Don’t you just love how humorous our Shadow side can make life. Just this morning I was writing the feature article for the May newsletter. The article  happened to be on the Enneagram and how each ennatype has  shadow elements particular to their type  to integrate.

I gave a personal example of my ennatype as a Seven, sometimes referred to as the Enthusiast, Adventurer or Epicure. We seven’s are in the thinking triad. For us, our mind is both our greatest ally and greatest enemy. I wrote about how gluttony of the mind was our favorite shadow strategy. I gave some examples and went on to write about the history of the enneagram and so on. I thought it was a decent introductory article.

My editor sent it back saying that the article was way too long for the newsletter.

Oh well,  gluttony of the mind.

Tonight was our last FIRE Of Wholeness class. It was an experiment in a 6-week format that didn’t quite work.  I’m sticking with the weekend format because that has the highest impact.  I started with 12, 2 dropped out for  scheduling conflicts,  1 plans to re-enroll in the May 29 weekend workshop.  Of the 10, 3  have had profound breakthroughs,  the others were impacted to varying degrees. I take responsibility for this format not working as well for them.  Overall, a successful workshop, but I am not offering the 6-week format again.  Some of the depth and soul opening moments were lost and I’m bummed about that.  This kind of work needs a weekend of intensive inner-focus. So back to the tried and true weekend formate.

When I designing these kinds of personal development workshop, especially the FIRE of Wholeness, my goal is to use the most effective,  intervention therapies to breakthrough the delusions of ego so the participants can meet their true self, their Essence, often for the first time in their life. I love it when the light comes back on in someone.

I have had seriously depressed and suicidal people take these workshops with amazing results.  I live for these moments of awakening.

We complete our 60 day transformational journey together with Celebration Saturday on May 9th. I look forward seeing it all come together for these ten participants. My favorite part is when we look back over 60 days and see how much each  person is connected to and living from their Essence, how clear they are about the past ways that in the ego has gotten in the way and isn’t any more and mostly how they are using their core strengths and core passions to craft lives that are about connecting and expressing from Essence versus the suppressing and impressing strategies of the ego.

The light of awakening has already came on in some and got brighter in others.  Now we need to fan the flame a little to keep it burning. Can’t wait til May’s Breakthrough weekend.

I love this work.
Michael

The last post introduced  readers to the 3-2-1 process for integrating the Shadow. If you haven’t read it, it’s a good idea to do so in order  to have the background on the process.

The Process:

First choose a person to whom you are either attracted or repelled (romantic partner, boss, parent, rude store clerk) or pick a dream image or even a body sensation that creates a disturbance in your awareness.

You can either talk through the process or use a journal to write in out. If talking, imagine the person or the main sitting across from you. If using a journal simply write out each of the following steps.

3 – FACE IT

Describe the person,  image or sensation in vivid detail using third person pronouns (he, him, she, her, they, there, it, it’s). This is your opportunity to explore the experience fully, particularly what it is that bothers you. Don’t minimize the disturbance– take the opportunity to describe it as fully as possible,  letting yourself feel and even exaggerate any emotional charge that is present.

2-TALK TO IT. Enter into a dialogue with this object of awareness using second person pronouns (you and yours). This is your opportunity to enter into a relationship is with the disturbance, so talk directly to the person, image or sensation. You may ask questions such as “Who/what are you? Where do you come from? What do you want from me? What you need to tell me? When gifts are you bringing me?”Then allow the disturbance to respond back to you. Allow yourself to be surprised by what emerges in the dialogue.

3 –BE IT. Now, writing or speaking in first person, become the person, image or sensation you have been exploring. Use the first person pronouns (I., me, mine). See the world, including yourself entirely from the perspective of that disturbance and allow yourself to discover not only your commonalities but also how you are really one and the same. Finally make a statement of identification: “I am__________” or ”__________ is me.”

Now integrate this perspective into a larger and expanded you, feeling it as an integral part of your being.

That’s it. Try it out for yourself with any person, dream image or sensation in the body that you find  disturbing in any way.   For those of you who know me, you know that my “bumper sticker quote” for SOULtions work  is ” Whatever we resist persists. Yet whatever we have the courage to fully face, feel and embrace, becomes grace” You can see how this process does this

Did you find this BLOG closer to….Bold - Language - Of - Grace OR….. Boring - Long - Ostentatious & Glib ???

Tell we met again,

In Wholeness, Michael

PS. Don’t forget to check out next Tuesday’s free Essence Circle at The Body Awareness Studio at 7:pm and the up coming Fire Of Wholeness and Embrace Your Shadow Workshops. Click on the links to the right to find out more.

This powerful process for integrating the shadow aspects of ourselves was developed by the philosopher and Integral guru, Ken Wilber.  Ken’s  work is one of greatest influences to my SOULutions work. This  process is part of The Integral Institutes Integral Life Practice. You can learn more about ILP at www.intergralinstitute.org.

