Darkness… who wants to talk about darkness?

On Wednesday night, October 19, at Reno’s Center for Spiritual Living, Alchemist Theatre will be presenting, “Darkness.”  In preparation, Jessica Levity created a wildly creative vlog with me, that you can access here if you have a facebook account.  Love her! Don’t you? I will also add some comments below to add depth to the discussion.

I can hardly wait for the show! Our Sage Spirit Reiki Family will be offering Reiki pre-show, so feel free to come by early for a relaxing treat.

What is darkness?

In our world today, it’s challenging to deny the existence of darkness. We see evidence everywhere, especially when we turn on the news: violence, wars, industries that senselessly destroy our resources for the profit of a few. In shamanic terms, we may think of darkness as “density” or “heavy energy.”

If we think of everything in our world as energy, which it is of course, there’s a range of frequencies reflected by everything – from slow, low, dense and dark vibrations to fast, high, lite and light vibrations.

Heavy energies exist, not only in our world, but also within us. Illness can be a form of density. We may also host energies that are not of us, including entities who have not successfully transitioned to non-physical (a family member or other person who dies frightened and confused of the passage) or darker spirits who may cling-on to our energy bodies for a host of reasons. Often we are not even conscious of these energies that drain energy from our central nervous systems, but they have the potential to add to our density none the less.

There’s another component of darkness to consider too, as that which is hidden or unconscious, cast into the shadows. Whenever we fail to own a trait or quality within ourselves because of our social conditioning and our desire for belonging, to be “good,” in other words, we form shadows that can create a lot of turmoil and pain as they operate beneath our awareness in our lives. We will talk more about this later to illuminate our shadows.

Is darkness necessary?

This is a HUGE question, and in practical terms, perhaps the answer is, “yes,” in that darkness and light serve our blossoming awareness, awakening and consciousness. I think of the story of the Garden of Eden. Eve ate the apple of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Symbolically, this is the beginning of awareness of right and wrong, the birthing of duality and conflict (us/them mentality), and the seeding of consciousness.

Perhaps as a result of this mythology, our minds are wired to identify everything by its opposite. We understand light because we know darkness, and vice versa. We appreciate health even more when we recover from a cold or more serious illness. We recognize every choice as one in favor of love, or of fear.

All thoughts are prayers or daggers. ~ Caroline Myss

Inherent in our thinking we have judgement of good and evil. We are always taking sides. Perhaps this comparative-perspective helps us to organize our world, to learn and grow. But is it necessary? Is it even true? Is the comparative-perspective simply a construct of some matrix or hologram that informs our experience – where our collective thoughts form our reality? And does this collective reality keep us bound in the density of 3D reality?

Is it possible to step beyond this paradigm and live lives of love without fear? Is it possible to live in a loving way that affirms the spiritual precept that we are “all one”?  If we choose love over fear again and again, could we shift the frequencies on the planet more toward love, peace, abundance and joy? Could we then enter a new paradigm of diminishing darkness?

In shamanic journey and through my meditations in The Stargate Experience, I have accessed other dimensions. I’m quite certain that there’s so much more available to us.

What is the relationship between the Shaman and Darkness?

Let’s explore a few aspects here – some definitions as well as aspects of healing others and ourselves – to more deeply understand what we mean by “shaman” and the roles that shamans play.

Context and Clarifications

First let’s distinguish between a healer and shaman. Some say that a “healer,” or I prefer to think of one who facilitates healing, focuses on light and love, without necessarily learning how to consciously tend to the darkness in individuals and communities. It’s very beautiful, powerful and uplifting.  Shamans remain more conscious of the role of dense energies as they engage in facilitating a shift in energy that allows for healing to take place. We convert hucha, or dense energy, into sami, or light energy. We don’t actually heal people, as we empower people to heal themselves. Our primary focus, however, is on the community. We empower others to become masterful healers and creators in their lives so that we can all enjoy healthier communities, a healthier world that further supports the development of individuals.

