Sunday, September 14, 2008

September Shadow Revelation for Purpose Salvation


As the “2012” shift in human consciousness becomes an increasingly undeniable reality, those of us who are awake are being increasingly pressed toward choosing Love over Fear. All of us are conscious of our embedded traumas – either from this lifetime, ancestral wounds, or both. These traumas serve as initiatory events designed to prepare us for effectively carrying out our life purpose. But paradoxically, they also distract and distance us from life purpose. Thankfully, the time does come for us to evolve away from our fear-based survival lifestyles. The time does come when we are given the opportunities to learn how to embrace a loving, fulfilling and purposeful life -- which we never need to retire from. For many of us, that time is now.

It is my experience that Spirit has designed the month of September 2008 as the month of Shadow Revelation.

By this I mean that whatever belief system is holding you hostage from bringing more of your gifts and talents to the forefront of your life is going to be revealed. Now, our shadow has many components, so what gets revealed this month is just one aspect a multi-layered phenomenon. But, this component is a major one and deeply rooted, and from my own recent experience and that of several others, the roots of a mega emotional block has been or is being pulled out and literally paraded before our waking eyes.

You are going to be emotionally triggered. And it doesn’t feel good. In fact, it’s downright painful. For example, if you unconsciously believe that the boogey man will get you when you make yourself fully available as a healer, then the boogey will literally show up at your doorstep. If you are unconsciously afraid of change and transformation, then a big black snake will move into your bathroom and block you from opening the door! If you have unconsciously believed that playing the martyr will make you the better person in your interpersonal experiences, people are going to falsely accuse you and expose how bitter you are towards life.

These experiences happened this week to people I know, and the first one happened to me! A middle-aged man who lives next door to me rang my door bell and attempted to try to get to know me. He looked and behaved in an adolescent manner, his energy was toxic and “perp” (short for perpetrator), and I know from the person he rents from that he is going to be evicted. I declined the offer to go out with him, and when he blurted out his phone number and asked me to call him I said I’d think about it – even though I knew then and there “No way!” Thank goodness I realized that night that I had been triggered. Here was the living, breathing consequence of me sharing my healing gifts in a more noticeable way in the world. This was my deeply embedded fear come to real life.

Recognizing that my survivor neurosis was fully activated, I knew I needed to tell someone, and get feedback and support.

The next day, I had a conversation with a dear friend who shared an Islamic teaching with me about Shirk. A Shirk is anything we choose to fear more than God and therefore become distracted from our devotional beliefs and practices. It’s the ultimate worship of false idols. Although my relationship to Creator/God is not one of fear, I had definitely been triggered into giving my power away and was totally distracted from doing what always reconnects me to my truth – being still, praying, listening to the Ancestors, and creating a devotional gesture or ritual. After another consciousness-raising and supportive conversation with my spiritual mentor, I wrote a letter to my shadow belief and released it from the sacred contract we shared, saying it had done a great job and the job was over. I went to Lake Michigan and released the letter through a personal Water Ritual. I don’t know the full results of my shadow revelation, but I do know I am no longer concerned that the next door neighbor is “out to get me.” I’ve chosen not to be a victim because it distracts me from my purpose in the world.

So here are a few suggestions for coping with shadow revelation and supporting your progress towards purpose salvation:

1. Be emotionally intelligent about your shadow trigger – allow yourself to feel fear, anger, sadness, grief, confusion, and most importantly allow yourself to cry.

2. Whatever you believe is being done to you and trapping you in victim consciousness is evidence of your shadow component that is ready to be healed. Help the revelation process by asking yourself, “What does this experience tell me about what I unconsciously believe about myself?” And allow more than a minute for the answer – even go to sleep on it.

3. Share the shadow trigger experience with someone you trust to give you feedback and encouragement.

4. Once you feel that you’ve identified the shadow in you, do a personal release ritual. First, write a letter to the shadow (Dear Shadow. . .) and thank it for being your evolutionary teacher. Write down what the shadow has taught you about yourself and how this knowledge informs your ability to live a purposeful, fulfilling and love-centered life. Also let the shadow know that the contract between the two of you is now complete and that you no longer need its lessons. Next, fold the letter and place it in a decorated envelope, gift wrap or tissue paper. Spirit is attracted to beauty, so make it very attractive. I suggest that you release the letter very gently and slowly, meaning take it to a body of water or bury it. Because these shadow components were so deeply rooted and very much a hidden part of our identity, Fire is too radical. We need gentleness and time to allow for our new learning to occur. Letting go of identity pieces too radically can result in an unconscious retrieval of the shadow component.

5. And to help you focus on your purpose, make a “Wheel of Fortune” by drawing a circle, dividing it into the major areas of your life, such as health, relationships, work, spirituality, enjoyment, or whatever categories you prefer to use. Then, find magazine photos or draw in those images of things you would like to see happen through you in the next six months of time. (Note that I said “through” you, not “to” you.) Put the Wheel of Fortune where you will notice it every day. The images will implant in your subconscious and seemingly without effort begin to draw you into situations and learnings which will bring about the results you have imaged-in. (This exercise is from the Medicine Woman Cards Inner Guide Book by Carol Bridges)

The salvation of our purpose will evolve us away from a life of survival, which is usually the experience of struggling and suffering. To be on purpose allows God, the Universe, Spirit and the Ancestors to provide us with everything we need easily and effortlessly. I leave you with one of my favorite poems by Rumi and send you warm thoughts of courageous shadow revelation.

A POEM BY RUMI
“Guest House”

This being human is a guest house;
Every morning a new arrival;

A joy, a depression, meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor;

Welcome and attend them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweep your house
Empty of its furniture,
Still treat each guest honorably;

He may be clearing you out
For some new delight;
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

Meet them at the door laughing,
And invite them in;

Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent
As a guide from beyond;

Welcome difficulty.
Learn the alchemy True Human Beings know:
The moment you accept what troubles
You’ve been given, the door opens;

Welcome difficulty as a familiar comrade.
Joke with torment brought by the Friend.

Sorrows are the rage of old clothes
And jackets that serve to cover,
And then are taken off.

That undressing and the beautiful
Naked body underneath,
Is the sweetness that comes after Grief.