Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:00]:

What if the key to unlocking your true power isn't in hiding your perceived flaws or unwelcome emotions, but in amplifying them? Today, I'm gonna share something totally unexpected. I'm gonna teach you how to let your shadow parts take center stage. Ready to turn your jealousy, fear, and judgment into your greatest allies? Trust me. This is where your true magic and power begins. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Goddess School podcast, where Eastern wisdom meets Western mysticism. I'm your host, Lisa Marie Rankine, author, teacher, and Ayurvedic wellness coach here to help you reclaim your feminine superpowers, and I am so glad you're here. Listen, women are magical.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:51]:

They are intuitive, creative, wise, and magnetic. However, in today's fast paced world, these gifts often get buried under a more masculine way of life. Together, we'll awaken those powers. In each episode, I'll take you through sacred teachings like Ayurveda, shadow work, and the mysteries of archetypes and rituals so you can live with more clarity, synchronicity, and joy in all realms of life, like relationships, health, money, and more. So let's dive in so you can make the most of your one mythic life. The veil is parting. Let's begin. Hello there, beautiful souls, and welcome back to the God of School podcast.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:01:37]:

Today, I'm diving into the shadow. The shadow includes the parts of yourself that most of us have been taught to hide, suppress, or maybe politely ignore. First, let me take a moment to explain what the shadow actually is. In the most simplest terms, your shadow is your unconscious. It's the things that you are not actually aware of. You can think of your ego as your conscious mind. It's who you believe yourself to be, how you present yourself to the world. Your shadow is gonna be everything that doesn't align with your ego.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:02:18]:

So anything that is in conflict with who you think you are. Your shadow and your ego are at odds with each other. The shadow is neither good nor bad. Often when we're talking about the shadow, we often think it's the more negative associated qualities like jealousy, vanity, and manipulation. In short, that can be part of it, but it's also your creativity, your generosity, your greatness. It can be all of these wonderful things about you as well, too. And we can think of that as the golden shadow. You might be like, well, why would I hide all of the wonderful aspects of myself? But there's actually very logical reasons that we do that.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:03:00]:

It's scary to stick out from everyone else. It's hard to be great. Something interesting to think about. However, even if we have suppressed, which means we've consciously pushed these elements down, or we have repressed, which means we've just unconsciously pushed them down, they still make an appearance when provoked. That's why the famous Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Jung has says until we make the unconscious conscious, you will be ruled by it and we'll call it fake. So if you've ever said to yourself, like, I don't know why I keep dating the same type of men, or I don't know why I never have enough money in my bank account, or I never seem to stick to my wellness routine. It's likely because there is a shadow part that's running the show that is getting in the way from what your ego mind thinks that it actually wants. The concept of shadow work is pretty popular right now, but there's a lot more to it than just journal prompts, because remember the shadow is our unconscious.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:04:04]:

If If we can just sit down and journal about it while we're having tea, it's likely that we're already aware of it. So it's not really our shadow. So how can we go about illuminating these parts of ourselves? So we're not controlled by it. Well, a few ways is you can start to notice your patterns and get really curious about them. Why do you keep dating the same type of people? Or why is it that you always feel like you're being slighted by others? You can start to notice your triggers. So when you get very riled up, are you having an outsized reaction to whatever it is that just happened? You can also start to look at your words. Do you find yourself using the same phrases over and over again? Like I feel marginalized, victimized, unappreciated. Those are a few cues that you have a shadow part at play.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:04:57]:

And then once you start to notice these aspects of yourself, this is what I want you to do. I want you to amplify them. Yes. You heard me correctly with flare, with drama, with a little wink to the gods and goddesses. Let me give you example. So it's Thanksgiving weekend and my partner is away visiting family. When he's away, he has a tendency not to reach out very often. It's a little bit out of sight out of mind.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:05:25]:

However, we've been together for a long time, so I know this about him. Besides everything has been great in our relationship. So a weekend away really shouldn't be an issue. In fact, it should be a good thing. I get the bed to myself. I can stay up till all hours of the night reading romantisee, like, yay me, but suddenly I feel forsaken. I feel myself a little angry that he's gone, that I haven't heard from him. Now in the past, I would have told that part to quiet down.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:05:54]:

I might say like, get over it, Lisa. He's with his family. Don't be so needy, you know, distract yourself. Or worse, and probably far more likely, I would have sent some passive aggressive masterpiece like out of sight, out of mind, Guess this relationship doesn't mean that much to you. These passive aggressive texts were never really successful at getting me what I wanted, which was intimacy, reassurance, and love. So instead this time I let that forsaken part play. I gave her space to be dramatic, expressive, and alive. I took a moment to imagine myself cast aside in the moors with a broken heart, my corset tightening, black veil fluttering in the wind.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:06:41]:

Then I pick up my phone, and I start to text him something very poetic. I text him, I feel forsaken and abandoned. All I want to do is paint white canvases black. My heart feels like a withering rose that hasn't been watered. And you know what happened? My partner called me. Sweet as can be. Breathe through it, honey. I'll be home soon.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:07:03]:

I miss you too. And just like that, I was at peace. Instead of shaming my needy part or letting her come out in these insidious passive aggressive waves. I gave her the mic. This was not always my MO. For most of my life, I really tried to numb difficult feelings or even express a valence because I wanted to be the ice queen, collected, unbothered, like nothing, nothing would faze me, but you know what happens when you your emotions. And I know this because it happened to me. You lose your edge, your magnetism, your creativity, you become dull and two dimensional suppressing your shadow will do that to you.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:07:52]:

