A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. January's Theme: "Path"
Volume 9 Issue 2 ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Sattva About the Cover Claudette Dean Shhh… Self Is Speaking Dj Brown-Jewett Finding The Way Home Julie Hoyle The Pain of Why John Ptacek And Then I Grew a Pair! David Reber Mystical Paths Cheryl Jewett-Brown Ph.D. Two Poems; Love and Meant to Be Jennifer Kusz The Garden Parzival Sattva Pet-Sense Jean Hofve, DVM Let's Talk Tarot Marcia McCord Living… Naturally Nicole Gardner Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Walk Your Talk Aleesha Sattva Po and the Stones Phil Kotofskie Wiccan Voices Crystal Blanton, HPs Meditate a Moment Parzival Sattva Password Deva Premal Oasis Gary Stroutsos

Finding The Way Home by Julie Hoyle Early one morning several years ago as I was slowly coming into waking, I heard an inner voice that said, "You will never be happy until you have the courage to come home to yourself. You must become your own path" At the time, what was being pointed to was the necessity of doing the inner work in order to transform the Shadow aspects of the psyche. Until this is done, we are unable to embrace the truth of Oneness and particularly the truth that we are the same as the enlightened teachers or Masters we aspire to follow. A story from the yogic tradition highlights this challenge in the following way. There was once a man who was tired of the poor qualities he saw in other people. Deciding he wanted to get away from city-life, he set out on a journey to find an enlightened Master. Traveling a great distance, he finally came upon a renowned Master meditating peacefully in a cave in the Himalayas. Approaching respectfully and with his hands folded, the man waited for several hours until the Master opened his eyes, then he inquired, "Revered Master, I have heard about your illumined state from many people and I came to ask you if you would please consider taking me as your disciple." The Master sat in silence for a long time and then said, "Yes I will, if you are able to BE with yourself." Promising that this would be no problem, the man began a regular practice of meditation as prescribed. He also served the Master by performing simple tasks. However, as the days and weeks progressed, the man started to notice that certain behaviours of the Master were irritating. For example, the way the Master cleared his throat began to sound odd, and the manner in which the Master ate his food seemed crude. The man also kept thinking that the Master was much too strict about wanting tasks to be completed at certain times and in particular ways. With these thoughts, the man slowly began to doubt the validity of the Master, believing he saw glimpses of anger and unenlightened behaviour. Over time, the man came to the conclusion that he would be better off finding a more illumined Master, one more able to meet his particular needs. With that determination, he formulated a plan to leave. On the day of his intended departure, the man thought, "Since I am a cultured and respectable person I will be honest and tell the Master that I am leaving, rather than choosing to run away." With that, the man stood before the Master and told him he had come to say good-bye and that he was going to search for another Master. Listening patiently, the Master finally said, "Did I not ask you if you could BE with yourself? "By all means go to another Master. You are free to leave. However, you cannot keep running from yourself. Wherever you go, there you will be. "Unless you embrace all that you love and all that you do not love about yourself, you will continue to meet those reflections in the Masters you choose to study with, AND in all the people around you." Following the directive from this story, I began to acknowledge disowned parts of myself, taking an honest look at what I needed to accept and heal. I continually asked, "What am I unconsciously projecting?" I also became conscious of feelings of discomfort that would rise up in response to others, realizing they were simply a reflection of what I had not wanted to own within myself. Though difficult, the depth of this inquiry created dramatic openings of consciousness, leading to the realization that my soul was urging me to utilize gifts, skills and talents lying unclaimed in the dark recesses of the Shadow. Shadow work marks a turning point on the spiritual path. When we say, "Yes" to taking responsibility for our own energy, we begin transforming all our personal relationships and our relationship dynamic with the entire world. However, we must be cautious when engaging in this inquiry. It is not about 'becoming someone else,' like the idea of creating an 'improved' version of who we think we are. Some truth seekers become addicted to attempting to become spiritual athletes, believing that if they meditate for longer and longer periods, endure fasts and chant non-stop, they will attain enlightenment. While these practices are a beautiful and beneficial support for stilling the mind, entering Presence and becoming aware of resistances, they are not 'it.' Indulging in long hours of practices as a way of trying to fundamentally change our-selves can be a camouflage for lack of self-worth or even self-hatred. When we are vigilant, we understand that meditation, self-inquiry and contemplation are valid tools in support of embracing who we are, right where we are and Shadow work acts as grounding, stabilizing force. The Shadow offers priceless gifts. It is a dark treasure house waiting to be mined and by engaging in what it has to teach us, we can begin to embrace all that we are and all that we have to offer the world. Then, standing in the luminosity of our own truth, we no longer need to look outside for validation. Over time, instead of continuing to seek or follow a path, we realize we have become the path. Then our authentic light serves to uplift humanity by empowering others to find their way home to the truth of who they really are. Julie is a natural intuitive, writer, artist and transpersonal hypnotherapist who lives on Grand Bahama Island. Her profound spiritual awakening and the unfolding of unity consciousness is detailed in her book, 'An Awakened Life - A Journey of Transformation' at: www.anawakenedlife.org For information about the work of 'True Alignment' and the 'Living in Alignment' online course go to: www.livinginalignment.org Here are a few more sites you may want to visit: Twitter and her blogs: http://truealignment.blogspot.com and http://anawakenedlife.blogspot.com

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