Today is the winter solstice, a day when light and dark exist in equal measure. And energetically we match that. We are light and we are shadow. That’s the way we humans are. So it’s very good time right now to explore our shadow aspects. As travelers on a spiritual path we spend a lot of time talking about light and love and would rather not look at our warts and foibles. But doing so will help to release an enormous amount of energy that is held in the shadow aspects of ourselves that we refuse to accept, we often refuse to even look at, and we certainly refuse to embrace.
There’s a tricky little thing that I use so that I can continually be exploring my shadow and accepting parts of myself. When I find myself judging someone negatively, I ask the following question: And how am I just exactly like that? Now, I don’t always want to answer the question lol. But I pose the question and very often it leads me to simply laugh at myself and the ridiculousness of separating myself from the rest of the world as if I’m somehow walking in perfection. Oh the ego loves that illusion, but it’s far from the truth.
Shadow aspects keep us separate from the rest of our brothers and sisters in humanity. And they keep a lie perpetuated about us and the illusion of our perfection. We are light and darkness, that’s how we’re wired. There’s nothing wrong with us. And things only really go astray when there is a deep refusal and denial and distortion about not having any shadow aspects.
The Solstice is the perfect time to look at the equal and opposite portions of ourselves and our personal energy. Yes we are love and light and radiance, and we are darkness and ugliness and judgment and violence and all of the things that you can think of that human beings are capable of. Do we indulge in all those things? Of course not. But accepting and acknowledging the energetic tendency toward those things is vital to our being able to be whole and bring all of ourselves to the energetic human table.
My belief is that the more we accept shadow in our selves, the less we separate ourselves from other humans and the more we help to heal the collective shadow of the human race. There is much ugliness and violence and prejudice afoot in the world today. Perhaps there always is. But the more than I can accept the answer to the question “And how am I just like that?” the less we will be adding to the ugliness.
If we really want to offer our love and light to the world then we need to bring our darkness to sit by the fire with us and have a cup of tea. We not need to not be afraid of it. We need to make friends with it and understand what it arises from, which is fear of vulnerability. Only always.
We are up to this task. We are very capable of it. Bit by bit, step by step, be fearless, be deeply human and accept your connection to the rest of humanity as well.
The Solstice energies are working on me. My dream last night was all about not buying into limitation. In the dream, I keep saying “But look we can expand out as far as we want to, we can expand, we are expansive!” In the dream we are looking out over a huge expanse of ocean and sky and clouds and endlessness and I keep pointing out to that, at the same time I am referring to the task we have at hand, which I don’t recall… but there is a group of us….. it is like we are waking up to how far we could take things. Pretty darn cool.
This is a deep topic and a very important one personally and collectively for the well being of humanity on this amazing planet of ours. Keep at it. You are not alone.
As always, I hope you SPARKLE!
Janice Masters, The Shaman Mama
**If exploring your shadow aspects is something you want to do to enhance your life, your energy, your relationships…your everything, let’s chat about working together.
Graphic: Winter Solstice by Igmac
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