“Spiritual work takes many different forms … inner work is part of this process—confronting the “shadow,” the repressed, rejected and unacknowledged parts of our psyche; accepting our wounds; and transforming psychological dynamics and patterns of conditioning. Only when we have gained a degree of inner harmony and emptiness can we hear the voice of our higher Self, and learn to discriminate between inner guidance and the desires of the ego.” – Llewllyn Vaughan-Lee, Mystic and Teacher
Inner work is a pilgrimage into the mysterious dark forests of the body, mind, heart, and soul.
It is a path for the sage, mystic, and philosopher within all of us – a path that often begins as a solitary, lone wolf quest for healing and evolves as a spiritual path of love, devotion, and freedom.
Of all paths available for us to take in life, the journey of inner work is the richest, most rewarding, and transformative. It takes us to the root of our traumas, heals our buried wounds, and liberates us to live a life aligned with our Soul’s truth.
At its core, inner work – true inner work – is a path of Soul recovery. Beyond healing our psychological blockages, inner work’s greater goal is to reclaim the Deeper Self within us that was lost, buried, or erased throughout the course of our lives.
It is a sacred, life-long commitment to finding more PEACE in our lives, an acronym for: playfulness, energy, authenticity, centeredness, and empowerment.
Internally, inner work is a path of embodying our Soul’s essence: the wise, wild, warm, welcoming, and whole presence at our core.
These gifts are open to us when we commit to this path, not just as a hobby, but as a way of life.
So where do you start? What kind of inner work do you need to focus on within your life’s journey right now? This test will help you to find out.
Like any journey, there are many routes and paths we can take to get us through that subterranean world of our deep psyches and toward our inner Center.
We have defined four ‘pillars’ of inner work, starting with embodiment, then self-love, inner child work, and finally shadow work. You can read more about these inner work pillars here. Keep in mind that we move in a spiral when it comes to inner work, so you can and will revisit these four pillars repeatedly on your path.
Remember that you can bookmark this page and come back to it every now and then. Test yourself again in 6-12 months and see what has shifted.
What result did you get? Let me know below!
For more guidance, see The Inner Work Bundle – a 3-part psychological journaling framework built for people who are done with surface-level answers. These journals are for the deep thinkers. The quiet ones who give too much and receive too little. Those who feel stuck on every level and have started to wonder if they’ve simply forgotten who they are. Read more about it here.
More Shadowork for me :)
Appreciate the resources!
Thanks Igri!
my test showed self-love. I get this, I’ve been working on myself and reaching out in terms of workshops, counselling, therapists, online research & reading materials. I’ve bought the inner child bundle and have read the self love workbook which I plan to start today.
I really enjoy your site, lonewolf.com, It has helped me see myself n my traumas, to see hope, positivity and enlightments. Thank You.
Self Love & yes I agree I need more of it. For sure since I can remember I’ve never been happy with me. My husband always says, “quit beating your self up so much, just for one day leave lizz alone!” but I’m alway very self critical thinking the worst of my self. I have Bdd (BODY DYMORPHIC DISORDER) also, which I’m 75 percent sure has alot to do with the negativity that I carry everyday. But I don’t know how to stop these bad thoughts. I’d love to learn more spiritually & connect to my higher self. But I feel as tho it’s impossible for me.
I’m so glad the result you got resonates with you right now, Brenda. Take good care of yourself 💜
Self -love
Thank you for sharing Paula 💜
Greetings beloved Soul. Thank you for this blessing and advise of which has not resonated as yet. ( I will get the subconscious mind around this). Your article was an awakening to the new paradigm of letting go of the past, working this through in the most kind and gentle way. I Humbly thank you for this for teaching and new ways of changing the past. This is a different way and perceptive of dealing with the past and now embracing the new. Your teachings and work is gratefully appreciated.
Love and light
Sallyjane Vosloo
Thank you for sharing this, Sallyjane :)
I’m really struggling right now with the realities of global politics, especially in my country of origin (US). I feel a deep sense of betrayal, not only personally, but of so many people everywhere.There’s almost nothing I can do to change things, especially since I now live outside the US, but I can’t figure out where exactly I should be expending what little energy I have left. How can one work towards a better inner equilibrium when the world is clearly spinning totally out of control?
By not making our inner peace dependent on external circumstances. By understanding that “charity starts at home,” as the old saying goes, and sorting out our own inner and outer immediate lives. This will then ripple into the whole. We may not be able to change the shitstorms around us, but we do have control over the one inside of us.
Ugh! I honestly believe I’m supposed to just stay in the shadow world …lol. I end up needing to go back to my shadow work and shadow workbook “A LOT (I believe I’ve printed and reprinted 9x times already, that’s just what I can remember. Ugh!).
Don’t get me wrong, it is extremely helpful,and my therapist and I generally open a new shadow every time I go back into it. Just FYI…We do EMDR as one option to get deep into where those past shadows are hidden. (Do not attempt EMDR on your own, talk to a therapist if it’s something you’re interested in learning about, it can be extremely and highly triggering and emotional; you will need a professionals help, just FYI). Shadow work alone is exhausting and triggering and difficult. It’s not my favorite, yet it is my favorite. Once I’m through all the work, it’s absolutely amazing, beautiful, freeing, invgorating.I feel like I can take on anything and everything. My problem is I do. That’s why I personally end up right back in “shadow world” again and again. I know what I need to change, and I know why, It’s the how to do it without loosing who I really am that I struggle with. I do really good for awhile and then I’m right back where I was. I am easily manipulated and people know this and eventually I get broken down once again.
I’m glad you have 1:1 support, LaVonne. It’s normal to go back and forth repeatedly. You’re certainly not alone. ;)