The Dark Side

We all have a dark side, which can be, for the most part, hidden deeply beneath our sweet exterior.  Sometimes it is not so pleasant to witness that part of ourselves, but it can be so necessary in order to change the current vibration that we are living.  I have recently had such an experience.  I had to look at my own behavior and how I was relating to someone who I love dearly.  It made me feel insecure, fearful, and down right "icky"...  

There are many ways to look at those areas of our personality that may not be so nice, but have in the past served us, or maybe something that was "given to us" from previous experiences, etc... Before you can address them, it is necessary to be able to recognize when they are occurring in your life so that you then become in control of them, instead of the other way around.  This can also be a bit stressful for the person on the other end of the stick.  

When I need to look at something that is "icky" I remind myself of the teachings of Thic Nhat Hahn, a Buddist teacher who was instrumental in the peace talks in VietNam.  He says that when the dark side of our psyche makes itself known, we should take a deep breath, and invite it in for tea...  Sit with it, look at it and then kindly ask it to be on its way.  This can be a very powerful lesson and the freedom that it extends to you once you have done it is HUGE!  For me, I also have dear friends who know that I process verbally and they will hold the space and let me spew and then we sage and give thanks for the opportunity to be "cleaned out".

So, next time you are feeling that "icky" feeling like things are just not right somewhere in your life, take a few moments to breath and look at the feeling you are having.  It has just as much right "to be" as the lovely feelings we get when witnessing beauty.  And, it is normal and necessary to have the darkness if we are to experience the light.  My hope is that when we experience it, we don't allow it to influence our actions towards others or ourselves, instead we look at it and learn from it.  Hugs to you all, Janet