Harmony is a sense of feeling in a sync with that around you; to the point where you are flowing in a state of feeling #calm and #content whilst being in tune with the circumstance, situations and interactions within you life. How great does that sound?
Now for honesty time. Take a moment to reflect. On a scale of one to ten; with one being never in #harmony and with ten being always feeling in harmony. Where are you?
Before you start to judge that and shift into, "Oh well here is yet something else that needs self-improvement", lets look at a concept behind the reason why harmonious living seems to be something that is only experienced in snippets instead of it of being i a regular occurrence.
The concept of inner reconciliation
For a large majority of us, there is a space within ourselves that we often turn away from. These are the parts that we feel are not truly who we are.
Too experience harmony, as a consistent state of being within our lives, an important occurrence needs to happen. A #reconciliation of those parts of ourselves that we don't necessary like needs to occur through the process of loving #acceptance.
The importance of the process of inner reconciliation
The need to bring #balance into your life is a crucial step for #stressmanagement and dealing with the impacts of stress within our daily life.
The truth of the matter though is that a lot of this stress and impact is created by the disharmony that exists within. Yes external situations are triggers but it is our reaction to these circumstances that create the #stress and impact.
This is where it becomes interesting
The truth is that most of our reactivity (good or bad ... if you need to label it) comes from the disharmony, the unrest that we all experience internally.
Where does this internal unrest come from?
So often there is the need to feel that we have to #thebest version of yourselves. That we have to present ourselves this way all the time. That we are only allowed to show the world the vibrant version of yourselves.
The version of ourselves that:
has it all together
that other people like
is healthy
smart
friendly
supportive
considerate of others ...
and the list goes on
On the flip side of this WE ALL have aspects of ourselves that we don't like.
The parts that we spend a lot of your energy attempting to:
change them
hide them
improve ourselves in some ways so that these aspects no longer are there; or
completely ignoring that they even exist in the first place.
These are the parts which much as feel that we need to run away from ourselves ... even just for a little while.
And this is where the #unrest grows from. There is stress and pressure that builds from attempting to present the best possible version of you; whilst hiding the fact that you cried in front of the TV series you binged watched over the weekend whilst eating nothing more than chocolate, chips and ice cream.
Jungian Archetypes - Persona & Shadow
There is an ancient yogic philosophy that was made popular by Carl Jung. This is referred to this as The #Jungian Model of the Psyche.
This model looks at the interplay of our mind / psyche and how it impacts on our behaviours and interactions.
Jung believed that the psyche is a self-regulating system, rather like the body, one that seeks to maintain a balance between opposing qualities while constantly striving for growth.
Now without going to much into this theory lets take some time to sit with two of the Jungian #archetypes referred to as the #Persona and the #Shadow.
The persona
There are parts of ourselves that we know that people just like.
This knowing was ingrained in our childhood and continuous to be a major influence in regards to the way we interact as adults
This conditioning was done through comments such as:
"Good girl"
"Clever boy"
"That's nice."
"You have such lovely manner... so polite"
And the list goes on...
Take a moment now to think of some statements you heard often enough which shaped your knowing of they way you were expected to behave.
From this #conditioning we develop the persona; aspects of ourselves that people respond well too. This than becomes the forefront, the main player within our lives. This main player often can be so strongly and we can identify so deeply with it, that it becomes our way of being. We can literally take on our persona as our truth.
However the persona is just the aspects of ourselves that we use as ways of making people like us ... it really is that simple.
Personas such as:
the joker
the life of the party
the good listener
the helpful friend
the shoulder to cry on
All of them are masks of expressing the ways the we have been conditioned to respond so people feel comfort and good around us.
The Shadow
We all have aspects of our personality, of the way we interact, response, react and engage that we simply don't like.
These are the parts of ourselves which other people react to in a negative way. These parts are what is called the #shadowside.
The shadow side emerges from conditioning we all received when young, whether form our parents, teachers, other significant adults, older siblings or just messages received through our cultural influences.
This conditioning create a #belief that there are parts of ourselves that aren't appropriate or accepted within societal interactions.
Whether this be the:
hyperactive child
day dreamer
naughty one
hopeless cause
From this conditioning we learn at a young age to hide away these aspects as a way to gain outside #approval. As we grown older outside approval morphs into our inner critique.
As we shift into adolescents and adulthood, we are often not just worried about what other may think about us but are also seeking to gain approval from our inner judge and jury, as they critique every interaction, every step and even every thought you have.
This happens as a way to scope out your personality and the expression of your identity to ensure that these shadow aspects do not surface.
How these two archetypes impact on our sense of inner harmony
As you can image these two different aspects of our #personality creates tension within.
So much energy is put into ensuring our interactions are inline with the conditioning around what makes others happy whilst suppressing those personality types that don't support our views of the of our best selves.
There is no harmony or co-existence between these two aspects which creates the unrest. From this unrest stems the reactivity that comes in response to the situations and circumstances that come into our lives.
Most of us interact from this imbalance, where the persona takes the front stage and the shadow is hidden in the back corners and the repercussion is the state of unrest within.
