Personal Development - Shadow and Light

If you don’t face the dragon, you can’t get the treasure. If you don’t scale the mountain, you can’t view the plain. Old Chinese Proverb

There are two aspects to our personal development, and both need to be incorporated. One is dealing with the ‘objects’ of unfinished business remaining in our field, which cast shadows across our lives. This is Dragon Mountain. The other is cultivating our connection with the essential light of our being. This is the Treasure of our expansive Openness.

To focus on one and neglect the other will always see us stuck, because both aspects compete for our attention. To work on both at the same time sends us swiftly along the mountain path towards our unlimited potential.

In the subconscious mind sits all the fear-guilt-rage of our human perception, the piles of pain we have accumulated on the journey. Some of our ‘shadow’ material results from being victim to others’ attacks; some we cling to in a misguided sense of attachment. We have been on the receiving end of another’s aggression; we have believed acting out our aggression would help in some way, even if only held in fantasy.

Two sides of the same coin, both ‘victim’ and ‘aggressor’ keep us in suffering until the ‘dragon’ is faced and vanquished. Personal development - through insight work, counselling, therapy - requires us to be honest and courageous, as we battle our inner demons. It is reassuring to know that even the darkest, most terrifying blocks will dissolve away to nothing over time, because the light of our awareness is greater. Love conquers fear.

Behind our all-too-human aspects, buried deep in the super-conscious mind, lies the treasure of our Light, our true, authentic, original Self. The mountaintop of who and what we are. Psychology calls this the congruent, integrated self; spiritual traditions use names such as Atman, Soul, I Am, Christ Presence and Buddha Nature.

Bringing the light of Self into our personal development journey saves enormous amounts of time. By growing our connection with our essence, we are practicing the state of being we all want, and reinforcing the truth of what we are. We get acclimatised to the peace and gentle joy this brings - the ultimate goal of all paths.

We then shine this greater light of conscious awareness into the shadows within. It is the loving light of our true nature that transmutes the endarkened energies of fear inside our mind. The dark never lasts for long when we turn up the dimmer switch.

Awaken Therapy is committed to supporting you in both your shadow work and your spiritual unfolding. To help you become both dragon-slayer and mountaineer!