Shadow work- an introduction

There comes a point in every soul's spiritual development when we must face the less pleasant parts of our soul.  Shadow work is a good description of this process.  Shadows are merely places where light i not seen due to being blocked. Once we understand this, we can rearrange or remove the block so that we can see the light again.

Each of us has a very different experience with the dark places inside.  Some people ignore them, others embrace them, and most of us fall somewhere between.  Even once we acknowledge these places, we all react differently. There is nothing wrong with that, it's simply part of being individuals.

Examining our shadows takes several things: courage, a willingness to understand, compassion towards ourselves, and honesty. These are not always the easiest things to summon up, so i would recommend holding off on shadow work when you are in crisis, ill or in need of serious spiritual and/or psychological help.  When you undertake this part of your Otherworld journeys, I recommend you write down your experiences, reactions and any illuminations your receive. They have a way of making repeat performances when we least expect.

Shadow work is not comfortable.  It's not meant to be; it is about honoring all that is within us, accepting past actions and experiences and incorporating the lessons learned from darker experiences into ourselves to be whole.  By accepting those parts of ourselves that cause shame, despair and pain, we can let go of their influence and heal.

Celebrations in the Otherworld

There are many things you have now learned in the Otherworld.  Your journey has been unique and filled with meaning.  Congratulations!

The Otherworld(s) are also a place where you can celebrate, perform rituals or create.  Take some time from your journey to rejoice with your guides over how far you've come.  Dance, sing, soar in happiness.  Give thanks or offer a plea for help.  Cast spells or create great art.  The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination.

Magic in the Otherworld does transfer over into this one.  Embrace your own power and create the life you want.

May this Equinox bring your balance and blessings!

Travelers and other lessons

As you journey in the Otherworld, you will meet other beings.  Some of them will be projections of yourself, others will be guides, and some will be other travelers.  Every being, great or small, has a lesson to impart in the Otherworld.  It is up to you to decides if and when and how to engage some of these teachers.  The ones I met, will not necessarily be the ones you do.  If at any point a being makes you feel unsafe or scared, feel free to break off that contact and leave.  Things in the Otherworld can only hurt you if you let them.

With this in mind, I will share an experience I had.  In my travels, I often perform mundane tasks such as cleaning my home or cooking food.  Once, while sitting beside a campfire, I was approached by another.  Hooded and hidden, I never the less, invited the being to sit.  he or she, never spoke, only watched the stars and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.  Did I learn something?  Probably.  It was a strange experience.  Silence, for many of us is uncomfortable.  Sharing a meal or fire with a stranger is not a common experience for us.  Our own personal bubbles protect us the waking world from many interactions with strangers, we all bump along, against each other's bubbles with out actually interacting.  I am still processing the experience.

May journeys be blessed with experiences and lessons that strengthen and enlighten you.

The Desert

This journey expands your geographic knowledge of the Otherworld.  Travel south and east, away from the ocean, over the mountains that cradle the lowlands between them and the sea.  These are the desert lands, a place where you can learn to spot hope and life in seeming desolation.  Notice the light here is bright, harsh and strong; it heats the rocks and backs the earth.

Unlike many of the other places you have been led in these journeys, this is a place of austerity and unique adaptation.  The plants, animals and beings that inhabit the desert are important teachers; their power is in their ability to adapt, to persevere, to thrive in a harsh, demanding world.  Here, more than any other place you have been to, requires balance.

Look around at the faded desert shrubbery.  It looks nearly dead, doesn't it? The leaves look dry and brittle, but touch them.  They are surprisingly soft and supple.  The wood of these bushes is cracked and splintery, but they harbor a secret: these fibers have the amazing ability to hold what water comes their way and save it for when it's really needed.  Keep looking.  Do you see how many different animals are here?  From tiny mice, to families of quail, snakes, hares, coyotes, and many others make their home in this land.

The inhabitants here respect one another.  They understand that their lives, and deaths, are part of the great cycle of being.  A snake may eat the mouse, and in turn become food to an eagle, who dies and feeds the land itself.  If one species becomes overpopulated, they all feel the effects of that imbalance, sooner or later.  It doesn't matter whether the species is a grass or predator.  They are equally important.  They have all developed amazing adaptations to survive the heat of the day, the cold of the night, and the lack of regular rainfall.  They blend with their environment so carefully, as to be invisible.

