This is what we woke up to this morning. Beautiful, pure, soul-soothing.
It feels like how New Year's Day feels.
Clean.
A fresh start.
Until we break our resolutions.
I imagine that soon there will be talk of coming up with 2011 resolutions all over the popular media.
Well, here's a list that I think are worthy of the time one might spend thinking about that topic:
10 Reasons to Face and Embrace Your Shadow
I know. Not exactly what you were expecting.
But everything in the world that we might point fingers at or blame or groove on outrage about stems from individual and group shadow dance. Someone's sucky childhood grew them into the pain-ridden adult who makes the kinds of choices they make that, while they may bring pain to others, bring them immense relief from the torment inside.
So I recommend we start trying something new in the arena of making changes.
Let's start on that inside job that makes a difference.
And then pass it on.
*1. Wake up from the spell of your ignorance, delusions and projections.
All of that is a lie that our egos contrive and the culture corroborates with to keep us hopelessly mired in thinking about what's wrong with us and looking in vain for what might fix us, instead of thinking about things that we want to do, and then doing them.
*2. Release huge amounts of energy that you otherwise expend to keep your shameful parts hidden.
It's exhausting, this pretense-keeping. Your body makes you slow down with illness to get a rest from it, and only then do we get a glimpse at how much we tension we carry around every day. We poo-poo it, and that makes it all the more insidious.
*3. Stop living in fear, pretending that you are someone you are not.
All the layers of meaning we've heaped on the roles we take on and the choices we make keep us in fear of being found out. Such games we play with ourselves. The ego is paralyzed with fear that it won't be needed anymore once we decide that pretending to be who we really aren't has gone on long enough. It isn't going to die; it will just adopt a new level of importance in your repertoire of personas.
*4. Start choosing whoever and whatever you want to be at any moment.
We poo-poo this concept too. "It's not that easy." Well, at first it isn't. But consider that it ain't all that easy to maintain the status quo of pain, either. It feels familiar, it feels like home, but it don't feel good. Being who you really are does.
*5. Recognize that the people who trigger you are mirroring back aspects of yourself that you have forgotten.
Forgotten, and buried deep, and layered all kinds of meaning on top of, which leaves you rolled up into a ball in a very dark place. It's not true, most of any of it. Come on out in the light and dust yourself off, and get some air between those stories you've told yourself for decades, and the truth. It takes practice to reclaim your sanity.
*6. Remove physical aches and pains in your body that are manifestations of blocked energy or repressed emotional material.
A body can only take so much before it starts contorting to hold what we give it to hold.
*7. Find the gift in each of your Shadow aspects and learn how to use them for good.
There's a turnaround in each of our perceived weaknesses. There are books out there that can help you see them, feel them, and let go of their dominion over you. You'll notice your bodily maladies start to diminish at the same time. Funny how that works, isn't it?
*8. Admire the greatness you see in others as your own.
There is more than enough to go around. Someone else's misfortune doesn't mean there's less for you now. As a matter of fact, it's a trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow, if you're up to receiving all the good stuff you've been asking for all your life. It's there, waiting for you to let it in.
*9. Manifest your full potential by reclaiming the parts of yourself that you've denied, hidden or given away to others.
No one has the power to keep you down, sad, afraid, empty, alone. You are the only one with that power. You might attempt to give it away to people who really don't want it in the first place, and they do things differently around you because of it. But its yours and yours alone.
*10. Finally really get what those spiritual people are talking about when they say, "We are ONE!"
We are really all one humongous organism, making choices based on the energy available. Let's stoke the pile with more positive than negative, shall we? The powers-that-be seem to be afraid of what might happen if we all were to become independent thinkers and followed our souls' requirements. There's tons more money to be made from happy people than unhappy people. Perhaps that might be an initial way "in", by making it about the economy.
Slightly shallow, but hey, it's a place to start.
Numbered items by Alissa Sige Weisman, MFTi.
Commentary by Blissmonger.
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