Remaining Spiritual in a 3-D World

Remaining Spiritual in a 3-Dimentional World
by Angel Shadow™

For many individuals, the spiritual quest is accompanied by the
necessity of remaining grounded in a 3-dimensional reality.

Learning where to draw the line between being spiritual and dwelling
on the negatives of our world is a complex issue. We have to
address all sides of the equation and the beliefs and values
they represent. Unfortunately, this brings about segregation
in our society and creates an "us against them" attitude.
Battle lines are drawn and sides are choosen. 3-dimensional
illusions are played against spiritual ideals. You are either
with us or against us. So how do we remain focused on
our soul evolution and stay true to our spiritual goals?

The key lies within each individual.

Society has been segregated into comfort zone boxes.
Neatly tucked within these boxes are individuals who play the
3-dimensional game with pride because they are comfortable
with who they are. Their direction is focused and their path is
clear. They know exactly where they're going, "Thank you very
much," and don't require outside assistance. However, they
refuse to see the walls that limit their vision.

The illusionary walls that keep them safe and protected are the very walls
that breed judgment and fear. Knocking down these walls
takes an act of courage and acceptance. For once the walls
come down, we are left standing naked before each other.
Imperfections are shown. Fears are out in the open and
anxiety levels are high. It is at this point, we need to
recognize the soul, the divine God-Spark, that lies within
us all, instead of relying on the physical, 3-dimensional
illusions we see standing before us. To recognize the
God-Spark within another individual requires compassion
and acceptance. Not just of the physical person we see
standing before us, but the soul of the individual that
resides inside the physical shell. It takes personal self
confidence to see the true person in the individuals we
encounter. When we are comfortable with our own self-
worth, it's easier to bring out the best in others. But the
question of, "What if the person refuses to acknowledge
their own shadow" looms. How do we handle individuals
who refuse to accept they are less than perfect? First,
it's not our responsibility to determine what is perfect for
them and their individual soul growth. At some point, we
have the right to withdrawl and leave them to their lessons.
The key is to walk away with compassion, not anger.
Understanding, not judgment and love, not fear. We
have a tendancy to become wrapped up in their emotional
drama and define our role and the character we want to play
based on the circumstances we find ourselves in. We
have to understand we will not be able to control another
individual or the decisions they make. Our point of power
lies in our emotional responses. We need to reprogram
ourselves to detach and observe, not remain in the middle,
controlling the outcome based on what we think is best.
Releasing control and allowing another to grow on their
own level shows maturity and personal growth. It's letting
go of ego based issues that define the walls of segregation.

When we release control and ego based issues, we will
create distance with certain individuals. As painful as this may
be for some, it's a vital step in the process of defining who we
are and better yet, who we are becoming. The goodbyes can
be as emotional or controlled as we allow them to be. If we
walk away with love, compassion and understanding, there is
no reason to be emotionally overwhelmed. It's when we
become emotional, based on 3-dimensional illusions, that
the departure becomes difficult. The emotional reaction
is what keeps us chained to the situation, not the individuals
involved. Once we decide to take this step, the individual
may create additional emotional dramas to hold you to the
situation. At this point, we've reached a crossroads and
only we can determine how much power we will give the
situation. It's alright to walk away and leave them standing
with a mirror in their hand, as long as it's done with
compassion and understanding in our hearts.
Saying goodbye to the familiar may be a painful and
scary experience, but if we remain grounded we will move past
this transition with as little emotional drama as possible.

Understand that ending situations that are no longer necessary
in our lives is vital to our individual growth. It's part of what we
came here to do. We are the writers, directors and casting
agents of our life screenplay so we decide the starring roles,
as well as the smaller, supporting ones. Emotional outbursts
do not occur in our lives without our approval and once we
recognize this, we can accept responsibility for healing
ourselves. Healing must begin on individual levels and
expand from there. When we heal our own personal
issues, we have more to offer the individuals we come
into contact with. Healing ourselves as individuals leads
to the healing of humanity.

In order to heal ourselves, we must look deep within
our own hearts and confront the shadows that lie there. What
are we so afraid of? When we take a good long look in the
mirror, we will see aspects of ourselves that need attention.

At this point, we encounter a crossroads, for we either accept,
acknowledge and heal those shadows or we push them
aside once again. When we push them aside, we are not
accepting responsibility for our actions. Every aspect of our
personality has been set in place by the circumstances we've
encountered and more importantly, our emotional
responses to them. Once we move past the emotional
drama and into the heart of the matter, we will find we are
exactly where we chose to be. Accepting this takes courage
and maturity. It's easier to blame someone else for our
own shortcomings because this takes the responsibility off
us. Personal healing takes place within our own hearts first
and it's a long, lonely journey. Other individuals may try to
assist, but it all comes down to our own ability to see
ourselves as we truly are and heal from there. Soul
searching is a personal issue that everyone must confront
eventually and it will be as gentle or intense as we want it to
be. The more we fight the process, the more painful our
search within will be. We have to be able to look at ourselves
honestly and realize it's alright to dislike the actions of
the person we see in the mirror. We have been programmed
to view our faults as negative things. We have to be
perfect and our world has to be flawless. We are taught not
to dwell on the shadow aspects of our personalities,
because that is labeled as negative self-talk and damages
our self-esteem. But what if we changed our opinion of
this? What if we view our shadows as a missing part of the
whole? A piece of the puzzle that is required. An aspect of
our own self-created world that requires healing. Once our
opinion is altered, we realize that healing the dark shadows
is the key. Negative self-talk does not have to play a role,
for we can accept responsibility and nuture the areas that
require healing. Our self-esteem will not suffer when our
shadows are approached with love and compassion.

