In earlier reflections, I spoke about the shadow — the parts of ourselves we suppress, hide, or struggle to acknowledge. The term shadow self refers to the part of our psyche that contains the unconscious aspects of our personality that we reject or deny.

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When most people talk about the shadow, they primarily associate it with traits and behaviours that are often viewed as negative.

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Over time, I also came to recognise another side to the shadow: what some describe as the golden shadow. For me, this represents the positive qualities and potential that we unconsciously project onto others. We may admire these qualities in someone else without realising that they also exist within us.

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In many ways, it is like looking into a mirror without recognising our own reflection. We see strengths, gifts, creativity, compassion, wisdom, or confidence in others, whilst remaining unaware that those same qualities may be waiting to be acknowledged within ourselves.

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Embracing the golden shadow involves acknowledging and integrating these positive traits into our own identity, and it can lead to profound personal growth and self-awareness.

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I know now that the qualities I learned to hide from the world were full of beauty, creativity, intuition, sensitivity, and life-force energy. They were a natural part of who I was, and as I learned to trust and express them more fully, they helped me grow in confidence and expand my life in ways I could never have imagined.

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As a child, I was curious about life and the deeper questions that sat beneath everyday experience. I was sensitive, intuitive, and often aware of things that others seemed not to notice. I cared deeply about people and could often sense what they were feeling, even when they struggled to express it themselves.

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These qualities did not always fit comfortably within the environment I grew up in. Showing feelings was often viewed as weakness, and many of the things I sensed or experienced were not easily understood or discussed. As a result, much of this remained hidden, not only from others but eventually from myself.

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Yet it never disappeared.

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Something within me had always been searching, questioning, learning, and growing. Even when I wasn’t consciously aware, there remained a deeper part of me that was curious about life and what lay beyond the obvious.

 

My love of reading also helped me understand experiences I had already lived.  Many authors provided a framework for qualities, strengths, and ways of perceiving life that I had often struggled to explain. The books I was drawn to often acting as confirmation, it was amazing and more than once I felt them totally in synch with my self-development at that time.

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As I became more willing to trust these hidden aspects of myself, my world began to expand.

I explored psychology, personal development, symbolism, archetypes, coaching, spirituality, and human potential. I met people from many different backgrounds and cultures, all searching to understand themselves and their place within the world. Some were exploring personal growth, others spirituality, and many were simply seeking a deeper understanding of life itself.

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What connected them all was a desire to look beyond the surface.

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Through these experiences, I came to recognise that hidden potential is not always about achievement or success. Sometimes it is about allowing ourselves to explore qualities that have remained dormant because they were never fully encouraged, understood, or valued.

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I began to understand that whilst the mind and body are important, there is also a deeper aspect of ourselves that seeks meaning, growth, connection, and understanding. Some people call this spirit, and or soul. The name matters less to me than the experience itself.

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I recognise now throughout my life, this deeper part of me has often revealed itself through intuition, reflection, compassion, creativity, and an inner knowing that quietly guided me forward.

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I now realise that many of the qualities I once kept hidden became some of my greatest strengths.

 

• The sensitivity I once tried to manage became empathy.

• My curiosity became lifelong learning.

• My intuition became guidance.

• And my willingness to keep growing opened doors I never knew existed.

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The golden shadow was never something I had to create.

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It was something I gradually learned to recognise, trust, and develop.

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And in doing so, it expanded not only my understanding of myself, but my understanding of life itself.

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As I mentioned in an earlier reflection, when I first began asking deeper questions about my life, I found myself repeatedly writing the words, "It's time to remember."

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At the time, I did not fully understand why those words kept appearing. Later, I learned that some people refer to this experience as automatic writing. For me, it felt as though another part of myself was quietly trying to be heard.

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When I finally began to listen and allowed myself to express these parts more openly, something within me shifted.

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I began feeling more connected, more aligned mind, body and soul.

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Intuition & Inner Knowing

As I explored my family history, I came to realise that intuition was not unique to me. My grandmother, great-grandmother, and other family members seemed to have a similar way of sensing and understanding life.

 

Over time, I recognised some of these same qualities within my children and grandchildren. Whether viewed as intuition, sensitivity, inner knowing, or something else entirely, it felt like a thread that quietly connected generations of our family.

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I remember clearly one of the family stories my grandfather would tell me about my grandmother, having a strong feeling, an inner knowing that something was wrong with my brother, he said one minute she was pruning her roses, the next she had climbed over the garden wall and was running down towards where my brother should be, that day my grandmother saved my brothers life, had she not listened to that inner knowing things could have been drastically different.

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Many many times in listening to my intuition I have avoided difficult situations and also embraced such positive ones. Over time, I began recognising that intuition often speaks in many different ways. People call it by different names, depending on how they see, feel, hear or sense it.

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Through my own experiences and self-reflection, I began to see what felt like two different aspects of myself: a lower self, often influenced by fear, conditioning, and ego, and a higher self, a part of my consciousness that seemed to guide me with wisdom, calmness, and clarity.

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For me, its presence revealed itself through intuition, conscious choices, and a deep sense of connection with who I truly am.

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I remember one intuitive experience in particular because it helped someone reconnect with something she had almost lost: hope.

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One day speaking with a supervisor at work, I suddenly felt overwhelming sadness and emotional pain that I knew was not my own. Alongside this came a strong image of her sitting crying with her head in her hands.

 

Something within me knew she needed support.

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When I gently spoke to her later, she eventually opened up about how much she had been struggling emotionally and how close she had come to giving up altogether.

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Over time, through many chats, she slowly began rebuilding her confidence and her life.

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That experience stayed with me not because it felt extraordinary, but because it reminded me how deeply human connection, compassion, listening, and intuition can sometimes help us recognise suffering in others that may otherwise remain hidden.

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How I now perceive my intuition has unfolded over many years. It was always there, quietly guiding me.

 

My grandmother carried a quiet spiritual presence and spoke about life, nature, energy, and intuition in ways that felt deeply natural rather than rigid or fearful. I remember being eight years old and asking her what God was. Her answer has stayed with me ever since and continues to bring me great comfort when I need it most.

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It reconnects me to something greater than myself. I often say that life is full of magic; we simply have to believe it is there, even when it cannot be seen. Much like love, it is something we feel.

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Socrates famously said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."  

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Looking back, I think I began examining mine much earlier than I realised.

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Over time, I came to understand that hidden strengths often exist beneath the very parts of ourselves we once felt unsure of:

• Sensitivity can become empathy.

• Creativity can become self-expression.

• Intuition can become guidance.

• Reflection can become wisdom.

• And vulnerability can become strength.

I know now what we hide is not always something negative. Sometimes it is potential waiting to be acknowledged.

 

You Could Try Reflecting On…

• What parts of myself have I hidden in order to feel accepted or safe?

• What strengths or qualities have I underestimated within myself?

• When do I feel most connected to my authentic self?

• What gifts, creativity, or sensitivities might still be waiting to be expressed?

• Have there been moments in life when my intuition or inner knowing quietly guided me?

 

Continuing the Journey

The more honestly and gently we learn to understand ourselves, the more fully we begin to live in alignment with who we truly are.

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Sometimes the parts we once tried hardest to hide become the very parts that help guide us home to ourselves.