My Style of Embracing Shadow and Light
(Photo by Dee Johnson)
The shadow points to where the sun is... following the shadow's shape and direction on the earth is a guide to finding the source of light. On a cloudy day when the shadows are hidden and hazed over, it's harder to locate exactly where the sun shines. And on crisp clear days when we are fortunate to play with our eyes open, recognizing the beauty of what-is, we can notice the spectrum of light reflecting and shadow casting decorating existence.
And so it is in our internal landscape. My style of embracing what-is includes noticing signs (shapes) within me that point to 'shadow' and embracing them too as I know that following their guidance will lead me to the brighter light. At this moment's reflection, I recognize 2 ways in which I get tuned into the presence of my shadow. The main one is whenever I feel a strong charge around some interaction/engagement -- If I feel triggered, if I feel a real sense of being subject to some deep emotion, a sense of indignation, a feeling of emotional arousal, or something that creeps over me and seems to absorb me. When I notice that I am so strongly in my own experience, absorbed by my own perceptions, charged by this presence, then I know that there is something here for me to 'investigate.' In a state of being absorbed, the light dims. The moment of recognizing the dimmed light grants me an opportunity to expand my vision, open to allowing in more air, more room to move, more perspective, more than just little old me attached to my ways of being and doing and afraid to step out into an unknown.
When I recognize this dimming or subjective addiction or attachment and then follow it's pointing to what is beneath it, usually something gogeous and fresh emerges. The darkness has pointed me towards the light. And I feel such a sense of awe, love and apprecaition for the opportunity to discover this hidden place in my being waiting to receive my attention
Cathy (with slight remixing)
I strongly believe that our shadows exist because at some point in our lives we needed them. We developed habits in order to survive, in order to effectively exist in the world that was around us... and as we evolve and mature we are less and less in need of those protective layers, we've discovered new ways of being and surviving. For this reason, I feel such an affection for my own and other people's shadows, they represent such a precious time in our lives and are in some ways like a favorite blankey.... all they ask from us is for love and acceptance, to be listened to and heard. And we do them a disservice if we continue to give them power as it is no longer 'real' power only patterns of habit. And so we with loving eyes weave the threads of essence into our new wings. . .
Chris:
(from a conversation at the wings forum)
The shadow points to where the sun is... following the shadow's shape and direction on the earth is a guide to finding the source of light. On a cloudy day when the shadows are hidden and hazed over, it's harder to locate exactly where the sun shines. And on crisp clear days when we are fortunate to play with our eyes open, recognizing the beauty of what-is, we can notice the spectrum of light reflecting and shadow casting decorating existence.
And so it is in our internal landscape. My style of embracing what-is includes noticing signs (shapes) within me that point to 'shadow' and embracing them too as I know that following their guidance will lead me to the brighter light. At this moment's reflection, I recognize 2 ways in which I get tuned into the presence of my shadow. The main one is whenever I feel a strong charge around some interaction/engagement -- If I feel triggered, if I feel a real sense of being subject to some deep emotion, a sense of indignation, a feeling of emotional arousal, or something that creeps over me and seems to absorb me. When I notice that I am so strongly in my own experience, absorbed by my own perceptions, charged by this presence, then I know that there is something here for me to 'investigate.' In a state of being absorbed, the light dims. The moment of recognizing the dimmed light grants me an opportunity to expand my vision, open to allowing in more air, more room to move, more perspective, more than just little old me attached to my ways of being and doing and afraid to step out into an unknown.
When I recognize this dimming or subjective addiction or attachment and then follow it's pointing to what is beneath it, usually something gogeous and fresh emerges. The darkness has pointed me towards the light. And I feel such a sense of awe, love and apprecaition for the opportunity to discover this hidden place in my being waiting to receive my attention
Cathy (with slight remixing)
when I listen to that voice that calls me from very deep within, I give it an audience, then I have a greater strength and calm and serenity.The second way that shadow reveals herself to me is through my noticing of patterns in the ways I interact with others. The moment I notice a repetition of types of interactions or ways people are responding or reacting to me, that moment is like seeing the tree's shadow on the grass and looking up to find the sun that's just peeked out from behind the clouds. If there is something in this pattern that does not seem to be serving the greatest good (each of us in our fullest light) then I speculate there is a play of shadow woven in our interaction... and I set out to investigate. This process of light (insight) discovery is often much slower. Usually there are many moments of noticing the pattern before a deeper awareness surfaces.
I strongly believe that our shadows exist because at some point in our lives we needed them. We developed habits in order to survive, in order to effectively exist in the world that was around us... and as we evolve and mature we are less and less in need of those protective layers, we've discovered new ways of being and surviving. For this reason, I feel such an affection for my own and other people's shadows, they represent such a precious time in our lives and are in some ways like a favorite blankey.... all they ask from us is for love and acceptance, to be listened to and heard. And we do them a disservice if we continue to give them power as it is no longer 'real' power only patterns of habit. And so we with loving eyes weave the threads of essence into our new wings. . .
Chris:
By learning to onglingly stand in my shadow and feel it directly, I sense the possibility for holding others before me more as real beings and less as projections of my own unseen being.ahhhhh.....
I view my shadow as a function of my Being, and a living component of it, full of essence and information I need if I am to trust myself in relating [to myself and] others in a way that is free.
(from a conversation at the wings forum)
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