"Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretense. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true." ~ Adyashanti
Having an awakening is no easy task. It is literally going to hell and back and making it out the other side. You have to tear down your limiting beliefs, programming, conditioning and everything you thought true about about yourself and your world. We then must face our shadows. Your "shadow" is the side of your personality containing parts of yourself that you don't want to admit to having.
It's our unconscious side at first. When we become self aware we then recognize our shadow self. Often the shadow is thought of as negative, this isn't really the case. Your shadow is what you perceive as bad, weak or dark about yourself, therefore hiding and denying it from yourself and others. One person's shadow self may have elements of manipulation, anger, fear, laziness, cruelty or rage, you may also hide your strengths like: independence, emotional sensitivity or personal power.
Before we can move onto the enlightenment phase of our ascension, we have to fully surrender to the universe. This spiritual depression, which requires a deep and painful plunge into your past that must be experienced before enlightenment. We have to be brutally honest with ourselves and accept the truth, no matter how difficult it is to face. This is a part of the journey that I still remember very clearly.
Your sense of reality during this time has been shattered. Our false notions of ourselves, the world, spirituality, other people and the truth are confronted head on. Throughout our lives we build "masks'' and start believing in our own kool aid and facades that we created for ourselves. This is known as cognitive dissonance, where we justify the most absurd things in our minds.
To awaken to the truth that you seek, you must tear down the lies.
Cognitive dissonance: something we all avoid
According to wikipedia:
Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The "ideas" or "cognitions" in question may include attitudes and beliefs, the awareness of one's behavior, and facts. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
[1] Cognitive dissonance theory is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. Dissonance normally occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency among his or her cognitions. This happens when one idea implies the opposite of another. For example, a belief in animal rights could be interpreted as inconsistent with eating meat or wearing fur. Noticing the contradiction would lead to dissonance, which could be experienced as anxiety, guilt, shame, anger, embarrassment, stress, and other negative emotional states.
When people's ideas are consistent with each other, they are in a state of harmony, or consonance. If cognitions are unrelated, they are categorized as irrelevant to each other and do not lead to dissonance. A powerful cause of dissonance is an idea in conflict with a fundamental element of the self-concept, such as "I am a good person" or "I made the right decision." The anxiety that comes with the possibility of having made a bad decision can lead to rationalization, the tendency to create additional reasons or justifications to support one's choices.
A person who just spent too much money on a new car might decide that the new vehicle is much less likely to break down than his or her old car. This belief may or may not be true, but it would likely reduce dissonance and make the person feel better. Dissonance can also lead to confirmation bias, the denial of disconfirming evidence, and other ego defense mechanisms.
The problem is that people don't think for themselves anymore and want to spend the time doing their own research. With social conditioning, programming, limiting beliefs, subconscious beliefs and negative thought patterns people are attached to certain beliefs and views that aren't based on scientific understanding and critical thinking. Oftentimes these aren't even their own beliefs they are beliefs they picked up from others in their life.
Your own social conditioning starts as soon as you are born into this world, and progresses with age throughout childhood and adolescence. It doesn't end there, it goes on your entire life. We are influenced by parents, family, friends, teachers, pastors, priests, government officials, celebrities, peers, colleagues, people in your community, the media, books you ready and the ads you see. Because of this, doing research might prove them wrong and shatter their beliefs which is why many choose to not know the truth at all. Living in this ignorance is unconsciously spreading untruths and blocking them from growing into wiser individuals.
As we awaken to the truth, it's easier to follow the herd. But by rebelling against the herd, questioning your own beliefs and thinking for yourself you will be able to free your mind from the prison of your own thoughts. By doing so, you will better understand yourself and the world you live in. You will then take back responsibility for your own life without being manipulated, fooled and exploited by power hungry individuals who solely care about their own personal gain not you or your feelings.
How to know your true Self?
During an awakening, it may be useful to have some professional guidance: someone who can confidently, patiently and without judgement help us, step by step through the healing process. If you are in need of someone to talk with about triggers, past trauma, childhood wounds or repressed emotions. I am available for online booking please contact me directly at: fromanotherealm@gmail.com
Face whatever is holding you back head on and it no longer has power over you, you have power over it! Awareness and anything can't co exist. Awareness is more powerful than your ego, your emotions, your thoughts and your feelings. Awareness is what gets you back home to your soul purpose.
You can use your pain and turn it into power. If you are willing to work on where your pain comes from, the lesson to be learned and turn your knowledge into action, you can use your suffering to turn you into a stronger and wiser person! I look forward to working with you on your spiritual journey.
Love & Light,
Namaste ~ Paulina
Hello, my name is Paulina. I went through a spiritual awakening journey in 2018. I am in touch with my higher self and want to help you find yours. Until your higher self kicks in let me be your guide back home. Book 1:1 sessions with me: fromanotherealm@gmail.com#shadowside #shadowwork #unconscious #unconsciousside #shadowself #innerwork #cognitivedissonance #cognitions #dissonance #ego #conditioning #programming #limitingbeliefs #subconsciousbeliefs #egodefensemechanism #spiritualgrowth #spiritualjourney #spiritualhealing #spiritualhealer #holistic #naturaltherapy #soulexpansion #soulgrowth #fromanotherrealm #professionalhealer #onlinetherapy #fromanotherealm
