Real World Mindfulness - Shadow Work, What Your Ego Doesn't Want You to See"
Filmed at our Mindfulness for Awakening Retreat, February 2026 Unfiltered dive into James’s confrontation with his own darkness—and the uncomfortable, often painful path to real inner freedom. Uploaded just a few days ago, this isn’t polished self-help fluff or a glossy manifestation seminar. It’s James sharing his lived experience of shadow work in a way that feels urgent and honest, as if he’s still processing it himself.
What makes this conversation gripping is how ordinary the origin points of profound dysfunction can be. No dramatic Hollywood trauma—just quiet childhood moments that quietly built massive internal walls
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Key Moments & Timestamps
- 0:00 – 4:30 — The discomfort of stillness James describes his first retreats: finally sitting still long enough to feel that something was deeply “wrong” inside. The body screamed when the mind tried to be quiet—classic entry point into shadow awareness.
- 4:30 – 9:00 — The first cracks appear Early NLP sessions reveal seemingly minor incidents: being told at age 4 that “children should be seen and not heard,” and at age 7 to “hit back twice as hard.” These planted seeds of emotional suppression and reactive violence that shaped decades.
- 9:00 – 14:00 — The birth of multiple “egos” / protector parts. Playground fights for attention, deliberately sabotaging success to avoid humiliation, escalating violence through teenage years—these weren’t random behaviors. They were survival strategies that calcified into identity fragments.
- 14:00 – 20:00 — Addiction, fatherhood, and collapse Alcohol at 12, drugs at 13, becoming a father at 26 while still deep in addiction, projecting healing responsibility onto his son—the cost becomes painfully clear. Anxiety and depression from age 20 onward as the internal pressure builds.
- 20:00 – 28:00 — The real healing phase (14+ months of daily work) Sitting in discomfort without escape, inner-child reconnection, Qigong/energy practices, nature walks, breath as anchor. Physical chronic pain dissolves alongside the addictions. Emphasis on not running from the felt experience.
- 28:00 – 35:00 — The ego’s last stand The dangerous trap after initial breakthroughs: adopting a new identity (“spiritual healer,” buying tuning forks, trying to fix others). Burnout follows. Powerful reminder: no external person, guru, or therapist can do the work for you.
- 35:00 – end — The ongoing nature of the journey There is no final “healed” state—life will keep presenting new shadows. The practice becomes staying present, breathing deeply, and choosing authenticity over comfort in each moment. Knowledge without application is just more ego food.
What stands out most is James’s refusal to spiritual-bypass. He doesn’t claim enlightenment or permanent bliss. He admits the ego still tries to hijack the process (e.g., turning recovery into a new persona to feel superior). That’s rare candor in this space.
If you’ve ever felt stuck despite reading all the books, meditating sporadically, or chasing the next retreat/high—this video quietly asks the uncomfortable question:
Are you actually willing to feel what you’ve spent a lifetime avoiding?
Because, according to James, that’s where the real shift hides—not in more techniques, but in the courageous decision to stop running from your own interior.
It’s not comfortable viewing. But sometimes the most valuable mirrors aren’t flattering—they’re unflinching.
What shadows has stillness revealed for you lately?
Explore the wonderful possibilities that mindfulness and meditation has to offer.
Meet some wonderful people and you’ll learn something that can transform your life.
Retreats held throughout the year.
