enlightenment
How To Embrace Your Shadow Self
Most people tend to shy away from acknowledging their dark or “shadow” side when it comes to spirituality.
In fact, the tendency to avoid the uncomfortable aspects of the self is due in large part to our religious or spiritual background. Throughout history, most traditions have encouraged people to suppress, deny, or transcend their human flaws and shortcomings in favor of higher ideals such as purity, salvation, or enlightenment.
This reluctance to face the shadow within continues to this day, with modern spiritual and metaphysical communities often favoring light, love, and positivity while largely ignoring the messy, difficult, and painful aspects of the human experience.
But by avoiding the shadow within, we deny ourselves the opportunity for a deeper understanding of our soul’s purpose and untapped possibilities for personal and spiritual growth.
According to Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist who pioneered the concept of the “shadow” in psychology, “one is not enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” Enlightenment isn’t about avoiding the shadow. Instead, it’s about facing it and integrating it into our being.
When we face the shadow within, we reclaim parts of ourselves that hold immense power, creativity, and insight. By delving into the deeper truths of our shadow selves, we can unravel the unconscious patterns that dictate our lives, allowing for true healing, transformation, and enlightenment.
Reconnecting With Your Inner Light
These days, it’s easy to feel lost, anxious, or just plain drained. We juggle the pressure to succeed, increasing isolation, endless app notifications, and even a creeping sense of loneliness or hopelessness.
It’s no wonder so many of us feel overwhelmed and disconnected from our true selves and the deeper source of wisdom within that illuminates our lives. Instead of feeling alive and vibrant, for many people it’s just a matter of getting through the day.
But here’s the good news: There is a way out of this gray fog, and it doesn’t involve a fancy retreat or running away to join the circus.
It’s about reconnecting with the light within you-the spark of divinity that’s always been there. Once you tap into that, everything changes. You begin to feel grounded, peaceful and purposeful. Life becomes richer, more joyful, and you’ll find yourself smiling a lot more!
The spiritual concept of “light” is central to many Eastern wisdom traditions. In Hinduism, for example, “light” symbolizes divine knowledge, truth, and the divine self (atman). The famous Sanskrit phrase “tamaso mā jyotir gamaya” (lead me from darkness to light) from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad refers to our innate desire for enlightenment and spiritual knowledge.
The concept of enlightenment (bodhi), metaphorically symbolized by light, is also central to Buddhism. In achieving enlightenment, one is said to attain wisdom and freedom from the darkness of ignorance.
The Fairies Will Find My Pets’ Final Resting Place
Over the years, as I have expanded my spiritual understanding and esoteric knowledge, I have come to rely on a number of spiritual entities and metaphysical beings for guidance and support on a daily basis. This assistance from the higher realms is vital not only in my professional work as a psychic reader and healer, but also in my personal life.
I have learned that calling upon different spiritual beings for different things provides me with more holistic and powerful guidance, protection and support in different areas of my work and life. Different types of spiritual beings serve a unique purpose according to their inherent qualities and roles.
For example, I turn to my ancestors and guardian angel for personal safety and comfort, feeling their presence as a calming and protective force, especially during very difficult times. My ancestors also provide me with personal insight and a sense of continuity, helping me to navigate everyday challenges and connect with my cultural and family roots.
My spirit guides counsel and support me in my professional psychic and healing practice, as well as in my spiritual growth and life journey. They provide me with insight and wisdom to make informed life choices and decisions. At times, I call upon one of the archangels, such as Michael or Raphael, for more specific needs, such as protection from physical harm or for physical healing, to draw upon their specialized energies.
The ascended masters and the divine I call upon for deeper spiritual enlightenment, higher consciousness, and to cultivate specific spiritual virtues such as compassion, humility, gratitude, forgiveness, patience, generosity, integrity, and courage.
The Karmic Lessons Of Our Past Lives
Each lifetime offers us karmic lessons inherited from our past lives, often presenting what we perceive as hardship or misfortune, but are actually opportunities for soul growth.
These soul lessons are “karmic” because they were created or caused by our free will choices, decisions and actions in previous lives. They resurface in our current lifetime to be resolved, redeemed, released, and healed.
In ancient Sanskrit, karma (कर्म) literally means “action” or “deed.” It is derived from the root word kri, which means “to do” or “to act.”
According to many spiritual and philosophical tradition the essence of karma is that every action (physical, verbal, mental, spiritual) has consequences that reverberate through time and space and affect our present and future circumstances. Our actions in every lifetime create karmic ripples that influence the fabric of our existence, shaping our future life experiences and soul growth journey.
