Steven Twohig, international speaker, author, and founder of Mastering Change, joins Dr. Tara Perry to discuss what happens when you stop running from your shadow and start treating it as a guide. Steven's story begins in a basement, where as a three-year-old he endured abuse, starvation, and threats — and it ends with 26 years of shadow work, over 200 trained guides, and a growing global community built around one core idea: you are the medicine.
In this episode, Steven breaks down why the patterns we can't escape aren't bad luck — they're the mind looping unresolved trauma until we're willing to look at it. From the boardroom to the carpet ceremony, from Tony Robbins' stage to a bathtub suicide attempt, this conversation goes deep.
01:07 Shadow work isn't spiritual theory, it's the most practical tool Steven knows.
03:12 The first time someone turns within, they see they're both the warden and the prisoner.
05:00 Even a skilled guide catches himself deflecting fear — on the way to the vet.
09:48 Childhood torture, addiction, and multiple suicide attempts shaped Steven's entire path.
12:15 Jung was right: what you don't address will appear in your life as fate.
16:12 Projection isn't a metaphor, it's a measurable dynamic playing out in real time.
17:44 "Shadow dancing" is why couples keep triggering the same wound in each other.
21:53 The Shadow Work app and 65+ online integration groups are free entry points.
28:05 Family constellation parallels: when the container is right, trauma peels away.
47:57 The 100th monkey effect, HeartMath, and why 144,000 people doing the work could shift everything.
54:02 High achievers at peak performance are often running hardest from their core wound.
1:08:44 The mind wants to rewrite itself — you just have to stop blocking it.