photo by Andrei Lazarev
There will come a time when running around on the surface of life will not suffice. To be the change-makers we wish to be at heart, we must be willing to delve into our own darkness with courage and with compassion, with forthrightness and gentleness.
Only by going deep within, to be in shadow spaces, can you each learn that shadows are not places where you are stuck; shadows are places where you find your true self.
Shadows are gateways to higher understanding that we may move into and through. Like a hollow in a tree, the hollow of our core self is but a doorway, a passage to something deeper and more magical. We can be the co-creators we dream of being if we collectively uplift our own shadows into the light of understanding.
Shadows represent only one level of understanding, yet you must enter here to reach other heights of learning and knowing of the true nature of Higher Self. Through the shadow portal, you can emerge fully awakened, wide-eyed, able to see clearly in ways you never could before.
As we pass through the Winter Solstice of 2018, befriended your shadow aspects as sacred-source places where divine dwells (just as it does in the light). Dip into your shadows and realize that here you meet your better self. The energy you encounter in your shadows is not scary and overwhelming, but rather kind and understanding. It does not berate, it empathizes and forever calls to you to liberate yourself from the names you give to shadow aspects.
Shadow contemplation will enable you accept your wholeness, and to liberate self from fear of shadow aspects. From this worthy place of liberated space you can aspire to higher branches of consciousness, to expressing loving wisdom towards self. Embrace and fuse your light/darkness with love, knowing that this is no different than accepting and unifying your Feminine/Masculine energies, your Fire and Water aspects, your Air and Earth balancing facets.
Nothing is to be avoided, only seen consciously through the lens of compassionate awareness and acceptance. Your shadowy hollow is part of your heart core, so it can be none other than part of Your Whole Divine Self – a place of transmutation and transition where you affirm your intention to liberate yourself from unconscious limiting behavior and subconscious beliefs of not-being-enough.
This shadow play is a vital part of collective manifestation. If you wish the collective shadow to dissipate, then you need to do your own clearing and transformation.
As we continue to form the new reality we wish to inhabit, do so from a welcoming heart that embraces the world – not from the outside, but rather from the deepest places inside. It is the unconditional heart embrace of your true nature that is love, that is never only one aspect, but your wholeness and health that lives forever in the kingdom of Divine Beingness.
The shadow is an invitation to experience the cleansing nature of going within. Immediately acceptance brings more lightness to one’s spirit.
Take one step to release the shadow hold, to let it be held in awareness lightly. One shift in perception, one glance to a higher frequency. The Gene Keys are a great way to identify and embrace shadow play.
What we see around today as societal dysfunction and chaos is collective avoidance of looking at one’s shadow aspects. What is denied gets projected even further outward onto “reality” and onto others. This is constriction of heart rather than expansion.
By going into the shadows you will come to realize you have entered a magic kingdom of love and acceptance rather than judgement-punishment-shame-blame. Bliss lies here in the shadow – when you emerge purified of all misconceptions and wrong perceptions and ideas you had about yourself.
Shadow is not the scolding mother, the berating self. Shadow is a part of the human co-creation field. That field can be empowered by love or be a field of victimhood.
On this Winter Solstice 2018, be like the owl that emerges from the dark hollow of the tree into the womb of the night, into the nurturing environment of Yin energy (Mother-feminine) that wants you to grow and BE your highest potential.
As you emerge from your dive into your deeper Self, you will be newly purified. Now you are able to be the open wings and heart of true unconditional love. This is the source of inner validation that is required before you fly into daylight to express your human genius. First self-love and unconditional acceptance, then uplifting all that you do from that kind place of self-bliss. What magic might you manifest from that? What heaven might we collectively manifest?
Melissa Wadsworth is a futurist, artist, change-maker friend and author of Collective Manifestation: Heart-Centered Blueprints for Creating Intentional Community.