Karmic imprints are the energetic residues of our past actions, thoughts, and emotions that carry over from previous lives into our present existence. These imprints often manifest as recurring patterns, challenges, or opportunities in our current lifetime. The core principle is that our actions, thoughts, and emotions create a cause-and-effect relationship that extends beyond a single lifetime. Positive actions result in positive consequences, while negative actions result in negative consequences.
Karmic imprints are stored in the etheric energy field known as the Akashic Records, or Universal Consciousness, that records all human experience. When a soul reincarnates, it brings these imprints with it, influencing its experiences and choices in the current life.
The Spiritual Power Of Choosing To Forgive
Forgiveness is a much-discussed topic in spiritual circles. It is also often deeply misunderstood.
Forgiveness does not mean condoning wrongdoing or accepting abuse or cruelty. Instead, it involves choosing not to carry the darkness and negativity that has been inflicted upon you, and refusing to allow it to affect your well-being, either physically or emotionally.
While it’s ideal to find compassion for those who have wronged you, it’s not always possible. Understand that those who caused you harm are often suffering themselves.
Happy and fulfilled people are naturally kind, generous, and honest. In contrast, those consumed by self-loathing and misery tend to spread chaos and cruelty. Their relationships are full of conflict and dissatisfaction.
I once worked with a man who was clearly struggling with mental illness. Circumstances placed us in a business relationship that I initially tried to avoid, preferring to distance myself from unhealthy situations. However, I was compelled to help him because I was told that my true role was to support his children and providing help where it was needed most.
This unfortunate man is consumed by rage from his own traumatic past-abuse by his mother, mistreatment by her successive husbands, and conflict with his first ex-wife. His life is a testament to the destructive power of unresolved anger and lack of forgiveness. His toxic energy is rooted in past hurts and a cycle of inflicting pain on others.
The Mystery Of Soul Groups And Soul Contracts
In my work as a spiritual counselor to many people around the world, I have learned that we all belong to soul groups or families, and that each of us chooses to participate in our current lifetime in a certain way based on a pre-birth soul agreement or contract that we commit to before we come into this world.
I like to think of it as “auditioning for a play.’ Before we incarnate, we can choose to be in a comedy, a drama, an action, a horror, an epic adventure, or even a combination of all of these. We can also choose to take a central leading role, or just be a supporting cast member, or perhaps even a cameo or extra taking a background position.
What position are we willing and ready to take? This in itself can be a great karmic challenge as well as a profound learning experience. For example, if we have chosen a role that has caused grief or harm in a previous life, we will return in this life to try to resolve these latent karmic issues. If we are successful, it is wonderful because we can then pursue a completely different role or existence, or move on to something completely different in a future role.
Soul groups consist of a circle of souls with whom we have shared previous lives and are likely to meet in future lives. These groups are our spiritual families, and the members play different roles in each other’s lives through the process of soul evolution. We continually change roles in different lifetimes with other members of our soul group to facilitate learning and growth.
By interacting with these familiar souls from lifetime to lifetime, we create ongoing scenarios that karmically challenge us, assist us in our soul growth and evolution, and ultimately lead us to a state of spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment where our soul has transcended material limitations and reached its highest potential.
Perfect Love Is For Better Or Worse
For those of us who are spiritually aware and seeking to live consciously, the experience of a mystical romance can be both healing and enlightening. But the journey of soulmate love is not always a matter of moonlight and roses.
What is perfect love? Does it even exist? How can two people make their love last? Do we belong together? How can we be soulmates if we argue all the time? How is this a sacred union if he is being such a jerk?
These are some of the questions I sometimes get asked in relationship readings.
The guidance from spirit is always the same. The best marriages and committed relationships all have their ups and downs. Perfect love is loving your partner when things aren’t perfect. It’s about owning your differences and working through them as a team.
Perfect love isn’t about a flawless journey but about embracing the imperfections with grace. Meaningful relationships are an intricate dance, an alchemical symphony of highs and lows, joy and challenges. Perfect love that lasts will always have its ups and downs, like an exciting roller coaster ride.
In my experience, people who stay married for a very long time make their relationships last by being flexible and going with the ebb and flow. Successful partnerships ride this cosmic wave we call life. And when those big waves roll in during more challenging times, they just ride it out because there is always smoother sailing ahead. Hard times never last.