inner work pathways I recommend that have worked for me and countless others I have spoken to and observed:
1. Self-Love
Self-love is one of the more gentle and approachable inner work paths. But that doesn’t dilute or negate its importance.
Self-love can lend itself to being shallow or unnecessarily self-indulgent (in the wrong hands), but with the right training, self-love can go bone-deep and genuinely transform you at a core level.
For those starting off on the inner work journey, I always recommend self-love as the best starting place. Without building a good relationship with yourself, the other forms of inner work listed below may be too intimidating, too difficult, or plain old detrimental for your wellbeing.
One of my favorite forms of self-love is mirror work. Mirror work quite simply involves using a mirror to clearly see your insecurities and fears. It also connects you with the deeper essence of yourself that is full of unconditional compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance (your Soul).
Recommended reading:
2. Inner Child Work
One level deeper is inner child work, a form of inner work that involves examining your childhood wounds, fears, and beliefs.
To differing degrees, we all carry a wounded inner child. Our job as adults is to reconnect with this childlike part of ourselves, excavate old limiting childhood beliefs/fears, and integrate this delicate part of ourselves back into our personality structure.
Your inner child is a source of tremendous creativity, joy, spontaneity, love, and wisdom. However, at the same time, your inner child can be a source of illogical obsessions, unshakable fears, neurosis, self-sabotaging behaviors, and limiting self-beliefs.
Inner child work can rile up a lot of unfinished business. If you had an abusive childhood, you may feel a sense of disgust or looming fear towards this work (many do) or even toward your inner child. But as one who had an abusive childhood and who has done a lot of inner child work, I can tell you it is absolutely worth all of the pain, tears, and anger. You need to purge that shit and not let it control you!
Recommended reading:
- Feeling Safe: 25 Signs You Have a Wounded Inner Child
- Inner Child Work: 4 Healing Techniques to Rediscover Your Original Innocence
3. Shadow Work
At the deepest level of the inner work process is shadow work. This form of inner work is the most complex, elusive, and intimidating of all. With shadow work, we are literally exploring the shadowy places hidden within our psyches that we deliberately suppress, deny, and disown each and every day.
We all know what lurks in the shadows. (Yes, the spine-chilling stuff of nightmares.)
Shadow work is the practice of exploring your inner demons. Within your shadow lurks everything that has been outlawed, deemed ‘taboo,’ ‘bad,’ ugly, and unacceptable by your parents and society. Your shadow self contains all that you are secretly ashamed about and disgusted by within yourself.
Before attempting shadow work it is absolutely imperative that you practice self-love. You must have stable and healthy self-esteem before doing shadow work. Why you may wonder? Shadow work can easily make you feel a thousand times worse about yourself if you already have poor self-worth. For this reason, shadow work is an advanced form of inner work that is not for beginners.
If you’ve had some experience with inner work, I recommend approaching shadow work slowly. Oracle and Tarot cards are a great way to begin exploring your shadow.
Recommended reading:
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Finally, practices such as meditation, mindfulness, self-inquiry, art therapy, dream analysis, pathworking, shamanic journeying, journaling, and introspection will all wonderfully supplement your inner work journey.
If you are wondering where to start, try self-love first and read the recommended resources. If you are bored with/have accomplished a certain level of self-love, try inner child work. And if you have done both, then move on to shadow work.
Ultimately, all three forms of inner work melt and morph naturally into each other. Inner child work involves a certain level of shadow work, shadow work is a form of inner child work, and self-love is involved in all forms of inner work. I hope, however, these distinctions have made things clear for you.
Hopefully, you now have a distinct path to follow to invest your time and energy into. And again, if you’re hesitant, let me say enthusiastically, YES it is worth it!!
how can i best help myself to be complete
how can i really heal myself when i have no therapist close by?
please help
Have you considered doing an article on what to do if you accidentally do (or try to do) shadow work before self-love and inner child work? I ask because I suspect that happened to me.
I was raised in a guilt-heavy Christian environment and I always believed that the way to connect better to God was to examine my sins. Self-love wasn’t a part of the culture at all. Now, a common theme in my re-emerging spirituality is that I keep wishing I could just jump into more shadow work, because that is seems so much more comfortable and familiar to me. Actually accepting that I could be worthy of love and self-care feels strange and terrifying, like the moment I start liking myself I’ll turn into some kind of narcissistic monster.
This is incredible. Thank you so much for creating this all. It entirely epitomizes everything I’ve been searching for these past few years. There seems to be parallels to Louise Hay and Landmark and Buddhism.. man, I’m super excited to be here!
I’m about to embark on a journey of deep shadow work, after consciously doing self-love and inner child work for the past year.
Things have gotten rough, but I haven’t lost hope. In fact, my hope grows stronger the more I do and read about shadow work.
Thank you for providing these articles
Very enlightening.
Inner work sounds scary because of time & limitations
Is there a time frame?
Why is it that i’ve been doing ALL of this for years.. including so much else (net therapy, art therapy, spiritual healing) and 100x more and I still feel completely.. dead inside?
