Getting Ready for 2012 - Dealing with My Shadow

I felt like there were some things that I had not mentioned in the previous 2012 post, so I'd like to elaborate.

I had wanted to mention what I know to be the Christian perspective of the "end of the ages," which even some Christians believe may happen in 2012. Although it is true that many Christians do not believe that Armageddon or the end of the world can or should be predicted, there is a feeling that "the end," is not far away. The general consensus is that Christians, and/or those that accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior,  will experience the Rapture and be taken up to heaven before the final day or days of Armageddon begin. I invite any Christian out there to correct me on this if what I have just stated is not the case, but this is how I understand it. As you know, there was a recent prediction by Harold Camping of The Rapture happening on 5/21/2011, which came and went uneventfully. There has been another approximate date set by the same group of Camping Christians for sometime in October 2011. The date of 10/28/2011 is a date that some of the Mayan calendar experts talk about as the "end of the creation cycles." This date is supported in the work of Carl Calleman and Barbara Hand Clow. So we may actually have some agreement of a future date of significance. But it remains to be seen what will actually happen when that date rolls around. It may just be like 5/21/2011 was, without any significant historical events happening. But I think it is interesting to note the similarities of dates between two completely opposite thought and belief systems.

There is also another significant date that I was made aware of by a Bolivian friend of mine, who said that 6/21/2011, the southern hemisphere's winter solstice, is the end of the Inca calendar. From my friend, there was no indication that anything significant was predicted to happen on that day. At least if there was, my friend never communicated anything like that. It seemed to be just a day of great celebration not unlike New Year's Eve 1999. And we all remember the Y2K things that were predicted and never happened.

This all brings me to my bigger point... our collective shadow. I believe that there is this feeling inside all of us that something really big is about to happen and none of us can really completely grasp what that is going to be. There is a stirring in our souls that feels the volatility of almost every aspect of our world, both in our personal spheres of influence and the global collective. I am reminded of the environmental bumper sticker I've seen on so many cars, "Think Globally, Act Locally." I believe the same holds true for us to use that same thinking when it comes to our personal relationship with ourselves as well as with our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc. If we as individuals can heal and make all of our relationships work, we have made a huge step in healing the world as well as prepare for whatever is to come, whenever it comes.

So the question is, how do we do that? Let me share with you how I've dealt with my some of my shadow pieces in an effort to answer that question. Over 20 years ago, I came to an awareness that the world was not as it seemed. It started with leaving the Roman Catholic Church as my religion after my daughter was baptized in the church that I was baptized in. There was some politics involved with regards to the church priest needing a "permission slip," if you will, from the priest of the church that was close to where I lived at the time. I thought, "what does God care what Catholic Church my daughter gets baptized in?" It made no sense to me and my internal pendulum swung to becoming an Atheist. But it wasn't long until I felt that I was being a bit rebellious and then became an Agnostic. It was shortly after that belief system was in place that I found a Unitarian/Universalist Church close to where I lived. But it was shortly after my family and I had become members there that my wife at the time had become ill and had a rather long recovery process of personal and family therapy. This is really when my own spiritual journey began on a path of personal growth that continues to this day.

In order to deal with my personal "crap," that was coming up, I tried a wide range of therapies...everything like prayer, meditation, personal talk therapy, couples therapy, family counseling, group therapy, Native American sweat lodges, chanting, reading, hypnotherapy, re-evaluation counseling, journal writing, men's groups, breathwork and there are probably a few I've forgotten about. Whew! You'd think after doing all of that, I would have been canonized by now or have gotten my wings! But no. Come to find out there are many layers or levels to what Eckhart Tolle calls our "pain body." I've heard an analogy that the healing of our psyches is like peeling away the layers of an onion.

But of all of these healing modalities listed above, the ones that I keep in my "tool box" when I'm "stuck," and that give me the most bang for the buck are breathwork, men's group work and journal writing. I also cannot overstate the value of one-on-one therapy with a talented therapist who can get you to emotionally release in a cathartic fashion any pain, anger, grief, loss or sadness that has been trapped and hidden away inside of you. These cathartic releases have been where I've found both God and the devil inside of me. Besides, just think about how much better you feel after a good cry, for example.

The stirring in our souls, that I talked about earlier, could be our own shadow begging to be recognized and dealt with. Shining light on our own darkness and healing our inner demons are what we are being called to do at this time, above all else, in order to be prepared for whatever may be coming our way. The beautiful thing about this is it doesn't matter whether you're a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Unitarian, whatever. We all have a shadow and it's up to us as individuals to seek help, whenever we need it, to heal those dark parts of ourselves and be made whole! Aho.