Press play when you're ready and remember,
Showing up is already the work.
Find a quiet private space where you won't be disturbed.
Sit comfortably with your spine upright.
Close your eyes when you're ready.
Take three slow deep breaths.
With each exhale let your body settle.
Let your mind begin to quiet.
You're here because something in you knows it's time.
Time to stop performing.
Time to stop pretending.
Time to look at what's underneath all the armor.
This isn't going to be easy but you already know that.
You didn't come here for easy.
You came here for truth.
Let's begin.
I want you to think about the identity you present to the world.
The version of yourself you show up as every day.
The one who has a job,
A role,
A reputation.
The one who's trying to be successful,
Respected,
Admired.
The one who's trying to prove something.
Who is that person?
What does he do?
What does he value?
And ultimately,
What does he need people to believe about him?
Now ask yourself,
How much energy does it take to maintain that version of you?
How often do you edit yourself?
How often do you perform?
How often do you say yes when you mean no?
Or smile when you're angry?
Or act confident when you're terrified?
This identity you've built,
It's not you.
It's a survival strategy.
It's a survival strategy It's a persona you created to navigate the world,
To get love,
To avoid rejection,
To feel safe.
And it worked,
For a while.
But it's also a cage.
Take a breath.
Notice how that lands.
The ego's job is to protect you,
To keep you safe.
To maintain the story that says,
If I'm this kind of person,
I'll be okay.
But the cost of that protection is disconnection.
From yourself,
From others,
From what's real.
Ego death is what happens when you start to realize,
The person you've been trying to be,
Isn't actually who you are.
Now we're going to go deeper.
We're going to meet the parts of yourself you've been hiding.
The shadow.
Your shadow is everything you've rejected about yourself.
The anger you weren't allowed to feel.
The sadness you had to suppress.
The weakness you had to hide.
The desires you were ashamed of.
The parts of you that didn't fit the identity you were trying to build.
I want you to ask yourself,
What parts of me am I afraid to show?
Maybe it's vulnerability.
Maybe it's rage.
Maybe it's neediness.
Maybe it's ambition.
Maybe it's softness.
Maybe it's the part of you that feels broken,
Lost or not enough.
Whatever comes up,
Don't push it away.
Just acknowledge it.
Say to yourself,
This is part of me too.
These parts didn't go away just because you rejected them.
They've been living in the basement of your psyche,
Running the show from the shadows.
They leak out in your relationships,
Your triggers,
Your self-sabotage.
Your patterns you can't seem to break.
But here's the thing,
Your shadow isn't your enemy.
It's the part of you that's been waiting to be seen,
To be heard,
To be integrated.
Imagine these rejected parts of yourself as people standing in a dark room.
They've been there a long time,
Alone,
Judged,
Ignored.
And now for the first time,
You're turning on the light.
You don't have to love them yet.
You don't even have to like them.
Just see them.
Acknowledge them.
Let them know they're not invisible anymore.
This is the beginning of integration.
Not getting rid of the parts you don't like,
But bringing them into the light,
So they stop controlling you from the dark.
Ego death doesn't mean you disappear.
It means the false version of you,
The one built on performance,
On approval,
On fear,
Begins to dissolve.
And that can feel terrifying.
Because if you're not the identity you've been defending,
Then who are you?
Take a breath.
Ask yourself,
Who would I be if I stopped trying to be anyone?
Not the successful version.
Not the strong version.
Not the perfect version.
Not the version people need you to be.
Just you.
Raw.
Real.
Without the mask.
Sit with that question.
Don't rush to answer it.
Let the uncertainty be here.
Let the discomfort be here.
Let the not knowing be here.
Because this is where transformation lives.
Not in the answers.
In the willingness to dissolve the old story before you know what the new one is.
The ego will fight this.
It will tell you that letting go is dangerous.
That you need the armor.
That without the performance you'll be rejected,
Abandoned,
Destroyed.
But the truth is,
The real you,
The one underneath all the striving,
Is stronger than the persona you've been protecting.
You just haven't met him yet.
As we begin to close,
I want you to notice what's still here.
When you let go of the performance,
What remains?
When you stop defending the identity,
What's underneath?
Maybe it's stillness.
Maybe it's presence.
Maybe it's a quiet knowing.
Maybe it's just breath.
Just being.
Just existence without the need to prove anything.
This is the you that doesn't need to be anyone.
The you that just is.
Place your hand on your chest.
Feel your heartbeat.
This heart has been here the whole time.
Beating.
Alive.
Real.
It doesn't need you to perform.
It doesn't need you to be perfect.
It just needs you to be.
Say this to yourself.
I am more than the story I've been telling.
I am what remains when the story falls away.
Ego death isn't a one-time event.
It's a process.
A gradual unravelling.
A series of small deaths and rebirths as you let go of who you thought you had to be and discover who you actually are.
This meditation is just the beginning.
The gateway.
The threshold between the old story and what comes next.
You don't have to know who you're becoming.
You just have to be willing to let go of who you're not.
Take three deep breaths with me.
Breathe in.
I release the false self.
Breathe out.
I meet what's real.
Breathe in.
I let go of the performance.
Breathe out.
I trust what remains.
Breathe in.
I am becoming.
Breathe out.
I am enough.
When you open your eyes you might feel tender.
You might feel uncertain.
You might feel lighter.
All of this is normal.
You've touched something deep.
Give yourself space to integrate.
This is shadow work.
This is ego death.
This is the path of becoming whole.
Welcome to the gateway.
Gently open your eyes when you're ready.
This is an introduction to shadow work.
To go deeper,
Explore the deep shadow series.
Healing the father wound.
Reclaiming your rage.
An inner child integration for men.
The gateway is now open.
You now decide if you are willing to go through it.
If this session brought something up for you and you'd like support integrating it,
You can find ways to work with me via the link on my profile.