Katarina, have you read up on the dark night of the soul? I think understanding and looking into this experience more may help you.
Been practicing this for a while but i didnt know theres a term for it. I feel like i’ve done all of these and hell yeah it wasn’t an easy journey but it made me feel free than ever before in my life. The triggers from childhood trauma and pain was really one of the greatest battle. I didnt know that its been holding me back all this time. Wished i’ve done it earlier. Gonna try the shadow work next. Wish me luck!
You’ve got this, Jel!
Ps That’s just me avoiding inner work. :)
I see the goal as self-love, not just a part of it, then you’re healed, you may be out of balance but you’ve been perfectly made, or you could call it self-trust which would be the goal but the realization that everything is perfect as it is, even your struggles are your path to wholeness, your conflicts are keys, your pain is a gateway, when you feel worry doubt stress just remember everything is perfect as it is, even you a seed still in the ground or pushing it’s way out or blossoming, all of it is beautiful, no one says why is this plant growing? It’s still in the ground therefore it’s a failure, we all know it’s inevitably going toward the sun
Yes, Tam. It could be said that self-love or rather Love itself is the destination. Self-love is the journey. When we’re in the depth of suffering, remembering that everything is perfect as it is (as you suggested) is not practical or always possible. It’s kind of like telling a lion who has a thorn stuck in its paw not to worry about it. But that lion wants to rip that damn thing out! It’s hurting too much! Only then can it enjoy the beauty of life. The same thing goes for inner work. Inner work extracts the inner thorn so that the joy and ecstasy of existence can be felt. Refusing to remove the thorn and pretending it doesn’t exist will only get us so far (it’s called spiritual bypassing). I hope that makes sense. :)
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Thank you!
:)
I want to share this on FB. Is there a way to do that?
I’ve been journaling since 2017 and I discovered things about myself that I didn’t know was there and learned to take better decisions for my personality type and learned to accept and love my sensitivity and introversion as a result of it ☺
That’s great to hear Tina! :)
When I look back upon the road I have walked thus far, I try to see what inner-work has brought me.
The most striking thing is my relationship with my mother. Through some miracle, I’ve broken the toxic bond and started to transform it into something that is more sensicale and she has started to do the same, so we are healing this wound together.
IT IS HARD. YES. I had to cast away many of my beliefs about her and about me. And moving forward we also encounter roadblocks. More pain.
Honestly, one of the hardest things for me starting the path of inner work is realizing that roadblocks will keep appearing, maybe forever.
Making a mistake, learning from it and then doing the action that acknowledge the mistake, IS HARD. Because for me, doing the action that acknowledge the mistake, means FACING SHAME. Shame for doing something ‘wrong’.
It is kind of ridicoulus. Just yesterday I was walking and it was windy and rainy outside, but really those weather conditions was NOTHING compared to the pain and feelings of repulsion I was feeling in response to exploring self-critical thoughts, hateful thoughts.
At times I wonder, why am I doing this? Because I tell you, I stumble ALOT.
I am not the A-grade student, nor the B-grade student. Maybe a C-grade.
At the same time, I just cannot help but imagine how wonderful it would be to be able to express myself more freely, to be able to connect more deeply with life and others. And too share joy. That imagination keeps me going.
Joakim, the very fact that you’re willing to do inner work is a testament to your courage – and if that doesn’t make you a Grade A student, I don’t know what does! Shame is very normal to experience on this path. The antidote is, of course, self-love. And I’ve found that includes showing compassion for our inability to show compassion toward ourselves (if that makes sense). There’s a great book: Whatever arises, love that by Matt Kahn which you might like to check out. :)
Thank you Luna
Ive started do explore that possibility more, giving love or space/acceptance for the things in me that I rarely ever can. What I found out helps is using the heart when exploring.
Have the intention of Heart when exploring eases the pain.
I appreciate your suggestion and what you and Mateo do here.
Hehe the support is veeeery nice.
I love this article! Thank you!
Thank you Kathie!
Wonderful article- thank you!
“Inner work may superficially look lavish, poetic, and mystical. But when you get into the heart of it, it’s a bone-crushing, gut-wrenching journey of blood, sweat, vomit, and tears.
You aren’t playing with crystals and singing cute mantras while doing inner work (although those things can be complementary and help in their own way). Inner work isn’t Instagram-worthy or something you can wear as an egotistical badge of superiority.”
The real work indeed is one hell of a messy thing- but in my humble experience it is worth many many times over all the “typical” achievements we so like to glorify in our society..
Yes, well said Ekaterina! You’ve pointed out something extremely important. We aren’t given certificates or awards for plumbing the depths of our internal hells. We aren’t given special accolades for dragging ourselves through 1, 5 or even 50 years of inner work. That is perhaps one of the most difficult things to realize and come to terms with. The rewards must come from WITHIN, and rest assured they do – but not with the usual glitch and glamor we expect in our society. Our triumph is quiet, delicate, and deep. The beauty, however, is that we don’t need anyone’s approval, for the reward itself is, in part, freedom from that addiction to other’s approval. Really, there are so many deep rewards that they can’t be spoken or named here. But I hope whoever reading this in this moment recognizes just how worthy this path is, and senses at a deep level the treasures and gifts waiting to be uncovered.
