by Derek Rydall
www.derekrydall.com
As a spiritual warrior, you're designed to shine your light and pay your light bill ...as well as having really great lampshades! The Spiritual Warrior is anchored in their heart and rooted in their soul - but isn't soft in the face of challenges. She isn't a doormat, she's a welcome mat. She values and respects others, but never at the expense of herself. Her motto is 'Love your neighbor, but don't take their nonsense.'
To master this level of being, we must embrace the seeming-dark parts of ourselves, those wounded places we've been trying to heal, hide, or get rid of - because they hold some of our greatest gifts of power and potential. This requires building up our 'soul stamina,' the ability to be so tapped into our deepest truth that we can hold our place in a more expanded space regardless of conditions. We can be loving and strong; we can have a wishbone and a backbone. And no matter what comes our way, our soul remains unshakable, unbreakable, unsinkable and unstoppable.
For many of us on a spiritual path, this sounds like a rough road - or worse, it feels unspiritual or downright blasphemous! The reason is that we have shadows around power. Often, our spiritual journey was initiated by being wounded at the hands of someone who was in their shadow. Rather than coming from their authentic power, they lashed out at us, attacking, blaming, shaming, or controlling. This caused our experience of power to become distorted, a source of pain and shame, and as a result we decided to shut those parts of us off and repress our own strength.
As we grow, this leads to developing an aversion to these qualities of success, power, and strength. They become shadows, often with highly charged labels like 'selfish, aggressive, mean, etc.' And to compensate we create the opposite masks: we strive to become kind, loving, caring and generous. In themselves, these are beautiful qualities to develop, and are the 'gift of our shadow.' But when they come from a reaction to our shadows, they carry with them a self-destructive energy. We begin to say 'yes' when we really mean 'no.' We deny our needs, our dream, our truth, in fear that to really go for it would make us look too selfish or aggressive - those shadows we've been fighting against. The result: we give away too much of ourselves, grow bitter, angry, resentful, and ultimately burn out.
The problem is we've only been growing one side of us. We're lopsided. And it's time to embrace this whole other half, the shadow side. As we integrate the angry, controlling, dominating, selfish parts of us, rather than becoming the destructive version of those, these qualities are transmuted into power, healthy boundaries, and strong structures to build the life we truly want and deserve - and all in a way that still honors and respects those around us (although they may not like it at first!)
This is what shadow work allows you to do. It's a powerful and necessary tool of the Spiritual Warrior. It allows you love all of yourself. And then, through that compassionate heart, to embrace and love all of humanity. It allows you to stand in the face of all appearances of lack, limitation, fear, and danger, and see through it to the heart of truth, to the true being. In this way, your very presence becomes a liberating force in the lives of those you touch. You become the light that dissolves the darkness, because you have first embraced it.
To begin this shadow walk, practice these simple steps:
- Notice the parts of you that you have made wrong - especially the shadows mentioned above - and start inviting them, one at ta time, into your heart
- Begin with the one that has the strongest charge, and ask it what it needs from you to feel loved, honored, and respected, so that it can take it's rightful place in your life again.
- Ask what you and your life will look like once you have allowed this shadow to be fully integrated again.
- As you receive guidance, honor it. And watch your power and influence grow!
For more training on developing your Soul Stamina, check out the podcast "Heart of Gold, Soul of Steel":
http://tinyurl.com/mkfgsba To your emergence!
Derek Rydall is part of the new generation of spiritual visionaries and thought leaders, the author of the best-seller "EMERGENCE: Seven Steps for Radical Life Change" and the world's #1 expert on the Law of Emergence. He has touched hundreds of thousands with his message on finding your path, living your purpose and making an impact. Learn how to activate the Law of Emergence in this free 7-part e-course: www.emergencetraining.com. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