Let’s also distinguish between shamans and sorcerers. The path of shaman is of power and knowledge. The path of sorcerer is much the same, with many of the same tools. However, where shamans show up in service, sorcerers strive to increase their own personal power for the sake of power. The sorcerer’s goal may be as uplifting as understanding the mystery of the universe or gaining enlightenment. But some sorcerers may become seduced by the essence of power that they seek. They may be motivated by having stature in the community or meeting basic needs by exploiting others. At times, a malevolent sorcerer may consciously carry very dense energies or make alliances with dense non-physical beings for the sake of further amplifying their power. Such sorcerers may even present themselves as light-workers in the community for prestige and power over others, but they may actually be shadow gurus capable of manipulating others and/or creating much devastation for individuals and communities. Anyone smell a sex scandal in spiritual communities from time to time?

Healing Darkness in Others:

We’ve already explored a bit about the ways that “density” or “heavy energy” may inhabit individuals, communities, and our world. With a focus on love, light and positive outcomes (the healing/wholing of all-that-is), shamans may:

• Serve individuals who experience energetic imbalances or health challenges, as illness is denser than vibrancy. There are many ways that we can support others’ essential energy shifts. Specifically, we: “illuminate” them with higher vibrational frequencies that support healing (Reiki is a form of this); remove energy cords that connect them to those who would steal energies (former lovers, etc.); protect from psychic attack; remove denser energies and entities who remain earth-bound by draining energy from their central nervous systems; retrieve missing soul-fragments that are cast off in times of trauma; perform destiny-retrievals to support their alignment with their most unique and empowered destiny; and perform death-rites to release spirit from physical form upon death of the physical body.
• Serve communities to correct energetic imbalances. Sometimes there are practical matters to tend, such as protecting the community from those with predatory behaviors, or helping to heal those who have experienced victimization. Sorcerers may also show up in the guise of private industry. We have so many examples of this, especially with genetically-modified, “Round Up Ready” agricultural seeds, fracking, and so much more. Thinking about current events in Standing Rock, we may consider industry to be sorcery and the tribal people and allies to be shamans. The latter stand in defense of the earth and natural resources in that region. Often the role of ritual and ceremony brings strength to the community. We see this in faith congregations across the globe, where communities come together to celebrate, learn, and grow in spirit. Shamans may dance for rain, stop or slow wildfires, sing to the ancestors, smoke the people’s prayers, and more, all in acknowledgment of the oneness of all of life.
• Serve as Stewards of the Earth. This may involve advocacy work, focusing on the greater good of all. Many Reiki Practitioners and Masters send healing blessings to the Earth, to the Waters of the Earth, and to the World for healing and balancing the energies of our world. Where we may not have direct global reach, we always have ceremony and brave intentions to guide our way on.

As our world shifts, so too do our shamanic practices. Historically there’s been a lot of focus on protection which can actually invite denser energies into our space when we approach it from a fear-based consciousness. It’s like asking for what we do not want. Instead, I find it helpful to elevate myself and my tools to higher vibrational frequencies. I increase my own healing and higher frequencies through shadow work and spiritual practice. I elevate my tools by embracing evolutionary spiritual practices. I will discuss these in more depth.

Healing Darkness in Ourselves:

Ah, “shadow work.” Like “darkness,” no one really seems keen to go there. But go there we shall. We cannot be effective in our healing work for others and our communities until we do our own work. I will share a quick overview of shadow, along with some of my very personal journey with shadow, in service to all.

Above we identified shadow as that within us that lies hidden or unconscious. Much of this comes from social conditioning, in the ways we learn to define being “good” within our family and community systems. For example, when we were cheerful young ones, we may have received more positive reinforcement than when we were tired and complaining. Perhaps through our sensitivity and longing for love, our shadow became a Negative-Nelly that we attempt to avoid or control at all costs. But there’s a cost, right? Like then we can’t be “real,” can’t ask for what we need or want, or can’t risk being rejected. Instead, we may seem like a happy-go-lucky Polly-Anna until we reach a boiling point and become a raging maniac. And we feel completely justified! I know I’m using a lot of stereotypes and clichés here, but it’s a way of making shadow accessible through archetypal stories we can all access.

