Unearthing Our Shadow Side

 

A mind connected to the light; perceives the light. Until we connect, all we see are illusions in the dark.

The view into our soul from the inner chamber isn’t all pleasantries. But as we align to the perspective of truth, all we see, including our shadow side (false fabricated self) is encapsulated in divine love.

From the inner chamber, we begin to see ourselves raw and real. As our awareness increases so does our vision of our current soul state. As an observer of our own soul, we witness the depths of our struggles, afflictions, depravities, brokenness, frailties and illusions of our soul. These can throw us into states of sadness, frustrations, and even hopelessness. However, as we continue to seek to expand in the awareness of truth and divine love, we begin to realize that they are serving a purpose; to prepare us to receive and give divine love.

As we move toward the light, we begin to face these aspects of ourselves that we’ve spent years running and hiding from. All that we’ve held in our soul is exposed. In the darkness of unawareness, these traits remain hidden or sketchily seen, though their pain can be intensely experienced. Thus, we go through life creating disharmonious ripple effects and clueless as to why. Thus, to see is a blessing, though it may not feel like it initially … or even for awhile.

What do we do when these adverse and painful reflections are exposed? The multifaceted qualities of co-dependency, damaging control, fear, criticalness, self-pity, victimization, self-doubt, ego, pride, greed, lust, selfishness, guilt, shame, degraded self-value, and so on?

We can either view our shadow side with despondency and hopelessness or as a means to grow in the awareness of divine love. The latter builds the constructs of truth that prepares us for the inflow of the divine consciousness.

We see these attributes for what they are because we are seeing their contrast; what our soul expression would be in divine love. We see what we see for our instruction; for our soul’s sake, others and as a part of our Creator’s workmanship in us. As we seek what we are to learn from these challenging traits, we grow in the awareness of truth and divine love. In time, we learn that everything in our lives is serving our highest good as we surrender from our rebellion.

Acknowledgment, Letting Go, and Building Truth

When we see the attributes of our shadow side from a perspective of growth, we acknowledge, let go, and enable truth to expand into our awareness.

1. Acknowledgement. To receive new constructs of divine love, we first acknowledge and confess the ones not of divine love. This requires honesty and transparency with our inner and outer reflections. Blame, complaining, denial, and suppression, all block the learning that is purposed in these imperfections. We each have what we have to learn what we need to about divine love.

2. Letting Go. Once we acknowledge the attribute, we desire to let it go. To utterly and completely forsake it. Much of our expanding awareness is a process of letting go. This level of letting go is an onion peeling process. We have a trait because it helped us in some way. Our anger, control, pride, withdrawal, or denial served to protect us in our youth when we didn’t know what else to do with what was handed to us. We are challenged as we mature to let go of our childish ways and embrace the ways of divine love. This doesn’t mean instant change by any means. It means a desire to sincerely let go of this trait that blocks divine love; because this desire to let go opens the pathways for truth to start building in its place. So the questions arise: Do we truly desire to let go of this attribute? Or does it feel empowering at times? Does it help us “survive”? Does fear keep us holding onto it? Over time as our awareness expands to the nature of divine love, we gain a sincere desire to want to let go of all that hinders this love.

3. Building Truth: When we acknowledge and desire to let go, we are enabling the Spirit of Truth to mercifully build truth within our soul; the truth about the nature of divine love. Over time, bit by bit, as we embrace the truth instead of the lie, the footholds of these counter mindsets start to loosen. The more thoughts and beliefs we have supporting the lies, the more blinding the lies. The more thoughts and beliefs we have around the truth, the more lucid the truth. So we seek to cultivate truth and not the lie.

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13

Deliverance

What follows from this process is very individual and purposeful.

After we’ve gone through this process, these challenging attributes often continue to linger.  To alter these deeply seeded habitual perspectives and responses is the work of the Spirit of Truth within us. We are our Creator’s workmanship. Often these traits linger, because they assist in the building of the truth. They keep us seeking, asking, praying, and going deeper, instead of lounging in the complacency of ignorance. Therefore, above all we are called to trust in his workmanship in us and not our own or what we think should be happening.

A particular “weakness” facilitates a deeper trust in our Source and Center. It empowers us to put our pride aside and possess a sincere humility. It teaches us the faithfulness of divine love in the midst of unfaithfulness. Weaknesses serve our growing awareness. There are many purposes to our lingering imperfections.

Over time as we expand our awareness, the weakness may be no longer needed, thus it’s removed. Regardless of the outcome, our purpose is to expand our awareness. Thus whatever we face is there for our instruction. When we focus on this purpose, we are focused on the light and we grow. If we succumb to self-pity or blame, we are focused on the dark and that stifles our heightening awareness. Our imperfections serve to teach us.

We are learning what a soul governed by a self-directed will, versus a divine all-knowing will manifests. When we face our dark shadows, we begin to see the illusions we constructed. With a self-directed consciousness we make constant erroneous judgments. These create a reality of illusions, which we translate into our truth, our reality, our life. Our harsh judgments about our imperfections make it a thousand times harder. When we look from the perspective that all is for our growth and we aren’t meant to be perfect, then our judgments lessen. Our judgments feed our fear and our fear our judgments. As the fear dissipates in the awareness of a divine love, our imperfections, struggles, hardships, and afflictions begin to serve us according to their intended purpose.

The Spirit of Truth is always present to teach us through everything we face. As we open our ears as a willing student to learn from whatever we may encounter in or outside of ourselves, for one is the reflection of the other, we become prepared for a oneness with our Creator, which is our deliverance and eternal rest. Only our Creator knows when our schooling is complete. As long as we are in our school uniforms, the self-directed consciousness, we are to learn, and our imperfections are part of the curriculum.

As we’re drawn toward the light, our illusions fade and we see all is working for our highest good.