The 3 — 2 — 1 shadow process uses shifts in perspective as a way of identifying and integrating shadow material 3 — 2 — 1 refers to third person, second person, and first person — the perspective is that we move through in this exercise.

Each part that we’d this home is at first an aspect of our I or first person awareness. But, for whatever reason, that aspect poses a threat. So we push it outside of ourselves, often on to someone else. It’s important to note that the aspect can be positive or negative. We can own both lower and higher aspects of ourselves. In either case, we project it as you… but not me. “You are angry.” “You are being selfish,” ect. In other words we just place it from a first person I to a second person you.

If the threat of this emotion or situation become so great it requires a total rejection, we banish it totally as a third person it, stripped of humanity at that point, we can often recognize shadow as a sense of irritation, reactivity, fear, phobia, rage or aversion toward things… but we you really don’t know why.

Under these circumstances, most forms of meditation won’t help; in fact, Bill makes things worse. They suggest dis-identification from experience, when what is necessary is RE- identification with this own dimensions of our experience and ourselves. You can only let go of that which you have first owned. Meditation instructions to “observe all experience and know that consciousness is and tended and free from experience” don’t work with experience from which we’re disassociated. Healthy dis-identification is only possible once we’ve re-owned, re-associated and re-identified with the disowned parts of ourselves. For this reason, there is no substitute for shadow work.

To sum up, disassociation proceeds from first person to second person to third person: 1-2-3. The reversal of disassociation bus goes from 2 to 2 to 1. The process is summarized as: Face it (3), Talk to it(2), BE it(1).

The specific steps to come in the next blog.

Did you find this BLOG closser to….Bold - Language - Of - Grace OR….. Boring - Long - Oustentatious & Glib ???

Tell we met again,

In Wholeness, Michael

PS. Don’t forget to check out next Tuesday’s free Essence Circle at The Body Awareness Studio at 7:pm and the up coming Fire Of Wholeness and Embrace Your Shadow Workshops. Click on the links to the right to find out more.

Earlier today, I was attempting to share with someone a little about the Ego to Essence work that I feel so passionate about. I talked about it beginning with a sincere willingness to let go of the ego’s root fear of NOT BEING ENOUGH as well as the the ego’s  compensatory desire and attachment  to somehow BEING SPECIAL, in order to create a space for ones individual-unique Essence to shine through.  She asked a great question; “In God or The Universes eyes, Am I not already special?” Aren’t the songs that I write special enough?

What would  your answer be ?

I asked her what her dream was? Her first answer was: ” To be famous; a star-maybe even be on Oprah.” She laughed.  I asked if she could get quiet and still enough make contact with this present moment, her own physical body and since the difference between connecting with the most recent song that she wrote  and the dream of being famous. After what felt like a two minute pause,  Her words were: ” When I imagine the song that I wrote  I feel a deep feeling of satisfaction in my soul. When I do as you ask and imagine being famous, it’s like I want it with a kind of desperation, and  kind of leave my body and feel  a sort of agitation”

A shaman might call this a “soul flight’ and recommend performing  a soul retrieval.

YES, you are special-as a unique expression of  “I AM.”

As we begin to let go of our ego’s fear of being not enough and let
go of our ego’s desire to be special, unique and somehow superior, the
confusion that sometimes arises is something like ….In my spiritual essence,
isn’t there something about me that is special and unique?  YES, you in
your essence is a unique, a one of a kind expression of the Whole , or Oneness. Or,
you could say you have a  pair of eyes through which God can have a
unique perspective. Maybe you’ re a cell in God’s body. Trust that it’s been
your ego’s desire to be special and attempt to prove that you are that is at the
root of  your dissatisfaction. The radiant expression of the true Self wanting to shine through, from  your essence has no need to feel special. It is already full,  free and limitless.

More about integrating the Shadow tomorrow.

What I’m most present to tonight is the difference in Ego specialness, the unique Self and it’s inherent specialness,  to be fully claimed, experienced and expressed, with a kind of humility that one can only have if  surrendered to and  grounded in  being lived by Life-or Spirit itself.

Ken Wilber states that “The Essential Self can’t be transcended”  In other words, for me, I can’t transcend my intuition, creativity & ingenuity or strategic thinking. Yet I can, and have transcended my egos fear of being weak and not good enough AND desire to look strong and  confident.

I am with you now in my Essence and with humility, and  as best that I can,  expressing the strengths with which I’ve been given, in service to the  transformation, healing and conscious evolution of Life - and that is enough.

Here is an interview with Ken  and others from the Integral Institute that may shed more light:   http://integrallife.com/node/40914.

Until we meet again,

In Wholeness, Michael