Shadow mainstreaming: welcoming the signs of pain bodies
Facing collective trauma in transformative work
After having explored how to recognize “modern shadows”, what do they tell us about what needs to happen at a deeper level – what is the pain and trauma in modernity that needs addressing? And how can we address that in our communications?
A shadow is created based on an emotional scar or what Eckard Tolle calls « pain body. » Consequently, the path of healing is one of reconnecting to the source of that pain, to enable a release of what causes it (if this is possible).
“The first thing to remember is this: As long as you make an identity for yourself out of the pain, you cannot become free of it. As long as part of your sense of self is invested in your emotional pain, you will unconsciously resist or sabotage every attempt that you make to heal that pain. Why? Quite simply because you want to keep yourself intact, and the pain has become an essential part of you. This is an unconscious process, and the only way to overcome it is to make it conscious.”
Eckard Tolle
In our bodies, pain can be pictured as a neural protection message urging us to move away from damaging situations and to care for damaged body parts. The remembered experience of the pain in the body also acts as prevention for similar situations in the future.
Its clarifying power can shed light on how the pain is connected to the whole organism and particular parts of it. Listening to the pain can help us understand what parts and connections need to be healed and which root causes need to be cared for.
Welcoming the cathartic potential
Rather than rejecting and reinforcing the pain, we can learn to accept and welcome it. By “moving through” the pain, we can access deeper parts of ourselves. This process of curious welcoming of the unpleasant realms of darkness can shed light on shadow parts of ourselves that no longer serve us, that block us, that can also make us sick.
It is in this process of learning to welcome our shadows that we may find a place of greater peace and contentment that we may not have experienced before. It is the cathartic moment of pain that can show us the path to healing and thriving.
While therapeutical work is beyond the scope of this communication perspective, communications can play a key role in supporting that work. How can communications contribute to creating a supportive “attention ecology” that channels energy into personal, collective and ecosystemic healing?
The ecology of pain
If we understand the world as a living system like a body, the pains in the world can hold great wisdom on what is needs to be done. Whether in branding, conversations, or the stories we tell, the shadow sides (informing us about pain, trauma, our past, and the unconscious) of our communications are however often neglected.
Looking at these shadow parts is revealing for understanding the potential of a person, brand, or organization. It is the dark side of our essence that holds the key to our development. After all, it is often from the challenges of life that we truly grow from.
Exploring how modern trauma is lived
As outlined in the last article of the series, modernity has been characterized by the disembodiment from ourselves, the dissociation from the own behaviour and feelings, and the dislocation of our presence.
How are these modern shadows experienced by your audiences? And what posture can you take in becoming aware of pain and trauma? Is a gentle, challenging, receptive or active posture needed?
Taking a radical approach that looks at root causes of the issues we’re dealing with implies exploring the root causes of our audience’s and/or client’s “pain points”. In traditional marketing, the solution is reactive and superficial – to keep us addicted to wanting more.
Such problem-solving does not resolve the source of the problem, thereby often leading to the problem coming back in one shape or another. Instead, how may we question the root causes in a way that contributes to finding the necessary resources to tackle the issue holistically?
Shadow mainstreaming pathways
Shadow welcoming: how much can you welcome shadows and underlying pain and trauma in the work that you do? How can you learn to listen to what is behind the shadows? What would it mean to create a safe space for vulnerability? When is trauma-informed work needed?
Shadow mirroring: which ways of naming and facing shadows are feasible and desirable in the communication context I am in? Which archetypes can I learn to embody to do that? (The Healer, The Trickster, The Nurturer etc.)
Shadow integration: how can I give sufficient attention to the existence of the shadows, pain and trauma (incl. witnessing, grieving, collective healing), while focusing on the positive change I work on? How do I meaningfully integrate them into my stories, conversations, messages, and brand?
Root exploration: which (shared) painful / traumatic history, heritage, tradition, and repeated behaviours does the shadow hint to? Which beliefs, feelings, perceptions exist in relation to the pain / trauma? Which actors and communities have faced them and how do you relate to them? Which narratives and stories are perpetuating harmful patterns? Which conversations are needed to address them? What needs to be said? What needs to be gestured? What needs to be reimagined?
Healing connections: how can my communications create connections between my brand, audiences, and spaces for healing? Which Communication Ecology (incl. communities, places, narratives) can support the healing? What does your own contribution to enabling healing look like in your communications?
Negative space exploration: what is the dark, the yin side that the shadows are pointing to? What is the unrealized potential or new cycle that life is calling to realize or step into? How can we welcome the unconscious, unsaid, and unmanifest?