Can Good & Bad Coexist?

As I move further into my journey with Reiki, my spiritually becomes more of who I am at my core. The depth of my belief, forgiveness, acceptance, all encompassing unconditional love ~ this is what I strive to be daily.

I find myself drawn to others whose spiritual awakening matches mine.

Opening to others while a beautiful spiritual and learning experience can also present it's difficulties. What if the person you are opening to is a fraud, masquerading as spiritually awakened but still living in the third dimensional world? Or maybe they have awakened but family, friendships or career positions don't allow them to embrace their full spiritual potential. Their shadow self keeps the upper hand when in fact they need to maintain the upper hand and learn to coexist with their shadow self. British analyst Liz Greene points to the paradoxical nature of the shadow as both the container of darkness and the beacon pointing toward light. "The shadow is both the awful thing that needs redemption, and the suffering redeemer who can provide it."

"Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a hidden shadow side: an impulsive, wounded, sad, or isolated part that we generally try to ignore. The Shadow can be a source of emotional richness and vitality, and acknowledging it can be a pathway to healing and an authentic life. We meet our dark side, accept it for what it is, and we learn to use its powerful energies in productive ways. The Shadow knows why good people sometimes do "bad" things. Romancing the Shadow and learning to read the messages it encodes in daily life can deepen your consciousness, imagination, and soul." Connie Zwieg, PhD., and Steve Wolf, PhD.

It is a daily battle to overcome those negative emotions that threaten to undermine us ~ anger, resentment, jealousy, hatred, judgement, self loathing. There is constant self questioning ~ are we good enough, do we measure up, are we keeping up with our neighbours? When we look in the mirror, do we see our inner beautiful soul or only the image the mirror reflects back at us? And what do we say to that image in the mirror ~ You're ugly, you're fat, you're not good enough?

But you are good enough ~ you are worthy of love!!! But until we embrace this belief and love ourselves unconditionally, the third dimensional world along with our shadow self will continue calling our name and the more often you answer that call the tighter the hold.

It is a lifelong challenge learning to coexist with the shadow self. But the rewards can be immeasurable if we can accomplish this. The painful, deep parts of our psyche that lead to these negative behaviours will continue to take over your thoughts and behaviour unless you are willing to look at them, accept them as part of your consciousness, and then release the energy that you have wrapped up in them making it available for your spiritual growth.

I have spent over two years in my journey trying to eradicate negative emotions from my thought process, but recently I have discovered that they need to be brought into my consciousness, so I can learn the lessons they have to teach and work with them.

Spend time listening to the clues that you may hear again and again from family, friends, coworkers. They may shed light on the parts of you that need the most attention.

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes ... Carl Jung

A feeling of aversion or attachment toward something is your clue that there's work to be done ... Ram Dass

When we are aware of our weaknesses or negative tendencies, we open the opportunity to work on them ... Allan Lokos