In my part of the globe, it is the time of the year to prepare for longer stretches of time in doors with the cooler weather. My garden beds are put to rest (except for the stuff I am overwintering) and I tend to get the urge to declutter my indoor space more in preparation for this.

Celebrations such as Halloween, the Day of the Dead,  and Samhain all have common themes of death and fears.  Facing ones fears, honoring the dead, allowing their spirits to move on reflect the internal process we all must face in order to put things to rest.

This weekend we made a shrine for my father-in-law who passed away last spring.  It was among many other shrines at annual festival we attend called the Night of Dread.  There were shrines for loved ones as well as shrines for other concepts of losses grieved.

As I was walking around taking in the different shrines, I was touched by the individual expressions and the care that went into each one.  Each shrine laid out  in the festival park, freely sharing and releasing the grieving. Isn’t that what we need when we express our innermost thoughts and feelings, a witness to the pain, the loss?

I think that the process of witnessing, by externalizing ones feelings and thoughts is paramount to being able to move on.

As part of the Night of Dread festival, we were invited to heckle our fears represented by giant puppets.  Other fears were written down by individuals on cardboard signs waiting to be burned in the communal cleansing fire.

An idea sparked from all the burning of fears and the shrines paying homage to loss. I thought: why not make a shrine to acknowledge the internal struggles?  Give these gremlins the space and room to express themselves that won’t do damage.  Putting the fear of facing these inner critics to rest.  Acknowledge how they have helped, whether it be to motivate you to “try harder” or wether they had you questioning yourself so much that you were stronger for it in the end.  Sometimes a little criticism can go a long way to help you clarify exactly what you are doing right!

So here is your  challenge if you so choose: make a shrine in honor of your inner critic. Face that fear, and put things to rest.  Go ahead and mourn the loss of your inner critics.  Let them go. Acknowledge their contribution to building your character but put the rest to rest.  Whatever does not serve you, let it go.

For this exercise you will need:

• Any size box you wish to use; it could be a tissue box or a shoe box, or bigger if you choose.
• Magazines pictures or old photos.
• something to draw (pencils, crayons markers) or paint with.
• Some found objects to represent the helpful and not so helpful parts of your inner critics (we don’t want to make the mistake of glorifying them after all).
• some cloth or ribbons to decorate your shrine as YOU see fit – though this is one of those time when listening to your inner critic’s advice may be helpful in revealing their needs (read your needs)
• a small votive candle

Once you have your box decide if you would like to shape a roof on it (giving it an attic for storage of?).  Walls can be left solid or you may wish to cut out parts.  Choose a colour to paint the outside of the box or alternatively glue on any colour paper (or white).  Decide if you want to cover any parts of the inner shrine with material or not.  You may wish to peruse through magazines and rip or cut out pictures that “fit” for your inner critic’s personality.  Similarly, symbolic objects that you find around the house can also be used inside your shrine.

Once you have assembled your shrine you are ready to respond to it.  Feel free to give your inner critic(s) their own name. Are they related to any old or new fears?  Is here a catch phrase that they relentlessly nag you with? Write it down.  Face that fear. Externalize it!

Just as when loved ones die so often we think of things that we wished we had said, so it can be with your inner critic.  Is there anything that you wish to say to this inner critic? A response to their nagging perhaps.  A question about their motive.  Are you curious about their origins of birth. Perhaps you wish to thank them for bringing something into your awareness.

There are many different ways you can respond to your inner critic.  Allow the questions and responses to express themselves in any way that feels right to you.  It could be a written response that you scribe on the inside or outside of the shrine.  You may wish to write a poem or a song which you could voice out loud to the critic’s shrine as you put them to rest.  Whatever brings you peace.

If during this process you find the tears pour forth, just allow it. Allow yourself to mourn any losses, acknowledge any disappointments.  Allow yourself to recognize how your life has been touched by these experiences that have formed the being you have come to know as your gremlins or inner critic.  Be sure to get whatever support you need during this process.
Though you may put them to rest, their spirit is sure to dwell in the crevices of your memories.  They may still come to visit, but you choose whether you want to invite them for tea or dinner.

If you choose to do this activity and would like to share any pictures of your shrine on this blog, please feel free to send pictures with permission to post, or links if you post them on your blog.