“How Can We Talk About Our Spiritual Experience? ” Comments, Page 3
You are currently browsing page 3 of comments on the article How Can We Talk About Our Spiritual Experience? .
You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “How Can We Talk About Our Spiritual Experience? ”.
26 Responses (3 Discussion Threads) to “How Can We Talk About Our Spiritual Experience?”
-
21
Hi Evan,
As for the kind of soil we need to germinate our given seed.. this might also be quite different for each of us. Speaking from my own limited experiences I can say what appears to works for me.
For many years now I’m suffering from an inner conflict which goes back to my early childhood. What once started as a small ball of snow slowly grew into a monstruous avalanche of emotional upheaval some fifteen years later. Some dramatic events (in particular, a series of nightmarish dreams) were necessary to stop me from running away from it and to wake up from this unconscious journey to self-destruction. And so I began to search for answers by paying attention to my dreams by writing, interpreting, drawing and painting them.
Thus, I noticed that everytime I encountered a dream witch, monster or giant, I would run away from it. It was only later that it struck me how much these creatures depend on my fear for them for their very survival. One of my best experiences in this life were encounters with dream monsters in which I found the courage to stop running from them, to turn around so I could confront and hug them while saying how much I really loved them. With no exception they grew to normal size and had normal looks again. This way it became possible to engage in fascinating conversations with these rejected parts of my personality.
In the end I realized that the unfolding of the soul I was given can only happen if I suffer inwardly. If I show compassion or tolerance towards other people, it was mainly because I had to learn how to be compassionate and tolerant towards the darkness I had to confront within myself. The empathy I sometimes feel for people is mainly the result of a long and painful inner confrontation. I could not cultivate empathy, compassion or tolerance if I did not experience those virtues towards my-self. And I could only experience them within myself if I acknowledged both the good ánd the dark side of myself.
I believe Man is made out of light ánd darkness. A seed is placed in good soil when it accepts its inner and outer darkness. A seed needs both light and darkness to grow to a bright flower. For me, the key doesn’t lie in striving after perfection (“utter goodness is the goal!”), but in realizing the still unwrapped wholeness of my center. My inner darkness once threatened to shatter me exactly because I didn’t recognize its existence. People tend to think that if you open up towards your Shadow and your imperfections, it will overpower you. However, if you retain a healthy self-criticism towards your actions, nothing can be further from the truth. The inner darkness did not haunt me to possess me; rather, it haunted me because I have neglected this vital part of me. The resulting pain is only painful for the ego, but it’s an agent of healing for the soul, just as long as one looks beyond its outer shell.
The doors of Heaven can only be found by crawling through the dark passages of Hell..
Imo :-)
-
21.1
Hi anamchara, I think dreamwork is an extremely valuable as a way of processing our traumas and a spiritual path. Like you I have found that confronting my own monsters helps me be compassionate to others.
I think I’m a bit more optimistic than you – our growth can be easy as well as difficult in my experience. Though I do think that it is important to realise that we can learn from even the bad stuff.
I also agree wholeheartedly with you that ‘the dark parts’ don’t haunt us to possess but because we have ignored and disowned.
Thankyou for your very valuable comment.
-
-
Marc
22If you would like to have an enlightened Spiritual Experience. I suggest you go see “Avatar” 3-D. If the symbology and spiritual messages of that movie doesn’t touch somewhere deep down inside. I would be very surprised. Remember it’s about the Journey, not the destination!
-
23
Hi Marc. Thanks for the suggestion.
The comment form is currently closed.
« Older Comments