Soul searching and shadow work are vital in today's
world. We are incarnated on this planet, at this time, for many
reasons. Each individual purpose is personal and unique
but still effects the whole. We bring our own individual gifts to
humanity for experimentation and each is a piece of the puzzle
that needs to be placed for the whole picture to
become complete. We can no longer view ourselves as
separate from one another. While there are different levels of
soul evolution, we are all a part of the one God-Spark and
each individual needs to play the role assigned to them. On
a physical, 3-dimensional level, we appear to be separate
from certain energy groups, however, when viewed from a
detached, higher level, we see the oneness of all. Walking
away and allowing certain energy groups to fulfill their soul
contract is part of the process. It becomes an individual
attachment when we hold resentment and anger toward a
situation. In order for positive change to occur in our world,
we need to allow certain dramas to unfold. Our power lies
in releasing the drama that is not part of our plan. We must
allow the soul's that have come here to learn from certain
experiences, the opportunity to grow and extend themselves
in a positive way.

Part of learning to extend ourselves in a positive manner
is paying attention to our thoughts. Our thoughts are
energy that extend to others around us. It is then expanded
through them to the individuals in their circle. Long after we
have forgotten about a particular thought, it is still alive and
well, circulating through others and effecting them on a
subconscious level. Eventually, this energy is returned to us.

By paying attention to the thoughts we send out, we start
to recognize why we have the experiences we do. For example,
if we live our lives in victim mode, we will continually
feel like a victim. If we see chaos in everything around us, we
invite more chaos. If we continually pass judgment on
others, eventually we find ourselves in a situation where we
are being judged. We receive what we send out and it's
important that we live our lives according to what we truly
want and that we treat others the way we truly want to be
treated. By living positively in every moment, we project
the energy necessary to move us toward a positive outcome.

One way to project positive change in our lives is to
become the change we want to see. If we view a shadow part
of ourselves in another individual and accept it as our own,
we then have the power to move forward. By changing our
own attitude, we become the change we want to see in others.
This brings more positive change into our lives and
instead of judging, we project the change from ourselves.
This extends to the other individual, who absorbs it on a
subconscious level. So when we set an example of positive
projection, the ripple effect will eventually return it to us,
bringing the people and situations we need into our lives. We
all recognize the old saying, "Be careful what you wish
for." This is true on a conscious level as well as a subconscious
one. Our subconscious carries years of programming
we may not be aware of and it's in our own judgments and fears,
as well as our positive traits, that bring about our wishes. But we
don't recognize them as "wishes" when they feel negative. We
don't accept responsibility when something bad occurs in our
lives because we can not fathom the idea of inviting our own
chaos. By accepting responsibility for our thoughtsand actions,
on conscious and subconscious levels, we recognize how our
programming dictates what we do. The trick is fully moving it to
the conscious level where we have the power to control how it's
projected. Once we control the projection of our individual energy,
we understand how we are lead to what we wish for. This is where
we become the creators of our destiny. It is in this moment, we see
what changes we need to make in ourselves. It all begins with the
individual and the examples we set.

So, we have overcome our subconscious programming and are
on our way to bringing positive changes into our lives. We have more
self-confidence and this leads to conscious choices that move us in
the direction we want to go. We are now free thinkers with the ability
to set positive examples that keep us grounded in our physical reality
and we no longer rely on past programming to pull us back to the
places we have outgrown. We must fight the urge to allow old habits
and patterns to re-emerge. Being a free thinker moves us into a level
of reality where anything is possible. We are no longer bound by
repressive thoughts and feelings of inadequency. Building our
self-worth brings changes on numerous levels and we discover
our true mission. Our reason for existence. The purpose of our
soul's growth is to evolve and co-create a reality where all are one.

Religious beliefs that repress and project fear and
judgment only add to the issues of segregation in our world.
Spirituality should be viewed as a puzzle. A puzzle whose
pieces are made up of every individual, regardless of color,
size, belief system or status. When we allow judgments to
alienate individuals, we accept and allow the process to continue.

The situations we find ourselves in are of our own making and until
we accept responsibility for our actions, we will continue to be
segregated from the individuals who carry the same spark of life as
we do. It's time to look past the physical appearances and accept
the soul that is housed within the shell.

The changes taking place in our 3-dimensional world sometimes
make it difficult to remain spiritual and grounded. We live in a time of
forced soul searching and shadow work and it's our responsibility to
co-create the future of our world. Knocking down the walls that keep
humanity segregated is an important process. Accepting others on
a soul level and allowing them to complete their lessons, will
eventually bring all individuals together as a whole. Recognizing
the soul within helps us maintain focus and reminds us of the
individual mission of each soul. It keeps our connection
to the spirit in healthy balance and our soul on it's evolutionary path.

Everyday, our world moves closer to the perfection we seek, but we
must allow the process to complete itself. When we remain spiritually
balanced, we see the process for what it is. We recognize where
changes need to take place and we make decisions that support that
goal. Humanity is awakening from it's slumber and learning from the
lessons of the past. We are beginning to see the connection between
the conscious and subconscious mind and how they create our world.
It begins with each soul and expands from there. Casting light that will
change our world...one individual at a time.

Copyright June 19, 2003

********
~More articles by Angel Shadow can be found in Counterpoint-The Personal Development Article Library at www.trans4mind.com/counterpoint/ under the following categories:

*Happiness & Wellbeing

*Creativity & Career Fulfillment

*Goals & Life Coaching

*Spiritual Development

*Emotional Intelligence

~Also published at:

www.eaglespiritministry.com