Shadow Work

Hello Loves!
 
Today, I am continuing my reflections from my daily readings of “A Course in Miracles.”  The Course says:
                  You cannot learn of your wholeness until you see it everywhere
 
This idea is a continuation from last week when we talked about how we can only truly heal darkness by shining light upon it.  The first step in that process is being able to see our wholeness, to be able to see and accept that we encompass the entire range of human emotion within us.  We are a continuum of light, dark, and shadow.  Once we are able to accept this concept, then we can also see that these aspects of life are all around us.  Everything that we see is simply a reflection of something that is already within ourselves.
 
The Course continued to touch upon this idea today in this excerpt:
               If you inspire joy and others react to you with joy, even though you are not experiencing joy yourself, there must be something in you that is capable of producing it.
 
Can you think of an interaction that has sparked joy in you?  An interaction with friends or family that sparked joy, laughter, happiness, or peace?  Sometimes those emotions can even catch us a little bit off guard like ,“Whoa! Where did that come from? That felt really good!”  Well, the Course is talking about this idea that there must have been something within you that was vibrating at the level of joy, love, happiness that you were able to experience this emotion with another person.  You are able to see this in another person, because it is also within you.
 
And so, this brings me to the idea of shadow work.  Shadow work is something I just learned about a few years ago.  It is a practice of realizing that everything we see in the world is simply a reflection of something within ourselves.  It is an empowering practice because it allows us to look deeply within to heal our own wounds. For example, if we see anger or frustration arising in another person, we can ask ourselves, “Is there a place within me that is holding onto anger or frustration?”
 
Often, it comes up in an unrelated situation, but if we contemplate deeply, then we can find areas in our life that we are holding onto similar emotions.  Once we find it, we simply shine light on it.  We look at it with love and compassion, as you would looking upon a dear child.  In this way, we give ourselves the gift of deep healing.
 
This process is hard, I know.  At the same time, it is so deeply fulfilling.  It really empowers us to shift away from relying on external circumstances to make us happy.  Instead, we begin to realize that we are the source of our own peace, contentment, and happiness.  Through this practice, we start to see that every experience is here to teach us a spiritual lesson.  Every interaction is here to heal us a little bit more, to help open us up more to the love and peace that is within our own heart.
 
Sending you so much love, my dear friends!
 
Keep Reading:
Lovelight
To Love is To Heal
Shining Light onto Darkness