It's really like holding a beach ball underwater. Like imagine that you are in a pool, you have one of those beach balls and you're just pushing it underwater. That's what it's like when we suppress our shadow parts, that it takes a lot of energy to do there, and you're just standing there, so you can't do other things. But eventually that ball is gonna burst up with a splash that soaks everyone around you. So better to start illuminating these parts so you can be in control of them. I also want you to think about it this way. The shadow is dark, right? It's like a womb, a cauldron or the dark fertile earth. This is where creation happens.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:08:34]:

This is where growth happens. So instead of like stuffing our undesirable emotions into little boxes with do not open tape, let's animate them. What if we treated our jealousy, vanity, judgment, or inferiority, Instead of like shameful secrets, we made them the main characters because that's all they really want. They don't wanna be the creepy background extras in your life. They want the spotlight. They wanna be Aphrodite. Dionysus, Athena with all of their wild flaws and divine power. All right.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:09:10]:

Let's get practical for a second. Now I gave you a few ways at the beginning of how you might just start to recognize your shadow, but let's, let's go through a few more. So here are a few clues. Again, you're triggered and then you try to logic yourself out of it. Like, oh, I should be grateful or I shouldn't be this emotional. Why don't you use that word should? Think that there is a shadow part just lurking behind. You keep finding yourself in that same situation over and over again. And that means there's probably a part of you that dare I say really likes that situation.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:09:48]:

So we have to explore that. Or perhaps you're judging somebody else and you're feeling really self righteous. Usually there's a part of you that secretly wants to be more like that person. Now here comes the fun part. What if instead of suppressing these parts, you actually performed them? Let me give you a few examples here. Let's say you're feeling really jealous of your sister and her perfect relationship while you're still kissing frogs. You can mope around being silently envious, or perhaps you act it out. You could say, Jennifer has taken the very last eligible man on earth.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:10:29]:

I am clearly fated to wither away in tragic solitude, composing love poetry no one will read, and baking banana bread for ghosts, all because of her gritty, wanton heart. Give this version of you a dramatic cape, maybe even a feathered boa. She is she who has been robbed of love. And honestly, once you put it that way, maybe banana bread and poetry don't really sound like the worst fate. Or you find yourself judging one of your friends because you think she's a little bit lazy. You think she just lunges around watching daytime television and eating bonbons while you slave away. Chinner, your inner villainous. Look at Michelle, that lazy little minx.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:11:14]:

She hasn't touched a dumbbell in weeks. She'll never be as productive and disciplined as me. Maybe you even start to cackle wickedly. Now, of course, this isn't about being mean. After all, you're already having these thoughts. You're just pretending that you're not. I'm not suggesting that you do this exercise with others unless it's appropriate, of course, and perhaps they will appreciate your dramatic interpretation. This is about consciously expressing what's unconscious.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:11:46]:

So it doesn't leak out in snarky comments, cold shoulders, or unhelpful rage. Like when my daughter took my entire bottle of magnesium pills for her one night overnight visit with her dad. I found myself getting a little irritated, frustrated, but instead of bottling it up, I turned it into theater. How could you? You've betrayed me and doomed me to a morning of constipation. We both laughed. The drama was aired. The spell was broken because the truth is your shadow parts, they're also gods and goddesses. Aphrodite was vain.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:12:25]:

Dionysus was indulgent. Athena turned Medusa into a monster for hooking up with Poseidon in her temple. They weren't perfect, but they were powerful. And so are you. Your shadow parts aren't here to sabotage you. They're here to reveal your fullness, to show you the other side of your power, your vanity, a love of beauty, your judgment, a sharp discernment, your abandonment wound, a deep longing for sacred connection. So here's my invitation for you today. Give your shadow parts some airtime.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:13:01]:

Let them monologue. Maybe they write a letter. Get dramatic. Even add costumes if you'd like. Take your jealousy, your fear, your pettiness, and turn them into an Oscar worthy performance. Not for others, not to hurt anyone, but for you. Because when you honor your shadow, you can truly reclaim your power, your magic. You start to become the main character of your mythic life.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:13:31]:

As Jung has said, I would rather be whole than good. So tell me, what shadow part will you bring to life today? Thank you for spending some time with me. If this episode sparked something in you, please share it with a friend or better yet act out your favorite shadow part and tag me. I want to see your inner drama queen in her full glory. And remember, you are not here to be perfect. You're here to be whole. I will see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to the God of School podcast.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:14:05]:

I hope today's episode inspired you to reclaim your feminine magic. Now don't forget to subscribe to the show. And if you've enjoyed the podcast, please leave us a review on Apple. If you wanna dive deeper into divine feminine archetypes and reconnect with your power, check out my book, The Goddess Solution. It's packed with ancient goddess wisdom for the modern woman. You can find the book on Amazon, and the link is in the show notes. And if you are ready to embrace these practices alongside a global sisterhood, I invite you to join my Divine Feminine Mystery School, Enlivened. It's a supportive space to embody these teachings with a fantastic community of like minded women.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:14:43]:

You'll find the link in the show notes. Remember, the goddess isn't a deity outside of you. She's an aspect of your highest self, and you are the goddess. Until next time, my aspect of your highest self. You are the Goddess. Until next time, my friend.