Are you comfortably conscious?
This is the term Carolyn Myss used to describe those who say they are actively on a journey of personal transformation but really keep their exploration at a safe, superficial level.
When the “normal” world doesn’t seem to be able to offer what we are seeking, we look elsewhere. And a lot of that something different falls under the umbrella of spirituality.
Most of us start our journeys of awareness here mainly because it is an easy and accessible entry point. It can be anything from veganism to yoga to off-grid living.
The personal journey of evolution you choose to take can be a little bit like getting drunk…
You can get drunk around a bonfire with some cheap wine coolers while being bitten alive by mosquitoes or you can dine on a gourmet meal at a Michelin-star restaurant with three bottles of Merlot. Both are going to get you drunk but one will be a more enriching and worthwhile experience than the other.
The question is, “Is the journey you are on moving you beyond comfortable consciousness to the place where true transformation lives?”
We need to dive deep for that.
Depth consciousness is about discerning the real work you need to do to
while you are on this earth and that is done by looking at your shadow aspects.
Most people will never do the work required to move beyond comfortable consciousness because we are discouraged from feeling anything in our society.
And you are going to have to get all up in your feels for this journey!
We all have archetypes that are unconscious patterns of behaviour that we act out when we are negotiating our power in a specific area of our lives. Every archetype we have runs on a spectrum of light and shadow aspects. Some perceive these shadow aspects as negative.
We all have shadow aspects. You’ll easily find them in the cracks and crevices you are most trying to hide from everyone including yourself.
We fight the emergence of our shadow aspects. We hide from them. We resist them. We create unnecessary drama in our lives to hide them that often end in shaming, blaming and tears.
You can certainly stay within the realm of comfortable consciousness. Many people do their entire lives. And it isn’t wrong. It just their choice.
But you won’t get the same level and quality of transformation in your life without shadow work.
Activities that keep you stuck in comfortable consciousness result in people who complain that they are never making any or enough progress.
With shadow work, that is never an issue. You courageously look at what fears you most.
Just the act of that alone moves you forward. You get an increase in confidence from staring down that inner demon.
Ultimately, shadow work propels you forward
because it calls on you to accept who you truly are.
It may be something you have never wanted to look at, something that scared you, a memory you have in your life to which you attached terrible stories and how you let that define you as a person.
The more resistance you put up, the more you will struggle with the journey.
Show me someone who has encountered a personal transformation in their lives and
I will show you someone who has most definitely stared down an inner demon.
It brings up all of your stuff but it is worth the effort.
I don’t know anyone who has done this work who hasn’t been eternally grateful for the experience after.
It’s the Heroine’s Journey and it is the journey in which we are all here to partake.
It is the path we are all on.
The degree to which you participate is up to you.
You just need the courage to start.
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