This unrest is reflected in the disharmony and a sense of confusion, uncertainty and nonacceptance that exists; not just within but also outside of ourselves.
Persona & Shadow as tools of The Higher Self.
But there is a blessing to bring forth the harmony. The blessing is the process of reconciliation.
Over riding these different aspects of our personalities is the #higherself, the true self.
Other terms for higher self are:
inner calling
knowing
intuition
clarity
Guru Dev
The higher self is that aspect of ourselves that does not have a duality as it is Source its self. It is the part of Infinity which has shaped it self to experience life as your.
This is where things become interesting.
For Infinity to interact as you in Maya, or otherwise this day to day world, it requires a polarity to engage in.
This is because of the nature of things existing within duality.
This duality is what has been expressed above .. the polarity of the shadow and the persona.
Lets look at some examples.
It is not always fitting or appropriate for your higher self to communicate as a pure source.
Imagination time:
You are in a board meeting and the CEO states that the next 5 year projection has channeled through his intuition and expressed in bodily sensations that support that this is the best path forward.
Not sure this would go over very well.
However, in such an example this is where the persona of a strong leader with clear communication skills and ability to plan and project comes in.
Whilst the information still comes from Source (like all information) when it is presented through this persona with the data, visual aides and procedures to support it, people simple will like it more ... hence the purpose of the persona.
The persona is there as a way to for the higher self to express truth in a format that is known to gain approval and acceptance.
And the same goes for the shadow.
There are times within our lives when the higher self needs to express a #truth that people simply are not going to like.
Truths like:
your negative views on things really impact on how I feel
the lack of responsibility towards a circumstance create certain outcomes to happen
finishing relationships, intimate or friends, as the paths you are walking no longer in the same direction
telling someone their actions are hurting themselves or others
you are in danger and need to protect yourself
During such times the stillness and space needed for intuition to open up guidance just often isn't available. So this is when the angry hot head or the nasty queen bee rises up to sting and make the point.
Viewing the Persona & Shadow as tools of The higher Self, opens up a softness within which is cocooned in acceptance.
Knowing that the conditioning that happened was a way for #Source to create a playing field for gaining understanding of the duality within life as it interacts as you.
Knowing that you, as a personality, can express a spectrum of experiences and interactions using these tools of shadow and person
Well all of this creates a sense of release and liberation.
It is freeing to have a sense, a realisation that all aspects of the persona as well as the shadow are tools for the Divinity to express itself as you through every interaction within your life, both externally and internal.
This is a wonderful way to bring forth reconciliation within.
To deepen this awareness take some time to read out loud the affirmation below:
May I embrace the fullness of all that I am.
May I accept all aspects, facets, qualities and expressions of my higher self.
May I understand on a deep cellular level that all expressions of my psyche are ways that my true essence can experience this life.
Divinity is operating through me, as me, and guides each interaction as a way to deepen its experience of consciousness operating within humanity.
May I have the courage to express the truth through the shadow aspects of my personality when Divinity requires this form of expression.
May I also learn the ability to dis-attach from the need to have the persona as the main player within my life.
May this create space for my true essence to be heard more clearly and integrated deeper into my way of being.
May this awareness bring forth a balance within the interplay of the persona and shadow within my psyche so that harmony can emanate through my daily way of life.
I accept fully that through this process of bringing forth harmony within, the #consciousness of #humanity is being healed.
May every breath taken, whilst in a state of harmony bring forth reconciliation within humanity as people embrace the fullness of who they are.
May this reconciliation within humanity awaken and create a deep love and acceptance within all bringing forth a deep permanent state of #peace within the world.
May this happen more than ever before for the benefit of all.
Other ways to use this affirmation to you to deepen this internal process of reconciliation within your life is by:
doing 108 rounds of this affirmation on a traditional mala
writing this #affirmation out 11 times for 22 days.
recite this affirmation first thing in the morning and last things at night.
write this affirmation on a mirror or on you fridge so it is present in a place where you regularly look.
To bring about a harmony within, to the point where it becomes a state of being that drives real life balance, requires:
an #awareness of the expression of your shadow and persona
an acceptance of the importunate of these two archetypes within your life
a #paradigmshift away from self-improving and into self-acceptance
sense of being at peace with yourselves... our full selves... and
embracing the totality through acceptance of this is who I am.
The current state of the world can be improved by creating an ecology within that is harmonious; as there is no separation between what is inside and what is out. So often little changes can make the greatest impact.
Am trusting that this blog has inspired you to:
embrace your shadow
be okay with dis-attaching a little from your persona
honour the clarity and insights within
bring about a equilibrium by embracing the divinity that you are
have the courage to share the totality of yourself with all those whom you meet upon your path.
Sat Nam Beautiful People
Thank you for reading the #blog. Trusting you found some insightful and useful #wisdom among these words. Would love to hear your views so please #comment And if you feel that others will benefit from this blog please #share.
Keep beaming your beauty
Vicki Murtagh
Founder of Mala Alchemy