Most people say it’s messy, I think it’s different for everyone. I knew for a long time that I wasn’t living the most virtuous life. I would read books from time to time (used to not be a big reader) I would meet people who would say certain things that showed me new books and new ideas, I would experience suffering from situations. I began to notice that underneath these situations usually they were the same experience from before. I knew that deep down I was doing something to cause these to happen as why would I experience the same situations year after year. But I did not have the tools at that time. Fast forward 8 years and I have become well read, faced the biggest betrayal from someone who manipulated me and was also the one who taught me the tools of stoicism. After that it took some time and when I fell into shadow work it wasn’t insanely messy, it all felt like things I already knew but I judged them for so long and I realized that all of those versions of me were doing there best and they were never taught how to protect themselves. My past versions were lonely and scared, filled with ideas that were not my own, by rules forced upon them. Once I shifted to accepting them as a part of my journey it shifted a lot in me currently. I don’t get upset or try to fight my feelings because I know they are 1. Trying to protect me from something. 2. They don’t want me to talk back, they want to be seen. 3. They only ever wanted to feel loved (2 and 3 are true for me, I’m not sure how much they apply to everyone) Just be sure to give yourself grace and remind yourself you don’t have to hate the shadows because you want to step into the light

To me intuition is felt in my body before the thought arises and overthinking starts with a thought and then bodily sensations.