Making Friends with Darkness
Befriending our Shadow
Having just passed through Autumn Equinox last week, I have already noticed the shortening of days already occurring here in southern Maine. With the ongoing unknowns regarding the pandemic, the thought of going into the darker fall and winter seasons may be viewed by some as an added stress to an already prolonged global situation.
For the last seven months, those who practice shamanism have been looking through the eyes of their Helping Spirits to deepen their understanding of the collective shadow. With this, it is also important to acknowledge our own shadows and to befriend them. We may have spent our earlier years being shamed for parts of ourselves that were not accepted by our parents, caregivers or friends. What this can create is a rift between that part of ourselves and the self that we identify as, which repressed that rejected part into the subconscious or shadow. Disowning ourselves is a form of abandonment. Would you disown a child? Of course not. Then why would we do this to ourselves? The most important place to start with in a collective or personal crisis is to practice befriending Self.
One might mistakenly assume they have done so much work that they do not actually have a shadow, but the truth is, that as long we are given a body in this Earth School, we all must acknowledge our collective and individual shadows for personal as well as collective growth. During this moment in history, it's important to take time for befriending Self. Depending on one's needs, befriending Self can take many forms.
There is an advanced shamanic practice called Shadow Work, which is a series of journeys in meeting a part of ourselves that we have repressed or disowned. This shamanic process is based on the "Feeding Your Demons" practice from the ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice of Chod, originated by a Buddhist nun named Machig Labdron who lived in the 12th century. In the shamanic practice of Shadow Work, the process begins by journeying with a trusted Helping Spirit to meet a part of ourselves that is at the root of an ongoing pattern of issues or triggers. For instance, we might observe a part of ourselves that tends to overeat. We may dislike that part of ourselves because of the trouble it might create in our lives and how it blocks us from achieving goals and dreams of feeling whole or healthy. We may reject that part of us so much that we have lost the capacity to see the positive intention that this part of ourselves truly has for us.
In this vein, coming to that part of ourselves with compassion rather than rejection, we might find that this part of us actually has an intention for us that is really altruistic that it needs us to recognize. When we lean in to those parts of ourselves with curiosity and compassion, rather than judgment and rejection, they respond with a willingness to work with us rather than against us. At the end of the process, we just might find that our shadow part becomes our ally!
Shadow work is authentic and courageous work ~ work you may find, with the right trusted shamanic practitioner to guide you, that is an act of deep self-love. Befriending parts of ourselves that have been disowned is a beautiful tribute to our growing wholeness. As we walk through the dark to acknowledge the collective shadow, the work we must do is to address and befriend our own individual shadows, as it all adds to the collective darkness.
In one of my recent journeys, I asked my Ancestors about a Full Moon Ceremony for this evening as well as for the second Full Moon we will have at the end of the month. What I was shown is that the Moon is a mirror for reflecting the light of the Sun. The Moon reflects the source of Light into the Darkness to illuminate it. Without darkness, there cannot be Light, and without Light, there cannot be darkness. Further, one of my Helping Spirits reminded me that this is a time of intense polarization in our human world. She showed me that the darkness is not the opposite of Light, but actually just as much a part of the whole essence of Creation.
Here's to beautiful acts of self-love ~
