Spiritual Advancement

Unlocking the Shadow

Something not spoken about often is that the spiritual path of life being something of a painful process. When you commit to exploring the deepest parts of yourself, you eventually get to the areas that aren't so pleasant. These unpleasant parts of yourself aren't to be feared or ignored, and ignoring them can cause some serious issues within. 

You are both light and dark, good and evil, being and non-being. To focus your energies in a lopsided fashion can cause lopsided issues in the psyche. In truth, neither light nor dark exist, nor does good or evil, rather all is one in the end, duality being only an expression of physical existence, not the nature of existence itself. It is this stumbling block that many ignore in their advancement, myself being one of them in the past.

The things I write about are the things that have been experienced in some degree, aside from the historical perspectives that add to the explanation of things. Keeping in line with that thought, this side of spirituality has been at the forefront of my own growth. I was always afraid of facing my shadow because of what it might show me, and by ignoring this side, I was causing more pain than was necessary. The shadow isn't something to be feared, but rather understood for what it is. By doing so, you unlock a deepened understanding of who you are and where you're going in your life, or that has been my experience at least.

To do this you must not pass judgement onto yourself in the process. It is merely an expression of the desires fueled by the world around you coupled with some karmic aspects as well. We are here to experience this thing we call life in order to learn/experience what we call existence. This is why you will hear many say that we are the universe experiencing itself through us. This is also where we get the saying that "God is working through you". Knowing this, the negative experiences are not negative, but learning experiences instead, at least when the student looks at the issues rather than the person lost in their ego. When you can shine light on your shadow and give understanding and comfort, you begin to integrate the whole being into alignment, not just the side your ego deems appropriate in the moment. 

For all intents and purposes, we know that manifested life is dual in nature, meaning that the physical world that we experience in our waking consciousness is dual in expression. Up/down, left/right, good/bad; all these are easily understood by many. What isn't understood by many is that neither exist in actuality, as they are merely assigned meanings to ideas and concepts that are imparted by the individual experiencing the thing/event, not the Truth of the matter which transcends that world of duality. Again, all is one in being, dual in expression, but even dual is too confined as the concept of morality isn't confine to such black and white terms, and it is usually morality that we use to assign the meaning of good and bad to. This is why I use a prism effect as a form of expression to explain the infinite idea of expressions from singularity being infinite as well.

That being said, we will simply use the dual nature to explain this point. Say that you only focus on the light side of your being. Oftentimes these people can be seen as naive to some, simply ignoring the negative in the world whilst assuming a position of permanent positivity. The opposite can make a person self-centered in the extreme. However, once an equilibrium is reached, meaning the light and dark are in harmony, the person is a more integrated being, at one with his/her Self, which is in essence existence itself. This Self is beyond the ideas of duality, as it knows only eternity, but it is guarded by the shadow and cannot be met until the shadow is at peace in the person. This, in my experience, is why it is so important to give yourself time to look at the dark side of your existence and come to terms with that side of your being. This is done with forgiveness and compassion, as it would be unhealthy to attack a side of yourself that you don't fully understand. 

Hopefully this helps to explain the importance of working on the whole of your being and not just focusing on either left or right. It can be scary, but a lesson learned from the shadow is a lesson carried for all of eternity, as even death cannot take it away from you.

 Om Namah Shivaya

What is the Sacred Medicine Path?

Psychedelics in Spiritual Practices

Throughout history, mankind has been grasping to know the Divine in many different ways. Some have been more traditional methods like meditation and yoga, which are absolutely important regardless of the path chosen, but others push the envelope to the brinks of the human psyche. One of the ways this has been done is through the use of psychedelics. 

