Cultivating within, reflecting without.
This is taken from our Summer 2015 issue. Subscribe here to have the autumn issue and the following three issues delivered direct to your door.
By Andrew Smith
The creation of your reality is contained within a simple truth – that which is within reflects that which is without.
In the same way that you attract and subsequently bond with people who share your values, you also create systems in your life that reflect those values. Similarly on a larger scale, the systems that we live within, including the patriarchal, hierarchal, authoritative corporations, religious institutions and political systems, only exist because we have given our consent to them to exist.
The massive deconstruction of the external world that has taken place over the past five years is largely a result of a monumental inner awakening. You have had to face, name, understand, heal and embrace your Shadow; you have had to get to a point where you can LOVE it. In doing so your Shadow no longer has a hold over you. By clearing your inner world, you clear the outer world. Without those inner enemies the System has no hold over you and cannot exist. The System can only feed off your unprotected Self. Therefore there is nothing to stop you other than you yourself!
However, many people tend to recreate what is familiar when they travel to a foreign country, seeking comfort in an Irish bar despite being in Havana, because the fear of being free is as powerful as the fear of being trapped and controlled.
The key to living freely and openly is to face your inner enemies. When you lay down your worries, you leave behind your frustrations and anger; when you give up your position and your dreams of your special status, you will learn to find ease in risk. Fear and self-doubt are the part of the old way and not the way forward. As long as they exist within, the old order will attempt to survive by nurturing in you those egoic vanities.
Shedding the last vestiges of those deeply ingrained limiting thought forms is precisely what the energetic conditions of the summer of 2015 are all about. Saturn is a term that astrologers use to describe how you define how you limit yourself. Pluto symbolises the process of deep, inner change. Throughout the summer these two planetary archetypes are engaged in a deep conversation concerning what inner enemy you need to face, name, understand, heal and embrace. Over a 40 day period during the late summer, you have a chance to go inwards and understand the hold that matter has over your soul, binding you to your addiction to fear and anxiety.
Myriad spiritual traditions speak of a set of common themes interwoven into the notion of ‘40’ – ritualistic cleansing, purification, prayer, inner reflection, stillness in preparation for a renewal of spirit and ultimately a rebirthing of the light within. This inner conflict tends to cease, having emerged from a cave, mountain top or desert, illuminated, enlightened and at peace.
Our stories are ultimately cosmic ones and they retain the knowledge of our stellar origins encoded in the lives of those who have inspired our spiritual traditions. This 40 day purification, replenishment and revitalising of your consciousness is the story of the Inner Journey of the Light Bearer, Venus and it takes place in late July through to early September Venus. This is a perfect time to face your Shadow as you are offered a time to gauge how free your spirit is from the control of matter. I would ask you to keep foremost in your meditation the following questions:
- Are you being seduced by the allure of security and playing it safe?
- Do you trust in your body’s intelligence to guide you to do the right thing?
As Hope returns to the Earth (as Jupiter ingresses into Virgo), you merely have to take the time to listen to Nature’s intelligence within and around you. So find a spot within a leafy glade; lie with your eyes open, watching the cascading clouds rolling over each other on the jet stream, behind the ceaseless swaying of the branches of the trees; bring your attention to the susurration of nature all around you as She talks to you through the rustling, murmuring and whispering of the leaves and the heaving and creaking of the boughs or limbs. Whilst listening to Her tender voice, draw your awareness to your breathing, drawing the vital energy of life, murmuring the Aramaic word, Inanna, and exhaling whilst susurrating the word Rakhma. Within this still place, you will start to observe how the trees around you have synchronised with your rhythmic breath, leaning towards you as you inhale and veering away from your as you exhale. Within this space, ask whatever your heart desires and listen. Whatever image arises within your mind’s eye, trust, as within this quiet space you have connected consciously with the vegetable intelligence within and around you and the answer has been symbiotically passed into your consciousness.
A new world is birthing. There are new rules. There is an alternative agenda – to live to your highest potential. Why shouldn’t you make a living from what you love; from what you are passionate about; from your heart’s desire? Remember, with a heart free from fear and limitations and with gentleness, you can shake the world.
Andrew’s private practice is in Blackrock, South Dublin. Email him on dastroc@gmail.com for further information on consultations, workshops or classes. Join him on Facebook for daily updates.
This is taken from our Summer 2015 issue. Subscribe here to have the autumn issue and the following three issues delivered direct to your door.
