(Link included below to Shadow Work Webinar replay and practices to get you started on your own at home)
So thank you Corona! A bit like thanking Trump 4 years ago. It isn’t easy, it can feel like crap, but the truth is that it’s high time we take a good look at what’s lurking in our shadows. And without something to shake us up to do it, it’s much easier to stay in our comfort zone and keep it all hidden! For many, this is definitely not a comfortable situation we are currently in! So consider this your personal invitation!
What is a shadow? Something (a behavior, an energy, a desire, a repulsion, anything) you haven’t owned that is alive in you. You may be aware of it and do your best to keep it hidden, in the closet locked away, desperately hoping no one else notices and even go into great effort to mask it over with something more “presentable”, “acceptable”, “loveable”. Or you may not be aware of it at all, a blind spot like in a rear view mirror, although it may be obvious to others.
So Corona is inviting us to go THERE! Individually and collectively! Nothing less will do! Humanity needs this purification of our shadows in order to survive like we need air. Aho!!!
What has come out of the shadows for you during this time? Aspects of behavior, thoughts, reactions, etc, that you felt embarrassed about, guilty, ashamed, bad, regret, shocked, etc. In facing yourself in moments of alone-ness, in relating with family or friends in time of confinement, in deciding how much to buy and of what, in deciding to go out or not, etc. Go ahead, name them, own them.
And look at the collective shadows. How leaders and governments have responded, what’s been happening in the pharmacies and grocery stores, the state of our health care systems (depending on where you live), the disregard for nature, cruelty to animals, our obsession as a humanity with achieving and keep on going, the stock markets, etc. What of that lives in you, you can identify with, relate to?
Great! We are getting there! Facing your own shadows is one of the greatest acts of love possible. Here is an analogy: if you have an infection from an injury and a bunch of puss accumulates under the scab, what would be the most loving thing to do? Cover it up and let the infection continue? Or get that puss out so the wound can really heal, even though that might be painful? Exactly… Same Same!
There are a few practices included in the link below to help you get started to removing some of your puss! Help yourself.
Now lets keep going. Yes shadow work supports us to have a more fulfilling every day life through a more integrated and healthier personality. Absolutely!
AND…
It serves as practice for the afterlife, when in the Bardo (as the Tibetan Buddhists refer to it) we are shown desires (cravings and attachments) and fears (aversions) to recognize them as ourselves: “yes that is also me”. If we have not practiced that in this life, what chance to we stand in the after life? Great! But maybe you aren’t so concerned with how living this life is a test run for the afterlife, maybe you are simply interested in what shadow work has to do with soul. Right!
So…
Shadow work is a MUST on our path to soul awakening and anchoring, and a key part of our initiation into greater states of self realization. It allows us to clear out and stabilize our personality enough so that our soul can feel safe enough and welcomed enough to stay here now, in this body WITH the support of the integrated personality.
It is common that at some point at the beginning of our “search” our soul gives us a taste of how powerful and beautiful it is to live our soul purpose. This is the carrot on a stick. Because what follows is our soul showing us all the ways we block, derail or sabotage ourselves from aligning with and fully living our soul purpose, and that by definition requires us to look at our shadows! This is our initiation into the cleaning up work and healing work needed to live who we are as souls.
Those carrots, those glimpses, those tasters of what it is to live as a soul, serve as an incentive for us to face our shadows. This is the motivation for the underworld journey that is the second soul initiation. And yet, this is where most people stop, get stuck.
For those more experienced with the ascending path: If you are discouraged or feel that it’s not necessary to “go down there”, you are mistaken. You will continue to experience the self sabotage of your own shadow and ego structure in your daily life, and in the afterlife you will not recognize your own “demons” of desires and fears and will have to return over life times to learn those lessons either way. So go for it now. YES!
For those more on the embodied and descending path: If you believe that shadow work is the extreme sport of self development, or are content to simply have a functional or healthier daily life, maybe even reach the stage where you feel “that’s good enough, I’m done”… keep going! By walking on it, this path unveils itself to you and you realize that shadow work is actually the path to soul awakening and anchoring, and to full realization. YES!
Shadow work involves: owning what is really alive in you, clearing out the distortions, reaching the gold behind them, reclaiming your real power, and bringing all your parts back home to love!
For me, shadow work is anchored in:
– deep self-love;
– increasing consciousness;
– accessing your true power; and
– real freedom!
Eventually this leads towards the third Soul initiation where we become integrated, mature expressions of our soul purpose in the world, living it through the fused vessel that is our soul and personality, in service to and empowered by the Life Force of Spirit. Oh YES!!!
I deeply believe Shadow Work is the way to reach real freedom: Freedom from the shackles within! Freedom to be your self, not a slave to unconscious patterns operating in the background on auto-pilot. In my opinion, this is what this precious life is about ultimately! It is about remembering yourself, your true self, and letting go of the masks, the baggage, that which is not you. THIS is a true act of self-love!
And this is what Corona is inviting us all to do, shaking us out of our comfort zones, demanding us to see what’s really going on inside us, between us, and on the planet, what we have been trying to keep hidden. The invitation is to go into this kind of inner cleaning and opening, to meet ourselves fully and step into our true power, together alone.
Will you take this invitation? Or do things have to get more uncomfortable? Do you need more shaking? Because existence/ God/ Gaia (insert the word of your choice here) wants us to see, wants us to evolve into what we have always meant to be: embodied souls! And we will keep getting “invitations” to do so until we do so!
So if your answer is yes, here is a playlist with 10 videos to support you! Let’s take this invitation and move towards Soul Initiation collectively!
If this message resonates with you, please share it with others so that they may benefit too.
With love, respect and power!
Taki’h
“This is the real work: every part of you that has been exiled, condemned, rejected or walled off needs to be brought close, needs to be brought right into the heart, and allowed to merge into the light of loving awareness.” ~ commentary on the recognition sutra by Christopher Wallis, scholar on Classical Tantra
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