When I refer to psychedelics, I do not refer to them as hallucinogens as this is a false classification to me for a number of reasons, but if the visible world is an agreed upon hallucination like some breakthroughs in neuroscience suggests, as well as most spiritual texts, then life itself would be the most common "hallucination" we all experience, thus not classifying psychedelics as any different than hallucinating while not under the influence of such compounds. To me, they expand the consciousness in ways that allows us to understand abstract concepts with feelings rather than language. You can "feel" the meanings of things that were otherwise elusive in the past. You experience not being the body in a literal sense; in an experiential sense.

Now, it has been in recent news that these substances show promise when dealing with psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, addiction problems, and even PTSD. This was also understood by many shamans in the past, the Norse Berserkers being an example, as it has been well documented throughout history. We see this when looking at Native American cultures, too. It's funny what happens when we start looking to the ancients for some of these answers, isn't it? These substances allow the individual to be an active participant in the reconstruction process of one's thoughts as well as one's emotional attachments to trauma in the past. The things that have been holding you back can be let go of in one session rather than years of therapy. This isn't to say that therapy isn't essential as well, bu that there are options to help with those aspects that seem to be resistant to traditional methods such as talk therapy.

In my own experiences, I have gone through what is often referred to as ego-death, but that is no the only death involved in the process. Each phase is met with another death, as death gives way to life and understanding. It is my understanding that there doesn't exist a school, neither modern or ancient, that don't require some version of sacrifice, and this particular school of thought is no different. What makes this version different is that you follow in the footsteps of many mythologies where you sacrifice yourself to your Self. When this is done, you come face to face with your shadow in ways never thought possible.

When you meet your shadow as such, however, this is done with compassion and understanding, not in a hateful or malicious manner, even if the visuals and symbols shown are violent or scary in nature. I saw my childlike self on one of my journeys into the cosmic mind. He was scared and alone, much in the same way I felt when I was younger. I was able to see that it wasn't all bad, and I was able to show comfort to that child version of myself. I got to see the roots of the issues caused by things that were beyond my control in my youth, and remove those roots where they stopped serving a purpose. There were tears and laughter in exquisite bliss as the healing was taking place, as the valves of youthful trauma were opened wide. Afterwards I was free from the influence as it was before and I was able to have a say in my emotions when looking down those roads of my life. I was effectively free from the anguish of my youth.

What does any of this have to do with a path? It is a path that allows you to empty the garbage we carry around allowing us to be more effective at life and more effective at helping others with their own struggles. It is no surprise that these substances have been used by those who were tasked with exactly those purposes in life. This does not, however, suggest that this is the only way to experience these ecstasies, as meditation and yoga both are capable of producing these results. What I will say though is that these substances can and do help those that use them, and if they use them to better understand themselves, that alone is a worthy use of this tool. When it comes to spiritual development, being able to experience oneness, to feel the tapping of the Self dancing in the heart of us all, and to dissolve into pure consciousness has a way of expanding one's spiritual understandings to a degree that intuition becomes a guiding tool on their journey.

The sacred medicine path has existed since the first time these substances have been consumed, but it wasn't until the 1970s that they became illegal in the United States, effectively destroying where we could've been as a society had they not been. Most of these substances are non-addictive (LSD, Magic Mushrooms), and cannot be abused since they can only be taken after so many days of consumption. If taken too soon, there will be no effects on the person taking them, essentially wasting the substance in a vain effort. With this in mind, we have something that is safe and effective for human use, and something that has shown extremely promising results when it comes to psychological therapy in recent years here in America, something the Ancients already knew and understood. Maybe we should be paying closer attention to how these cultures dealt with psychological issues in the past? Maybe they might have more knowledge to impart on our overly material societies that don't seek relief for those that suffer, but rather seeks profit from their suffering?

Disclaimer: These substances are often illegal to possess. Use due diligence when considering using these substances, as they will (not may) show you aspects of yourself that you may be uncomfortable with. Always have a sitter just in case of bad experiences (I've been a sitter for a friend of mine that had a bad experience). This is intended to be informational and to spread awareness. What you do with the information beyond this point is entirely of your own free will and accord. Be safe and responsible.