Ok, here's my counterpoint from the other perspective:
There is a difference between empowering the dark vibes by putting attention on them and going into your shadow to heal and grow.
Attraction is always at work. If one is carrying around unconscious negativity and old pain, one is going to constantly replay versions of their triggers until they deal with them. Thus, dealing with ones shadow by purposefully paying attention to it can be the neccessary component to getting it out of ones field. However, this is VERY DIFFERENT than expressing all the negativity one feels, all the time. As I teach, one must set a container of some kind if one wants to work through heavier vibes, and start and end with love. One of the biggest downfalls of rising spiritual beings is falling into the trap of constant processing, freedom based emotional expression with complete disregard to creating ones reality, that expresses through language like "I have a RIGHT to feel upset, don't tell me to be all Shanti all the time!" Of course you have a right to feel however you feel! But hows that working for you?? Is letting your feelings control what windows are on your screen and what programs are using your RAM a way to have a good life? Is it helping you "feel better" or create what you'd like in your life? Chances are, no. This type of play is very VERY similar to a victim consciousness trap, and it is hard to get out of. One NEEDS to look at the shadows at some point to truly "burn their seeds" as one might translate old sanskrit, but NOT all the time. Inspiration, healthy nervous system and chemistry, laughter, relaxation, these elements are MORE important to health and success and happiness in life than transforming that one samskara (sankara in Pali).
Get some sanga who want to come together, mens circles or womens circles or your intentional community work well, and SET ASIDE A TIME WHEN YOU WILL WITNESS EACH OTHER IN YOUR PAIN AND CHALLENGE AND HEAR EACH OTHERS STORIES, WITH COMPLETE EMPATHY FIRST, AND THEN THE BEST OF REFLECTION. If one engages in a process like this regularly (most people could use a deep dive about twice a week I think) then the system is much lighter the rest of the time, one can live intentionally, and gradually, one transcends shadow.
This is not saying to walk around with a righteous pillar of light up your ass! Your ass muscles just contract to lift the light in your spine ;-) :-P
All jokes aside, it is VERY KIND of you to reflect upon your brothers and sisters awareness if they don't realize they are stressing and making cortisol and adrenaline, ESPECIALLY if they are doing it over nothing, like anxiously waiting for something you can't influence. There is a point where peoples expression becomes so emotionally bogged down that reason won't function, AND IN THAT MOMENT, EMPATHY is DEFINITELY BEST. Don't go telling a tantruming toddler how they are making themselves unhealthy through fitting. And many of us get into pain and upset that is that big, that even if they can understand your "new age" advice to "vibrate on purpose", they need more deeply to be heard to get out of their loop. There is a time and place for emergency processing support. But if the person is aware, it is VERY ADVANTAGEOUS to step back, restore a good vibe, and THEN go into the processing at some point, slowly, carefully, and actually untangle it like combing from the end of dreads to get them out. Diving right in to the thick of the knots is NOT (lol) going to help you get them out. Work inward from the place of peaceful composure deeper and deeper into the shadow. If you DON'T KNOW you have a shadow, and have to have some traumatic experience of freak out or "bad trip" medicine to show you its there, great, now you know, but you don't have to live from the center of it to get out of it, and in fact, you won't, you will stay there building more and more victim neurons that say you are justified in feeling bad and will get to keep on feeling that way for a long time.
May we all find supportive loving environments and people who hold us to living our highest in a peaceful way, and also hold space for us to scream and vomit and explore the depth of our pain, with a loving lifevest and rope to pull us out.
Every day I force people to look at themselves. No one wants to do it. Some can't handle it and leave. But the ones who stay are transformed. That is a lovely sight to behold. :-)
Wow, I'm sitting here reading and thinking "this sounds like my reality". A lot of these points are woven into the sub context of my work. And, it has felt like slowly untangling dreads (which I've done). It honestly got to the point of, my chemistry and nervous system IS priority right now. I can sometimes get lost, just drowning in the shadows (for weeks!). I DO need processing container - for my own functionality, and to prevent co-dependence. Your closing sentence sums it up so beautifully, and I forever deeply love those who have held that rope for me to climb out the quicksand of my own vomit and screams. I do want the light shone on these places, I do it all the time - at my own pace. And yes I will need support, and no I don't want to spend all my time there, and no I'm not pretending the work is already done. Feeling good on purpose is part of the work. When my physical and emotional body didn't agree that it was time to get better - thought it'd be cool to just continue on, in suffering - yes, the light is a tool. I have a right TO be Shakti when I really need that medicine. Along with the bi-weekly shadow dump, a bi-weekly Shakti dance sounds like a pretty well rounded week to me. These things help me do life - and after months of crippling depression, I need to do life <3
Just read this in class
"Self-discipline" can be considered a type of selective training, creating new habits of thought, action, and speech toward improving yourself and reaching goals.
Self-discipline can also be task oriented and selective.
View self-discipline as positive effort, rather than one of denial."
This comment tho. Someone here gets it. I imagine more and more people are waking up to the reality of how this shadow and light work comes forth.
keyword: transmuting.
also, on the subject of yogas:
"doing yoga" lol I love how many people in this western world completely mistake what these yogas are, how they work, what they're for etc. I highly agree with your take on how people think that just simply "doing yoga" or more specifically, taking a yoga class will answer all their spiritual prayers. Yes, I do believe that taking yoga classes can make a fundamental difference and begin that descent and subsequent ascent, however, I do want to make this point.
REAL YOGAS are subjective. they're personal, and they are tools of not only the body but the MIND. they're the proverbial comb used for the untangling of the dread. (ironically I cut mine off recently) and I think it is well worth noting that westerners' prescription of yogas are extremely new, and Naive for that matter. most will not begin to comprehend the power and effectiveness of these tools just by taking a few hip opening classes at your local lifetime fitness, or hell, even taking a 200 hour YTT. The depth and understanding truly comes from the intention on digging out those dark roots of trauma and "samskara" not only mentally but physically as well. I believe that the yogas lay in the pause. in the silence. In this day of age, just getting the chance to experience real silence amidst all of the noise is profound in of itself. I imagine many here have come to find this. In my opinion, we've merely scratched the surface on what these yogas mean, how to properly employ their use, and how we view them; not just as a exercise to tighten your ass, but rather, to get your head out of it. In short, we should re-examine our intent with these yogas, and have a few daily, as they really are great procedures to center and become present. a reality check if you will. A dose of yoga a day keeps the therapist away! thank you for allowing me to have this rant ;) -your Iron Yogin
#bringitforward