Each Small Candle Lights a Corner of the Dark

candlelight-yoga-4Ida Lawrence, Contributor
Waking Times

Between painful discomfort with self and self-love is love of truth. Some may say… let go, let go, let go of the discomfort… but you know, I’m kind of an owl person: I like to go into the ‘dark’… maybe if we really can see how things come apart, we can understand how to restore ourselves on a higher level: higher because there is new information digested.

I want to look at what ‘let go’ means, as attempting to let go of what you haven’t understood and dealt with truthfully is pretty much self deceit… it remains as is, unlit and still in control.

Of course if someone cuts you off in traffic and your typical response is anger, let go of that… the world will often contradict your opinion. And the worrying and compulsive thinking, let go when you see it, and return to the present moment. Still, I’m thinking ‘let go’ must be more than that.

The collective subconscious made up of how many billions of minds… kind of hard to reflect on what’s in there at this moment. More pain than any of us could imagine, I’d venture. The feeling impact of those billions is heavily upon us now.

Within the collective there are the different fields of energy… the peoples, nations, religions and so on, each with a persona, made up of the minds within those groupings, those minds also divided. Everything is divided, and while we bravely say, “We are all one,” we, ourselves, can be divided: both within our own Selves and in our relationships with others who speak of oneness across the Internet. It’s contradictory, and from contradiction comes discomfort.


  • How do we actualize oneness with others? I have always believed that being considerate of another person’s or another people’s experience, and hearing their legitimate and heartfelt prayer, is fundamental to ‘one love’. But… in a tyrannical, needy, deceitful, fear-based world, such a position can be seen as weakness, and an invitation to a trampling.

    I’m not saying that this position is in error, as I have seen it succeed in small and great ways. I have also seen it as very beneficial to ‘knowing self’. But the road is long and arduous, and full of pitfalls. And, if you don’t have yourself fully together it can be dangerous, as there are requests that should not be answered. We need to protect ourselves as well… there is no doubt about that.

    So then, before being trampled to death, we have to go to the smaller but greater question… how do we actualize oneness within ourselves? If we can become observers, able to recognize the origin of thoughts and impulses, gradually bringing the shadow into alignment with our intent to evolve, then we are on track to being whole… a true spark of light in the dark.

    Interesting thing about the ‘dark’… we can think about it one way or we can see it another way. It could be the savior complex, or guilt and shame, or self-pity, victimization and anger… and many more. All of them conditioned, all of them fortified with justifications, and proven by life experience, sometimes self-inflicted, even encouraged by others.

    We give names to these states and sometimes by naming and pointing we make them more frightening than they need to be. Maybe we could look at them simply as impacts, patterns or habits that split off and formed into the shadow pieces… separated parts of true self.

    Saying… “I keep falling into self-pity and I’m going to let it go” is something like what my young son said when he burned his finger… “Cut it off, Mom, cut it off!!”

    Don’t attempt to cut it off. Every spec of our being yearns for the light. These painful patterns may be hidden away, but like the burned finger, once recognized, they can be persuaded to participate in the healing and uniting of Self.

    There is nothing within us, nothing we have thought or done, that we cannot repent for, accept as true, and begin to change into wisdom and the path to wholeness. There is nothing anyone else has done, or this hard-core life has done to us, that we cannot find a way to accept as a part of this time period and ‘it all’, and forgive, in order to love the journey of our Spirit, regardless, and manifest our intentions, regardless.

    And that, I believe, is the ‘let go’ point: see the injury and how it has created a shadow entity, turn that part toward the light, be steadfast with the change, and let go of the pain. It’s over… time to restore health.

    The other day I listened to a YouTube video called, A Persian Woman Speaks – Evolutionary Revolution, wherein she stated, “This is a multi-central universe. Every single being that is, is the center of the universe… this is a holographic universe, no one has more power than anyone else.” I found the concept to be so well stated, that it rang true in a brand new way.

    I’m the center of the universe… and universes collide and merge… well of course! Thank you, discomfort within my universe, for helping me and strengthening me. And while I’m at it… thank you to the laughter and happiness, and those tender sentiments and loving moments within my universe too. And while I’m at it again… thank you to the guidance from my higher self, the moments of bliss, the messages and gifts, the incredible light of love.

    The ‘one love’ prayer from our individual universe to other individuals and back again, is growing in strength and clarity, and I know you can feel it too. Our tiny sparks of light in the dark are communicating and this consciousness is touching many.

    Spirit is what sustains the growth. So let’s not let anything get our spirit down… and remember, it’s okay to take a flight into our own dark. From there we may be able to bring forth a light on the horizon. Morning surely will return for humanity and the earth. Say a little prayer for all, and love your True Self, in all humility.

    About the Author

    Ida Lawrence is an author, blogger, copywriter and editor based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has contributed to and edited two books on racial justice and human rights, and numerous articles on human rights, self-empowerment and related subjects. Her latest book is entitled The Warrior’s Way to Heaven on Earth. Ida has also published a companion book of blog favorites from http://talk2momz.com/.

    This article is offered under Creative Commons license. It’s okay to republish it anywhere as long as attribution bio is included and all links remain intact.

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