Spend some time observing the careful, subtle balance and beauty of this place.  Do you see how dependent each species is on the others?  Do you identify with a particular animal or plant?  Do you see yourself reflected int his environment?  Watch as the day changes to night.  Do you see a new world here?  Enjoy the exploration of this desert.  It's secrets and lessons are many, and it will take time to learn them.  You may also find traces of other travelers, of peoples who have lived there.  They may be hidden or careful preserved.  Take your time, embrace your bravery and explore.

The Barren Valley

Among the green hills, there is a barren valley. Once this place was thriving and beautiful, fruitful and fertile. Farms and small villages dotted it, and it's reputation for fertile soil spread.  War, for generations, marched back and froth across this valley.  Livestock were killed or escaped.  Crops alternately burned or rotted in the feild.  Homes blazed.  Now this place is an unmarked graveyard for those who coveted it.  Broken weapons and armor, bleached bones and broken objects mark where soldiers fell.

In this place, you can respectfully look around trying to recognize messages about your destructve or covetous tendencies.  Does a broken cottage remind you of something? Or maybe it's the tarnished and damaged heraldry on a shield.  Are you a survivor of wanton and nonsensical warring?

This barren, war torn valley is a place to mourn, to listen to the messages of the past.  Cry your tears, feed the land, and one day, it will return to it's former glory or be overtaken by nature.  The sorrow and anger of the place will diminish and it will hold other lessons for us to learn.

The Orbs and other beings you may encounter

Before you return to land, there are a few other experiences that may come to you.  There are many more islands than I have written about.  You are free to explore these, or you can enjoy the open waters.  There are beings that we sometimes come in contact with who are not bound to land or island.

The mermaids are one group of these.  It has been a very long time since I encountered them, and I have never had occasion to speak to them, but I have seen them and heard their music as I sail.  I don't know where to direct you if you are interested in meeting them, but I imagine they will turn up if they have a message or lesson for you.

Another group of beings that I have not had personal contact with are the sea serpents.  Other a glimpse or two, they have not factored into my journeys thus far.  Like many beings of the Otherworlds, they have their own business to attend to.  

The orbs are among my favorite beings in the Otherworld.  These sentient balls of light dance and play, often in groups, over the waters and in the forests and meadows.  They are joyful and peaceful. They communicate in their own fashion, and if you are lucky enough to encounter them , savor the experience.

The Bulls

The mist has returned.  This time, it is darker and more mysterious.  The sound of  thunder booms nearby and a dark shape begins to take form.  This new island is another place where you should watch from the safety of your ship.  This is the island of the two bulls.

The island is a high plain ringed with broken trees and trampled vegetation.  In a moment you will understand all of the destruction.  You can see that once, this place was lush and green.  Now it is all in ruins.  Look toward the center of the island.  There are two gigantic bulls, one solid black and the other cream with a russet saddle.  Their horns are locked in battle.  Each is bleeding from many wounds inflicted in the course of this conflict. They push and pull each other, struggling to gain their freedom or to dominate the other.  Their hooves gouge the earth beneath them  and they slam into the broken trees. So involved in their fight, they do not notice the destruction they have caused or their injuries.  They do not notice that they have trampled all of the edible plants and their caregivers.  To the victor of this fight, there will go nothing but a slow, lonely death.

This island of eternal battle is symbolic of many struggles.  What forces in your life or your psyche are constantly battling for dominance at the very same time they are destroying other things?  What metaphors to do you see during this segment of your journey?  Watch carefully as the bulls struggle.  Do you see parts of your life in the ruined land around the bulls?  When you have had enough of watching this battle, turn your craft away from the island and sail back into the fog.

The ever changing island

The curtain of fog parts and ahead of you is a conical island of ice and fire.  It is a glacier covered volcano rising majestically out of the water.  The glacier is slowly smoothing the rocks of the island as it ebbs and flows.  The volcano, not only erupts land building lava, it also melts the ice and rocks, as it travels to the sea.  The air is full of the burning, melting smell of the lava along with the salt of the seawater.

This island, one that I do not recommend you venture onto, is the Everchanging island.  It is constantly growing and changing, being born and dying, all at once.  The processes shaping it are destructive and creative at the same time.  All of the elements coexist here, sculpting and eroding.  It is a land where very little can live because it is never static.

You are like this island.  Always changing never complete.  You are creative and destructive.  What processes of change do you see acting upon yourself?  Do you see a balance between the elements, or are you always in danger of being overwhelmed by one or two?  From the safety of your ship, you can contemplate the cycles of creation and destruction in your life.  Here is not the place to focus on the ideas of good or bad.  It is often necessary to destroy the old before something new can be created.  The process is all that matters here.  Yours is unique.