TheAlchemist MJ

Self-awareness is a crucial part of human growth. In this blog, I will explore nine essential aspects of the self that are important to understand and nurture to heal the mind, body, and soul. By doing this inner work, we can become more self-aware and aligned version of ourselves. This post includes a summary of each part, and in the future blogs, we will look into each one individually. 

1. The Inner Child

What: The young part of our Psyche that influences how we think and react as adults based on our experiences, emotions, and memories. 

Focus: Re-parenting, creating safety, playfulness, and healing unmet needs and childhood trauma.

Practices: Journaling letters to and from our inner child, visualization, and meditation, speaking kindly to them, and engaging in creative and joyful activities. 

2. The Shadow Self

What: Parts of us that we have rejected, hidden, or denied such as envy, insecurity, and anger which appear during stress and conflict. 

Focus: Acceptance, reducing self-sabotage, and working with triggers instead of avoiding them. 

Practices: Shadow journaling, active reflection, and mirror work. 

3. The Wounded Self

What: The part that carries pain, trauma, and limiting beliefs.

Focus: Processing grief, trauma healing, and emotional regulation 

Practices: Therapy, breathwork, and Release practices such as writing and burning

4. The Higher/Authentic Self

What: Our wisest, clearest, and most loving self, the part that is beyond fear and any programming. 

Focus: Alignment, clarity, purpose, and intuition 

Practices: Meditation, spending time in nature, journaling as your higher self.

5. The Ego Self

What: The parts of us that are created to keep us safe but may now limit us.

Focus: Acknowledgment of their importance but offering safety instead.  

Practices: Thanking the ego and asking them to step aside, dialogues with the ego self, self-compassion, and Internal Family Systems (IFS).

6. The Body or Somatic Self

What: Trauma that is stored in the physical body.

Focus: Releasing stored tension and trauma and calming the nervous system. Moving from numbness to safety.

Practices: Breathwork, yoga, dance, strength training, walks.

7. The Ancestral/Intergenerational Self

What: Beliefs, traumas, and emotional patterns passed through past generations. 

Focus: Awareness of these patterns such as the fear of failure. Honoring the pain of ancestors but choosing a different path. 

Practices: Research family history and create practices to release these inherited burdens. 

8: The Emotional Self 

What: The ability to feel, name, process, and express emotions including uncomfortable emotions such as sadness, anger, or guilt.

Focus: Releasing emotional overreaction and unhealthy patterns and replacing them with healthy emotional regulations and expression. 

Practices: Therapy, breathwork, journaling, and daily check-ins for awareness. 

9: The Rational and Social Self 

What: The way we show up in communities and relationships that include our attachment styles, boundaries, communication, and trust. 

Focus: examining patterns like people-pleasing, avoidance, and codependency. Creating safe and honest friendships and relationships. 

Practices: Learning about attachment styles, practice boundary settings, and group healing work. 

To summarize, healing is about rediscovering and becoming aware of the self. It’s about noticing those parts of yourself, understanding the core patterns, and approaching them with kindness and patience. 

In future posts, I’ll explore each part in more detail, providing clear steps and reflective journaling prompts guide us toward greater self-awareness and a more peaceful life. 

What part of yourself feels unseen, unheard, or misunderstood, even by you?