The other part of shadow is that we “project” what we hide from ourselves. So whenever a Negative-Nelly comes into our experience, we have absolutely no tolerance for him or her. Eye Roll. Why can’t that person have more control? Polly-Annas may also trigger us as we see the underlying fakeness in them, but not ourselves.

Whatever expressions our shadows may take, they work beneath our awareness to sabotage our lives. They make relating to others challenging. We may not understand others’ criticisms because we are not yet ready to see ourselves so clearly. And so things unravel, often painfully.

What does this have to do with shamans?

Healers [Shamans] are spiritual warriors who have found the courage to defeat the darkness of their souls. Awakening and rising from the depths of their deepest fears, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Reborn with a wisdom and strength that creates a light that shines bright enough to help, encourage, and inspire others out of their own darkness. ~ Melanie Koulouris

Invoking the path of shaman is to awaken awareness of inner shadows. This is not a journey for spiritual wimps. When I began my shamanic training, I opened up a space with my intention to heal – not just to see the places where I knew I needed healing, but to also see the invisible spaces in my shadows, to see my darkness. What better way than to attract darkness to me, to serve to open every wound, to serve as a mirror for my own darkness? And so I attracted situations where I might witness all shades of shadow, from fairly harmless expressions, all the way to sorcery and dark arts. It was a huge opportunity to see what I had buried deep within and to come into my empowerment and alignment with light and love, with fuller expressions of consciousness.

In my exploration, I found my own shadow wounded-healer story. Because of my history with chronic fatigue and my shadow fear of becoming ill once more, I secretly (to myself) forged a bargain with Spirit: “If I show up in service to clients and community, I trust that you will take care of my health.” In a covert way, this created my own dependence on my clients. There’s an underlying creepiness to this that I fully acknowledge now. But how long did it remain hidden? It really made me more of a shadow healer, a sorcerer, in that I needed others to stay healthy and whole, right? As a shadow healer, I also had to look at the archetypal wounds that allowed fear to fester beneath the surface of my awareness. I find this so common among spiritual people and creatives, where they have an underlying scarcity-consciousness rooted in monk-mentality and the vow of poverty, as well as fear of visibility, from those olden times of burning at the stake or otherwise being victimized or tortured for exhibiting spiritual gifts.

I’d rather be whole than good. ~ Carl Jung

Carl Jung, the famous Psychotherapist and theorist of Alchemy, explored the role of shadow in much depth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung Debbie Ford really brought it to life for me in her, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming your Power,Creativity, Brilliance, and Dreams. Ford says that when we suppress any feeling or impulse (ugliness), we also suppress its opposite (beauty).

Our shadows hold the essence of who we are. They hold our most treasured gifts. By facing these aspects of ourselves, we become free to experience our glorious totality: the good and the bad, the dark and the light. It is by embracing all of who we are that we earn the freedom to choose what we do in this world. As long as we keep hiding, masquerading, and projecting what is inside us, we have no freedom to be and no freedom to choose… [Shadows] are only harmful when they are repressed: then they can pop up at the least opportune times. Their sneak attacks will handicap you in the areas of your life that mean the most. ~ Debbie Ford

I highly recommend Ford’s, Dark Side of the Light Chasers, for deeper exploration.

Spiritual and Evolutionary Practices

I am a Galactic Shaman, often called Shamama by some in our community. My spiritual practices – meditation, Reiki, ritual, ceremony, stargate work, and more – all inform my evolution and my expansion in my path of service. By showing up to these practices, I connect with my higher self, as well as the highest-level spiritual helpers healing myself and others. Collectively, my guides and I are giving birth to Sky Spirit Shamans, a comprehensive program that integrates Reiki, Shamanic Healing, Ritual and Ceremony, The Stargate Experience and the emotional intelligence born of life-coaching practices, all within the context of loving, supportive community.

This expansion is magical and mystical. It elevates my awareness and experience of higher-vibrational energies and dimensions. It feels amazing and supports my becoming.

Are you ready to join us? Much more information to come soon…

In light. In Love. In Joy.