“As long as we insist that we absolutely don't want dark, freaky, unpleasant things, a major part of our full spectrum human curiosity gets cut off, repressed, denied, and made unconscious.”- Carolyn Lovewell, Existential Kink With the rise in popularity of shadow work, inner child work, and healing unconscious pain and trauma, many are eager to explore the depths of our wholeness. However, a willingness to do this work requires an acceptance of the dark, “yucky”, and uncomfortable things that can be hard for us to forgive or acknowledge in ourselves. Carolyn Lovewell wrote “Existential Kink,” a hallmark book in this area drawing on jungian psychology and western esoteric traditions. She explains the importance of ‘unironically’ embracing the parts of ourselves that may have been repressed - not to change ourselves, or spiritually bypass - but to truly accept the full spectrum of our wholeness In this episode we discuss: the windy path from academia to magic links between existential kink & erotic energy embracing the parts of ourselves that are hungry for experiences of pain shadow work, the unconscious, and repression dealing with a divided will a short intro shadow work practice Bio Dr. Carolyn Lovewell has helped thousands of people around the world transform their lives for the way-better using shadow work and applied occult philosophy.  She's the author of the cult-classic creativity guide, Awaken Your Genius, and the book that rocked the coaching world, Existential Kink: unmask your shadow and embrace your power.  She's the co-founder of the world's only in-person Mystery School in the Western Esoteric Tradition, Sleep Over Mystery School. She earned her doctorate in Critical and Cultural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her family.  She offers online courses and memberships in magick and transformation via the Immortal College. Dr. Carolyn Lovewell adept of the Immortal College leader of Sleep Over Mystery School author of Existential Kink: unmask your shadows and embrace your power co-host of The Sleep Over Podcast with Carolyn and Laila Free Breathwork Practice: https://depthwork.substack.com/p/free-meditations-practices-and-workbooks Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.