Lewis Mehl-Madrona in Coyote Medicine:

"What we don’t like about ourselves we stuff into the shadows. Sometimes we excommunicate our shadows, pretending that they don’t exist within the community of our bodies. Pain of all kinds, even illness, grows well in shadowy soil. Healing happens when the shadow is brought into the light of day… Bodywork in conjunction with guided imagery allows us to find the shadows that contribute to illness. Touching the shadow means exploring the parts of us we don’t like, are embarrassed about, or even hate. Opening secrets is part of touching the shadow. Bodywork is one of the best ways to facilitate this opening…Touch facilitates and communicates healing, especially when grounded within a psycho-spiritual approach that respects the human spirit, allowing all therapy to flow like a river around these solid pillars."

It seems to be the nature of true self inquiry that as we explore deeper & deeper terrains, we often begin to experience greater fluctuations in our experiences of Bliss & Suffering. It is not uncommon during my meetings with people that by the end they experience either a deep heart opening that fills them with love, light and feelings of bliss, or a void or empty darkness that can illicit fear and uncertainty.

Recently, a young man gave me the gift of seeing clearly how we divide even awakening into the polarities of Light & Bliss vs. Void & Darkness. One we often continue to seek compulsively even when we have heard the brilliant advice over & over that seeking it will not "get us there". The other we avoid in many clever & often well justified ways, especially because we fear it will destroy our ability to live a "normal" life. 

And so I received this blessing of sfeeling (seeing+feeling) that these are polarities guarding the perimeter of our true nature that has been here all along. In truth there is no Bliss or Void as there is no heaven or hell. These are just the polarities of the dance of virtual reality conditioned by layers & layers of duality. These are the ways our mind attempts to understand that which is beyond its understanding.

And when they are met directly & honestly with an open heart......both heaven and hell fall away & dissolve into a river of luminous darkness that is infinite, as are we. This is the greatest gift of two or more of us joining in the name of Love to explore the inner regions of Truth together, with honesty, compassion & deep respect for the myriad expressions of Life Itself.

With Deep Gratitude & Love,

Jeanette