I am on this path right now, I felt it coming a long time but as is stated in the article I had so much resistance with even beginning inner work. Now I’m right in the middle and it is painful to say the least. The rewards are worth it all, even if they are not shiny! I’m truly thankful for lonerwolf. I resonate so deeply with what is written here and I am sure you guys are of assistance to countless souls! Keep it up :)
Thank you, beautiful!
A brilliant post! I can count on one hand the spiritual leaders I follow and I am grateful to say Lonerwolf is one. It has truly been an honor to walk this path with you.
I was guided by 2 dreams and an Oracle card message to quit my job in March 2017. I did this thinking one thing and ended up spending the last 2 years deep in the vortex of shadow work. It has literally been my job. I am walking the Shamans path and the biggest shift came about in the last 6 months. Abuse comes in many forms. I had my whole existence rocked when I realized my father has been a covert narcissist connected to Illuminati for my whole life–all 59 years. In pre Mercury Retro, 2 weeks ago, I made the decision to completely cut off ties with him forever. This decision was both heart wrenching and powerful at the same time. I have The Awakened Empath book and your explanations are spot on. I also had 13 Implants that were entrenched in my energy, lymph, nervous systems, left/right brain (connected to Cabal, 3D mind control and Arkon) removed 4 days before Mercury went full retrograde. I also chose to have them returned to the senders w/out notification. Now in Merc Retro the proverbial shit is starting to hit the fan, with my brothers/family, and manipulation tools (ie shame, guilt etc) are being used. This no longer works on me as I am now outside the 3D grid/Matrix. I refuse to give my power away any more. I stand strong in who I am and know that I have very important work to do here on 5D Gaia. For anyone reading this, find a tool that works for YOU to connect with your Higher Self and unlock the magic inside. It is grueling work and you will be in the depths of hell emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually, but there is Light at the end. Sending you love and light with the utmost respect Luna & Sol. Namaste Sunflower369
I really like what you mentioned about finding a tool that works for each of us individually. We all have different frames of reference and we’re all attracted to different spiritual vocabulary/concepts/ideas/practices etc. I do hope this article presents a universally appealing path, but even that I cannot be sure of. I’m glad you’ve found a way to deal with your traumas and stand strong Laura.
Many blessings
I am sorry Laura, but what you write does not sound like Inner Work, but the symptoms of onsetting paranoid shizophrenia, a very serious mental condition which also needs to be treated to seriously do inner exploration. In that respect I can understand your familys reaction to your accusations and actions. They probably act out of deep concern or bafflement. I have experienced this condition personally so I truly know what crippling tricks it can play on your mind and cognitive abilities. Please get yourself to a doctor. I am not trying to boss you around, but what you wrote – your believes and sensations – rang an alarm bell for me and made me truly concerned.
I cannot thank you both enough for relentlessly pointing out the real and true path of spirituality.
“Inner work may superficially look lavish, poetic, and mystical. But when you get into the heart of it, it’s a bone-crushing, gut-wrenching journey of blood, sweat, vomit, and tears.”
yes, yes, yes… turning pain into power? absolutely!
it’s been an honor for me to walk along with you and everyone in this journey.
thank you Luna :)
Thank you, Ika. I always appreciate when you comment and share your support. :)
I’ve been looking into self hypnosis and reprogramming my subconscious. I’ve noticed over the past 2 years alot of self sabotaging behaviors that I want to get rid of. 95% of people’s behavior is just the subconscious mind on autopilot, with only 5% of our decisions being made by the conscious mind. The subconscious mind is basically what was programmed into us in our first 7 years on planet Earth. I have done some fasting this past year and that has helped me tremendously. It has done wonders for my health, stem cells are no joke as my nervous system, heart, and torn rotator cuff were healed to brand new after years of pain killer addiction. Fasting has also been beneficial spiritually as I have been able to see visions more clearly and become hyper aware of my spirit, resting into heaven is the best way I could describe it. Breaking out of the ego definitely isn’t easy but life is change and stagnation isn’t an option. We are all passing through. The more I accept this the less wind I have to grasp and letting go happens like breathing. Yeah, inner work is a trip, cutting thru your own self created samsara nightmare until you just barely crawl out of hell to grasp at a flicker of light only to find out you still need to get off the hamster wheel and leave the land of the dead.
Self-hypnosis is a great tool for inner work – particularly for reprogramming deep core beliefs and self-sabotaging patterns of behavior. Fasting, however, needs to be approached with particular caution. It’s certainly a useful practice, but it all depends on the person and where they’re currently at in the spiritual awakening journey. Those that are going through the desolation that can accompany the Dark Night, for example, would best stay away from fasting as it can cast the psyche into more turmoil. What we need during times of instability is groundedness, and fasting can do the exact opposite, which is why I’ve interjected a ‘caution sign’ here. Otherwise, thanks for sharing here Nate. :)