Positive Health Online

An experiment was done years back at a TV show taping where men dressed all in black with ski masks burst into the audience shooting at random attendees. Gunshots were heard and chaos erupted…

But no one was hurt.

At least not physically.

More specifically, no one was shot. 

Why? Because these men were pointing bananas at people, not guns. And the sounds they heard were recordings of gunshots being played over the public address system.

And still, when all was said and done, attendees swore they saw guns in each of the would-be shooters’ hands.

Thus is the power and the conditioning of the human mind.

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-pink-glasses-sunglasses-8466957/

Photo Credit: Image by Julius H. from Pixabay

I’ve learned that HOW we see determines WHAT we see, and this was just one example.

If we’re living in a place of fear, we will see things that correlate to that state. We will project the worst upon people we meet, and the things we read and hear. While fear is necessary – without fear we’d never know who or what are actually dangerous – too much fear clouds the mind and draws us to more things to fear. Living in that state is clearly unhealthy as it heightens the nervous system’s responses to stress over the long haul, and it also prevents us from living a more full, whole life.

On the converse, if we see solely through the eyes of “Everything is love and light, rainbows and unicorns” we are still missing out on the full picture. From that place, we miss out on truths: wars, corporate greed, economic disparity, climate disasters, and painful unresolved conflicts – some started by generations prior that are perpetuated through family or religious beliefs that aren’t questioned – only extend the cycles of pain and sometimes violence. Seeing solely through rose colored glasses sounds lovely. Who doesn’t love great food, nature, hugs, laughing, joy, physical vibrancy, connection, and spiritual growth? But ignoring the full picture is quite limiting and will actually prevent us from experiencing the higher aspects of life.

We learn in the 3D world via contrast and duality. Ignoring this truth further limits our expansion.

To best teach us this, we each have a shadow element that we don’t see clearly – by design – that skewers our perceptions… as a starting point toward wholeness. It isn’t wrong or bad in and of itself; rather, it has a Divine purpose.

This shadow, when ignored, denied or unintegrated can cloud our vision toward seeing the world as a scary place where everyone is out to get you – even though they probably don’t even know you and are too wrapped up in their own stuff to think about you!

An unintegrated shadow can also lead to insular vision that sees only the good parts of life. We only focus on the positive, never allowing a negative thought to enter our minds, and beat ourselves up for not attaining this internal and impossible nirvana. We only watch uplifting movies, ignore the news, bury our traumas, and deny the deeper reality that we too have a shadow that is keeping some parts of us in the dark. Either extreme is unhealthy and unrealistic, and can limit our perception of ourselves, others, and even life itself.

By doing quality shadow work, meaning integrating the fear, anger, and grief – the things we don’t let others see in us – we can attain a more clear and truthful vision of WHAT IS. We can trade in gray or rose-colored glasses for the vision of an eagle, seeing everything clearly. We attune more frequently to the feelings of the heart and become a more whole, healthier, integrated human, fully aware that life consists of everything – the so-called good and the so-called bad. Only by staying aware of this full picture can we make the deeper changes within ourselves, which will then reverberate outward affecting others. As we share our knowledge and share our gifts from a place of wholeness, more people will see the light, and eventually, just maybe, we really can live…

in love and light.