Darkness

Learn to embrace your inner void of darkness. Darkness is a critical and necessary part of life, whether we accept it or not. It is the beginning and it is the end. Light is simply woven throughout it.

At the time of writing we are currently in an energetic gateway between the lunar and solar eclipses, which magnifies and brings to the surface the shadow and light sides of our unconscious self (if we are present and aware)—just like the sun and the moon. Eclipses represent an interplay of these opposing energies, the same energies that are reflected inside of us. They trigger imbalances and disharmony in order to show what needs to be balanced and harmonized within and in our lives. And what needs to die or end for new ways to be born. Eclipses are serious astrological and energetic events that affect us profoundly. However we need not wait for astrological occurrences or external events to trigger a need for self-evaluation and introspection.

Darkness. This is a topic I’ve been meaning to write about for awhile. I have great respect for darkness, just as I do for the light. Death, endings, change, transitions, transformation. The realm of our hidden unconscious, our shadow sides, our fears, our illusions, our greatest pain and sorrow….the depths of darkness exists inside all of us. It is a topic that is considered taboo or depressing or bad or too negative for proper consideration and processing. There is so much fear around darkness. And in our spiritual mass culture and industry, it places way too much focus on the light or ‘positive’ aspects of life. Spirituality is perceived as being all about the light, but it is as much about the darkness as well. An over-emphasis on the light creates an imbalance, which causes us to ignore the darkness—which only further perpetuates it. Our dominant culture of ‘toxic positivity’ encourages people to run away from their pain, sadness, and what is perceived as negative or ‘bad.’ And instead, only focus on the light. In doing so people bypass doing the real, tumultuous inner work required to return to the light again and again. So much 'darkness has been repressed and swept under the rug because it is too painful and too scary to deal with. Instead our society pours its energy into covering up or masking what actually needs to be healed, resolved and released.

Our culture has a messed up perspective of spirituality and what it means to ‘be spiritual.’ It is a perspective that has been shaped by capitalism, thousands of years of religious institutions created for mass control, and extreme societal imbalances in masculine and feminine energy. This programming has shaded and influenced the way humanity approaches spirituality. We can use all of the right words and display the right actions (according to the prevailing culture), but the true feeling and experience behind it all is what needs to be reconnected with.

Right now, we have an overemphasis on masculine energy. Our society expects constant action and fast results to achieve what we think we desire. We are programmed to think that consuming spiritual products and services, or undergoing fast transformation programs, or jumping straight into positive affirmations and manifestation techniques will instantly achieve us the light and all that we desire. We can try to mask or chase all that we want, but without undergoing the real inner transformative work of uncovering hidden truths, inner healing, and thereby releasing lower frequencies of energy…we can then benefit from positive affirmations and manifestation processes.

The path to light is through the dark, and this will continue again and again for the rest of your life. Why is embracing darkness so important? One cannot understand the light without understanding the dark. Light only has real meaning and can only be seen within the context of darkness. Without darkness, there is no light. Essentially, we need a balance between both in order to feel whole and at peace with the laws of nature. The Big Bang, which spurred the creation of light and form, was created out of the void of darkness. The light we see emitted from the stars can only be seen against the dark void of the Universe. The forms we see in everyday life are only visible because of the way sunlight bounces off objects. This interplay between light and darkness is what gives life texture and contrast in order to perceive, and appreciate it.

Darkness is not as scary as we are made to believe it is. Darkness itself is not inherently bad, or evil, or negative. It is only because we assign these values to it. It can feel this way when we feel afraid of what we may find in it or if we are forced to confront all that we try to avoid. Everyone hides things in the darkness of their inner void. It is a convenient inner hiding place for emotions, fears, experiences or traumas that we would prefer to not see or remember. It is why all of this stuff gets buried deep in our psyche and unconscious, but it also gets energetically buried in our bodies. This energy tends to fester and magnify over time the longer it is hidden. Because unconsciously, our fear of it grows larger over time. It’s why certain experiences that happened in the past loom large and become a great trauma or source of pain. The energy and emotions of the experience were never fully felt, processed, and released, so it lingers—residing in the inner depths of our void. Perhaps we put it away in a chamber somewhere thousands of layers beneath the surface, or it’s packed away in boxes in inner closets or rooms. The energy magnifies and builds because unconsciously the fear becomes greater that it attracts more experiences that feel strangely familiar or reminiscent of the past. The attraction of these experiences present us with opportunities to heal them.

The inner void of darkness is simply space. Darkness only feels uncomfortable or scary when we have filled that space with things we would prefer not to deal with or face. But if we can find the courage to dive in anyways, and endeavor to reveal and shine a light on it…trust that the outcome will be for the greater benefit of you and everyone in this world. Healing yourself is the greatest gift you can give yourself and the greatest gift you can give to everyone in this world at this critical time.

Tuning in to your inner void of darkness can be done through meditation. The process of inner work is in the ‘unpacking’ of all that resides in that spaces. It takes time, stillness and patience to tune in and begin the process of unpacking, feeling, processing, and releasing. The mind has plenty of tricks and mechanisms for preventing you from accessing those buried places. Deep down you have put those mechanisms and precautions in place to keep yourself safe and protected from what you have deemed hurtful. The best way to start is to begin a practice of consistent mediation—even if you begin at 15 minutes every week that is a good place to begin, and from there you can gradually increase the time and frequency as you feel comfortable to do so without pushing yourself. Sometimes having a meditation guide to guide you through the beginning phases can be helpful, but meditation must also be individually practiced. Patience and experimentation is key. You have to want to discover what resides in your inner Universe. The desire to get to know yourself honestly as you are must be genuine. Be open to the inner light and darkness, and know that both exists inside of you. Let go of deeming what is negative or bad so that you can actually give yourself a fighting chance of really connecting with yourself to heal and move forward. Allow yourself to simply be present with yourself and listen. True, sustainable healing and change only comes with the long, enduring, oftentimes challenging process of inner work. Try not to rush the process. Don’t convince yourself of being fully healed, fixed or solved if you haven’t really challenged yourself. You will know when you hit someplace sensitive that needs to be healed. Honest assessment helps keep yourself and each other accountable. We are all a work in progress, and we are all here to heal collectively.