The Shadow Within: How to Find Peace During Emotional Storms
The wind whistles and screams as a storm sweeps in. Thunder rolls and grumbles, echoing against the depth of your soul. Lightning cracks, startling you—spooked, scared, afraid. It moves fast, then faster, and then faster still.
You feel the energy growing.
You see it coming, but you don’t know what to do.
You feel stuck.
Trapped.
It’s almost like you’re standing in quicksand—being engulfed by the chaos around you, unable to move.
The more you struggle to free yourself, the louder the storm gets. It grows and grows until it feels like it’s sitting on top of you. You push. You pull. You fight. But nothing changes.
Until you pause.
Until you breathe.
Until you ground yourself.
And then it hits you—
The storm isn’t outside of you.
It’s inside.
It’s the storm that rises when you’re triggered by someone else’s behavior.
The storm that swells when deep emotions surface.
The storm that rages when old trauma rears its head—trauma you thought you had released, but still lingers in the corners of your mind.
This is the storm of your shadow.
The shadow is all those parts of you that you’d rather bury—the fear, the shame, the guilt, the doubt. It’s always there, waiting.
Waiting for the moment to grow, to tap you on the shoulder and scream in your ear,
“Hey… I’m still here, time to get sucked back into the darkness!”
But here’s the truth I’ve learned:
The more you shine light on your shadow, the more it begins to disappear.
Of course, the shadow doesn’t like that. It clings harder. Grips tighter.
Like a storm that won’t let up, it pulls at your ankles while you’re climbing toward the light, doing everything it can to drag you back down.
But here’s the good news:
You have a choice.
You always have a choice.
To choose the light.
To choose peace.
To choose abundance.
Especially when it feels hard.
A Dream That Opened My Eyes
Recently, I was doing dream analysis with my therapist. There’s been a recurring theme in my dreams—scenarios where I’m asked to do something scary.
Maybe I’m climbing a steep cliff or standing on a ledge, about to leap. I feel exposed, vulnerable, unsure if I’ll make it to the other side.
Usually, I freeze.
Or I wake myself up before I have to take the leap.
When we unpacked it, it became clear:
That hesitation? That fear? That’s my shadow showing up.
And it doesn’t just happen in dreams.
It happens in real life, too.
I just became a Certified Emotion Code Practitioner so I can identify and release trapped emotional energy—leftover emotional “baggage” from past experiences that may still affect you in the present. So, I did a session on myself that night to help release this shadow energy.
I had just watched a training video where a practitioner mentioned how these sessions can lead to a temporary dip in energy due to the emotional release that occurs.
And sure enough, the next day, I woke up feeling low.
I told MaryBeth, “I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s this storm cloud over me.”
That’s exactly what it felt like—a heaviness, a fog.
And it reminded me:
Even healing can be heavy.
Even growth can feel like grief.
But when you understand the storm… when you name it…the storm isn’t as dark as you begin to see the light.
Because when you release what’s been weighing you down, you make room for who you’re becoming.
How To Move Through Your Shadow
When that shadow storm hit, I turned to the three tools I’ve learned make all the difference – MaryBeth’s Permission to Be Human framework:
1. Self-Awareness (Noticing)
It started with naming what was happening.
“This is my shadow.” “My shadow is present here.” “Low vibes are present here.”
The energy, the fear, the sadness—they weren’t random. They were part of my healing. Once I could see them clearly, I could choose how to respond.
I used to think healing meant never feeling the storm again.
But now I know it’s about how quickly I can notice the storm and move through it.
2. Self-Compassion (Forgiveness)
Once I saw the shadow, my instinct was to judge it.
To shame myself.
To say, “You’ve done all this work, why is this still here?”
But that’s exactly how the shadow grows stronger—through shame.
Instead, I softened.
I let myself feel what I was feeling.
I gave myself permission to be human.
To say, “It’s okay to be here. It’s okay to feel this way. I forgive myself.”
Just like I’d comfort a friend—I learned to comfort myself.
3. Self-Care (Choosing Again)
Then I asked:
“What’s one thing I can do right now to bring in more light?”
For me, that meant activating my values.
That day, I went out in nature and did a photo shoot at Fort McHenry with the cherry blossoms.
Later, when the sadness crept back in, I trained with my kettlebell to move the energy.
Then, I made a beautiful barbecue dinner—cooking, creating, connecting.
Each of these acts was rooted in my values:
Health. Growth. Unity with Nature. Creativity. Connection.
When you align with your values, it’s like turning on a flashlight in the darkness.
This Is Why I’m Sharing
This newsletter wasn’t what I had planned to write.
But as I surrendered to the process, I realized this storm—this shadow—was exactly what needed to be shared.
Because you have these storms, too.
You’ve felt the weight of them.
You’ve been caught in them.
You’ve doubted whether the light would return.
So I’m here to tell you:
The light is still there.
It never left.
The more you practice self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-care, the more you’ll feel it again. Full permission to be human.
You can choose the storm.
Or you can choose peace.
So choose peace, my friend.
Choose it again and again and again.
Because peace is a practice.
And every time you choose it, you grow the light inside you.
Want a jumpstart to learn how to master this framework?
MaryBeth’s upcoming 4-day audio course, How to Be an Island of Peace in a Sea of Chaos, is designed to help you do exactly that. Build the daily habits that anchor you in light, no matter what’s happening around you.
Sign up for more details below.
And keep choosing the light.
P.S.
Want support navigating your storms? Sign up for the waitlist for MaryBeth’s brand-new 4-day audio course: How to Be an Island of Peace in a Sea of Chaos.
You’ll learn how to ground yourself, regulate your energy, and stay centered—even when the world feels overwhelming.
✨ Get on the waitlist now and be the first to know when it drops at a special launch rate discount.