As we close down 2020, there seem to be two camps people fall into. Motivated, charged up, ready to embark into 2021, vision board is already created and goals are made; and then there are those who are exhausted, unmotivated, lonely and scared. Maybe you are like me, and you’ve been dipping back and forth into both categories, wondering if 2021 holds anything new. The outside world is working overtime to pull our attention into fear, chaos and confusion. It can be hard to know what is right, true and accurate, but today I am curious about your inner world.
How are you closing down 2020, and how do you want to step into 2021? This isn’t one of those pep talk messages or encouragements on how to live your best life, or manifest more, I feel like we’ve all had enough of those—in fact, today’s message is quite different, but desperately needed.
Today I want to talk to you not about the light but about the dark, the shadow sides that we rarely address. This past week I pulled a card from my new oracle card deck that comes out next year (you can learn more about that deck here) and the card I pulled was so relevant. And as a healing gift to you, I want to share that message to help transcend any unprocessed pain of 2020 into healing and purpose.
Don’t run from the darkness. Embrace your shadow side.
When we go on a spiritual growth journey, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking life is supposed to be easy. Especially when we are doing the work. We believe that if we are not happy and joyful 100% of the time, we are doing something wrong. But true fulfillment comes with living all aspects of your life: highs and lows, peaks and valleys, light and dark. Darkness is not something to run from; it’s only unhealed emotions that need more love. True peace comes from acceptance and seeing all situations with love.
Recently I went on my own inner healing journey and looked deep within at the darkness, the aspects of myself I have been hiding from and afraid to look at. The parts of me I didn’t even know were there because I was so conditioned to work over them, eat over them, help others instead of myself over them, the pieces of self that needed me more than ever. It was time to no longer run from my shadow sides.
The shame, the intense sadness, the fear that was overriding my choices, it was all there inside of me, but until I took pause, a moment to stop and seek within, nothing could change.
A big part of any personal growth journey is coming face-to-face with your deepest insecurities and fears. This is called the work. Many of us don’t want to do the work because well . . . it’s work. It is hard and painful, and it feels impossible to understand. But when we do the inner work, often the miracle happens—we heal, we grow, and we transform. True transformation happens when we look at the pieces of ourselves we have been hiding from.
It is safe to look at your shadows.
This year, instead of looking to a new year and a new you, can we look more inward and embrace all of you? The dark parts you run from as well? To move forward in your life, you must look at the pieces you have been afraid to see.
Be honest with yourself about what you have been hiding from.
The dark parts of you, your insecurities, doubts and deepest fears, are part of you as well. It is not something to judge or condemn. Today I am offering a new end of year process . . . I invite you to embrace your shadow side.
Look at your shadows as a mother would her own child. Embrace them and love them for trying so hard to protect you. Your insecurities, doubts and fears have done nothing wrong; they have simply tried to keep you safe in what often feels like an unsafe world. Once you understand your wounds, emotional attachments, traumas and pain, they are no longer needed in your life. You don’t need to carry any of that fear forward. As we step into 2021, let’s release the shame, the guilt, the worry and the fear. Let’s do it together.
Your ego, the fear and the shadow, is part of you but does not define you. Recognize that you no longer need the ego’s protection. Allow yourself to accept all of you and invite more light into your life. You can do this by saying,
“I choose to be the light. I accept myself fully and allow the light to illuminate my path.”
To close down the year, I invite you to pull out your journal and ponder these key questions. You can make a ritual out of it by lighting a candle, setting an intention and connecting to the loving energy within, and all around you.
Questions to ask:
- What aspects of myself have I been afraid to look at or address?
- How can I bring more light to the situation?
- What have I been forcing, and how can I let go of the outcome?
- What thought pattern do I need to shift?
- How can I show up for myself in ways I never have before?
This healing ritual inspired by new oracle deck Unshakeable Inner Peace coming fall 2021.
To take this process deeper grab a copy of my Find Your Happy Daily Mantras book, a great way to start the new year.
The Yearly “Close Out” is getting extensive, but I find the MORE I add to the concoction the better yield and end results I receive!
Contemplate a concept “What is Beyond the Aspects/Ideals of “Good and Bad”/”Light and Dark” as BOTH reside within. Some call the “Light Side”/”Truth and Love” and the “Dark Side”/”Illusions and fears”? But ALL of these reside and come from within. So the “Dark Side” CANNOT be an “Illusion” as it came from oneself.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi
Rumi explains there is a “Place Beyond” these concepts – “Good and Evil’ as we can go and grow beyond them as they hinder us in different ways from truly being the “Magnificence” we truly are! My challenge to You, Shannon is to Find the “Hidden Place” within you and discover the “Treasures” which wait for you! ^_^
Love You, Beautiful!
Telara~