Although our model has four distinct phases (Life Map Work, Shame Work, Darkroom Work and other experiential ways of working and Lifestyle), it is entirely person-specific. This means we always adapt the work to the individual and not the other way around – so, the person is always at the centre of the process. Therefore, no two people have the same experience, even when they pass through all four phases. For those who prefer not to work completely adhering to our approach, we simply use aspects of our model and resources to meet their needs in other ways.
Darkroom work is the third stage in our process, and represents a significant body of exploratory and resolution work. In darkroom work we are helping individuals establish a conversation with the sub and unconscious minds; these are the parts that most need to be persuaded to alter their course. They are the driving forces behind our self-limiting habits, patterns and ways of being… and in shifting these drivers, change at an emotional level becomes possible.
There will be times when darkroom work is not the choice or the best fit for an individual, and in those circumstances, we use other forms of experiential work, such as emotional freedom work (EFW) deep relaxation work, trance, and emotional breath work, alongside the other introspective resources we offer.
Part 1
The sea of human emotions is vast, complex and runs very deep. Within its depths there are countless currents generating an immense and powerful force within each of us. Some of these currents flow harmoniously in the same direction creating stability, insight, and clarity within us, whilst others flow in opposing directions offering only confusion, contradiction, and anxiety.
Our emotions are the result of our life experiences, which often (particularly in childhood) get woven together in an illogical fashion. In other words, experiences, which have no real connection to each other, because of our faulty and sometimes misguided thinking and perception, get wrongly bound together. This is why at times emotions are reasonable and rational whilst at other times they seem to have no sanity or reason about them. Working with our emotions is a fascinating challenge as there ‘appears’ to be no logical pattern or laws governing their activity, it is as if there is a state of anarchy and chaos, but this is not really the case. If we walk along the corridors of our mind into the maze of emotions, we will discover there is some pattern and meaning and our work in the dark will help us in this pursuit.
To take on the challenge of dark room work which involves sailing through both the calm and turbulent waters of our emotions we need to have: 1) a willingness to take the risks presented by such a voyage, we also need to have: 2) some understanding of the changing nature of the emotions we are facing so we can respond appropriately. Finally, we need to: 3) draw on the external support and resources that lend themselves to our cause, because none of us can make it to our destination without help of some kind at different points along the way.
Darkroom work is the final frontier, it is the point where after some preliminary work has been done the individual meets their emotions head-on. It leaves us with no option but to face the truth about ourselves. As the term implies the process is carried out in the dark, with our eyes closed accompanied only by one’s counsellor/therapist. There are several reasons for submerging ourselves into our emotions via the medium of the dark:
1) The dark for most of us is a place we would rather not be, it represents fear and the unknown and both these things need to be faced to help us heal.
2) We cannot see in the dark and in losing our visual experience of the world we are forced to rely on our other means of experiencing and interacting with our environment, which are exactly the conditions we seek to create in order that we can make real contact with what is going on inside of us.
3) Once we are immersed in the dark in this way, the emotions that are continually there and yet simply get overlooked or pass us by, begin to come into focus. In fact, we have a different experience altogether of the landscape of our inner world, ‘it’ is then able to communicate its messages to us more clearly and profoundly offering us a whole new perspective of that age-old question ‘who am I?’
Darkroom work is a process carried out over several months and is only ever engaged in after a healthy and meaningful relationship has been established with the therapist who is accompanying you on this journey. With a relationship of trust, sincerity, support and honesty, dark room work will offer the individual immense treasures, previously unavailable to him/her simply because they had never looked for them in this way before. Although there may be some anxiety and concern about confronting oneself in this way, that is to be expected and is part of the process, which eventually disappears after taking the plunge. The dark is the doorway to understanding what is called the ‘absurd logic’ of our emotions – within that absurd logic lie many of the answers to the mystery of the self.
Part 2
The primary reason for working in the dark is to communicate with the heart (emotions) rather than with the head (intellect). There are many issues and problems you carry around with you that words alone will never resolve. Think how many times you have gone round the same loop of experience again and again, constantly using words to try to break down and resolve your issues. Yet experience has shown you that words often don’t work and despite how much you talk about certain pains, hurt, damage and dysfunction, they never seem to heal, they never seem to go away. This is because they are not intellectual by nature and so need an emotional solution.
All negative experiences have an emotional consequence, and words can take us a long way towards resolving our hurt or trauma. There are, however, some elements of our emotional disturbance that are beyond the reach of words alone. This is why we use the dark as a medium for addressing emotional issues because the paradox is that it is in the dark that so many things are unveiled and become clear, which in turn offers emotional freedom and personal power. Why is this?
If we are fortunate enough to have sight, then the vast majority of our energy is consumed in the sophisticated activity of this faculty. The eyes provide the brain with the full-time job of decoding, deciphering and generally making sense of our world. So much energy is spent analysing, judging, and then acting accordingly in response to what we see. When the individual is plunged into the dark, whilst remaining conscious, a wonderful feature of nature comes into play, as the energy of sight becomes insight.
In other words, when the energy of sight is invited to focus in on itself, it becomes ‘in-sight’ as it is now looking in rather than out. There is no miracle taking place here, simply the laws of energy at work. If the energy (sight) isn’t being expressed externally because we are temporarily blocking those pathways (by closing the eyes) then it must find another way of expressing itself. This is why dark room work is so powerful because by redirecting the energy of sight we are able to see and feel those things that are always there, lying dormant in the corridors of the mind, but are rarely addressed or confronted because of the relentless, distracting pace of our lives.
Darkroom work is a revelatory process. However well you think you know yourself you will discover things about yourself that were previously either not clear or not known at all. This journey will, for most of you, be the most transformational, life-changing thing you’re ever likely to do. Dark room work is safe, sensitive, and supportive but most of all it is liberating. Its return will often be greater than your investment because, long after each session has concluded, it continues to unravel the mysteries of the self and emerge forgotten truths. For many, the idea of raking up the past and sitting in the stench of fear, regret, pain, and those things that have damaged us, seems to be madness. This would be true if the individual wasn’t already being driven mad by those very same memories and experiences!
Darkroom work is not a voyeuristic exercise, indulging in pain for its own sake, nor is it a ‘poor me’ activity. To the contrary, it is a very effective way of reclaiming one’s power (see Waste Weakens, Understanding Your Blind Spot and Resolution Creates Time, Space and Energy). All the negative experiences trapped in the countless pockets of your awareness are slowly drowning your spirit in toxic waste. When you can face these experiences in this way (and not everyone will feel able to do this) the dividends are enormous as the shame, guilt, fear, and anger that binds you will be broken, and both your head and your heart will be set free. We do not recommend dark room work be undertaken without skilled help. It is a spontaneous yet precise, analytical approach that needs someone who fully understands the process and has experienced its marvel and wonder and so is therefore able to work with its incredible power.
Also see: The Power of Introspective Practices, Brainwaves and Lifestyle