October Message: Befriending the Shadow
10/25/2026
GATHERING MESSAGE
✧ This month, we’re exploring the concept of the shadow. The shadow holds aspects of ourselves we've pushed outside our conscious identity, often beginning early in life as we learn which parts of ourselves are welcomed and which seem to threaten our sense of belonging.
Along the way, many of us learn to wear masks. We become who we think we need to be to fit in, feel safe, or earn acceptance, showing certain parts of ourselves while keeping others hidden. Over time, we may become so accustomed to these masks that we lose touch with the parts of ourselves underneath them.
But the shadow isn't just a collection of flaws or undesirable traits. It can also hold our gifts and unique qualities that remain just beneath the surface, waiting to be rediscovered. The confidence we were discouraged from expressing. The creativity we set aside. The strength, spontaneity, or other parts of ourselves we haven't felt free to embody.
What we hide doesn't necessarily disappear. Maintaining our masks and concealing these parts of ourselves can take a lot of energy. All the while, they continue to shape how we move through the world, respond to others, and what we allow ourselves to experience.
Befriending the shadow invites us to bring these parts into the light and meet them with compassion and curiosity rather than resistance. Instead of judging ourselves for what emerges, we can become curious about what these parts might need, what they've been protecting, and what they may have to offer.
This work isn't about becoming a better version of ourselves or simply taking off every mask. It's about understanding why we've worn them, recognizing when they no longer serve us, and becoming willing to see more fully who we already are. As we welcome these hidden and forgotten parts back, we may begin to reclaim the energy, freedom, and potential that have been waiting for us all along.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Gathering the Pieces of Our Wholeness
During our nature walk, we were invited to find fallen treasures that mirrored a part of ourselves we had hidden or lost touch with, something we might be ready to reclaim. A leaf, a seedpod, a piece of bark. Each person chose what spoke to them, carrying a personal meaning that didn't need to be explained.
Returning to our gathering space, we placed our collected treasures around a circle and began creating a shared nature mandala. Rather than placing only the treasures we'd collected ourselves, we opened up to allow others to choose and place some of our pieces for us. This simple act invited us to notice our attachments and preferences, and to explore what it feels like to let go and allow someone else to witness, hold, and tend to something meaningful to us.
As the mandala took shape, our individual offerings became part of something larger, a creation no one person could have made alone. We stepped back, took in the whole, and shared what the experience brought up for us. The reflections that followed opened a beautiful conversation about trust, letting go, seeing ourselves through new perspectives, and making room for more of who we are.
Perhaps reclaiming our wholeness begins this way: noticing the parts we've set aside, meeting them with curiosity and compassion, and allowing ourselves to be changed by what we discover together.
SPIRITUAL INVITATION FOR OCTOBER
What part of yourself might be waiting to be welcomed back?
You might think of a quality you once expressed freely but learned to hide, a part of your personality you set aside to fit in, or a possibility you've never quite allowed yourself to explore.
Rather than judging what comes to mind, try meeting it with curiosity. What might this part of you have to offer? What has it been protecting? What could become possible if you made a little more room for it?
You don't need to change anything right away. Sometimes, the first step toward wholeness is simply being willing to see yourself more fully.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
Take a few moments to sit with whichever of these questions speaks to you. You don't need to answer them all.
What parts of myself have I learned to hide in order to fit in, feel safe, or be accepted?
Is there a quality or possibility in myself that I've lost touch with and would like to reclaim?
What might my masks have been protecting me from?
Where in my life might I be ready to loosen my grip and allow a new perspective?
What would it look like to welcome more of myself with curiosity and compassion?
PERENNIAL WISDOM SOURCES
✧ INTERSPIRITUAL
"The Mystic Hours: A Daybook of Interspiritual Wisdom" by Wayne Teasdale
ANNOUNCEMENTS
✧ A New Home for Our Indoor Gatherings: We’re happy to share that The Venue, (37 S Water Street, Janesville) at the corner of Main and Court Streets is now our home for all indoor gatherings. Enter from the back of the building, on Water Street, which is on the Rock River side of the building. Parking is available in front of the building or in the overflow lot across Court Street.
✧ November 8 Gathering: Gabi Draxler of Just Bee Wellness will offer a sound healing session to support us in releasing what is not ours to carry. We look forward to sharing this experience with you. RSVP here to let us know you are coming!
✧ Ancient Hearts Collective Wisdom School: Over the past year, many of you have asked for more ways to go deeper. For the past nine months, Debra and I have been creating the Ancient Hearts Collective Wisdom School, a new home within AHC for deeper learning, exploration, and practice. Offerings will include courses, listening circles, book circles, workshops, and other ways to explore wisdom and whole-person well-being.
✧ November 14 | Wisdom of the High Heart: Join Debra Scott, Ph.D., for an exploration of the High Heart as a way of knowing rooted in love, compassion, and inner wisdom. This workshop invites you to look beyond familiar interpretations, deepen your connection with the sacred, and discover a more personal path of spiritual exploration. Register here.
✧ December 12 | Community Service Project: Mark your calendars for our fourth and final service project of the year! We’ll partner with Delivering Bags of Hope in Janesville for a volunteer project supporting our local community.
At Ancient Hearts Collective, we believe wholeness isn't something we have to earn or achieve. It's something we can begin to remember as we make room for all the parts of ourselves, reconnect with one another, and discover what becomes possible when we bring our unique gifts into the circle.
We’re grateful to everyone who joined us, and to Sam for sharing his wisdom and helping us explore what it means to befriend the shadow.
