Hayes Minich

“7. Journaling
Using your journal as a place where you can purge miscellaneous upsetting thoughts, where you can release what has you worried, or where you can say what needs to be said without fear of judgment will support you in freeing stale and stagnant energy.
Journaling throughout shadow work will help you free yourself so you can make room for what's to come. Think of your journal as a place where you can take things like pain or confusion or anger out of your body and onto the page. A journaling practice is great for many things, but specifically it is a very supportive process for shadow work.
HOW DOES THIS SERVE YOU IN RETURNING TO WHOLENESS?
Some of your shadows have lived inside of you for an exceptionally long time. Journaling is a wonderful way to release some of the energy attached to these shadows. In a journal, you are free to express yourself without concern of any judgment or criticism.”
― Michelle Wadleigh, Shadow Work: A Spiritual Path to Healing and Integration

“5. Mindshifting Affirmative Prayer, Also Called Mindshift
Affirmative prayer or mindshift is the act of speaking a word of affirmation that captures your undivided attention and sets the intention of shifting your mindset. Science has now proven that the body and the mind work together and influence each other. For further investigation into the science, check out How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Waldman. When we speak an affirmation or prayer, our mind and our body are affected simultaneously. Learning to keep your mind and your word synchronized to support life-affirming ideas will support you not only throughout the journey of this book but beyond and throughout your life.
Our world is created out of our words. Our words, fully ingested, will be acted upon not by some superstitious power or deity, but by the universal vibration that creates. Remember, everything is created twice: It's first created in your imagination and then in form or in opportunity, or healing. This regularly spoken word helps you align with your highest and best, preparing you for improved health and happy relationships. And an often-negated perk is that as you raise your understanding and improve the texture of your life, it impacts the world at large-for there is no private good. We are all in this together.
HOW DOES THIS SERVE YOU IN RETURNING TO WHOLENESS?
The spoken word creates a new inner landscape, one of love, compassion, and acceptance, when used properly.
And, very specifically, when you are able to, speak the words of the affirmative scripts out loud with all of the feeling you can give to them. This makes it easier for you to feel the vibration and power of these words, and shifts are more predictable when we are passionate about what we are saying.”
― Michelle Wadleigh, Shadow Work: A Spiritual Path to Healing and Integration

“think of them as gates that you will travel through to reach Your Whole Self.
1. Non-judgment
2. Meditation
3. Inquiry and Contemplation and Pondering
4. Affirmation
5. Mindshifting Affirmative Prayer, Also Called Mindshift
6. Blessing
7. Journaling
8. Body Awareness
9. Presence
10. Forgiveness
11. Responsibility, the Power of Ownership
12. Letter Writing
13. Self-Regulation and the Breath”
― Michelle Wadleigh, Shadow Work: A Spiritual Path to Healing and Integration

“3. Inquiry and Contemplation and Pondering
Socrates said: "To know thyself is to have the keys to the Universe." Inquiry and contemplation might just be the greatest tools of self-transformation there are. Merge the practice of inquiry with the practice of radical honesty, and you will be led to clues of who you are able to be.
Contemplation is about sitting with an idea, a feeling, or a reaction without shrinking back, so you can fully discover what something means to you. In life, things happen, but it is not what happens to us that makes up our lives; it is what we make of what happened, how we hold something inside, and how we speak about what has happened that creates our lives. When we invest enough time looking at our inner landscape, we begin to understand who we are. To practice contemplation, we want to sit quietly in silence for a period long enough to receive the messages of our innermost self.
Pondering is the simple act of watching ourselves and how we react to the world around us. It is lighter than contemplation because it can feel like simple daydreaming. Inquiry is the action of asking open-ended questions and listening deeply to our inner voice. Contemplation, on the other hand, is the more focused practice of spending time in stillness to understand, witness, and ponder what is before us. You can always write down your thoughts and experiences with this in a journal (see below).
HOW DOES THIS SERVE YOU IN RETURNING TO WHOLENESS?
A practice of contemplation will support you in activating your intuition and inner wisdom that has gone unmined.”
― Michelle Wadleigh, Shadow Work: A Spiritual Path to Healing and Integration