I used to believe; Awakening was about getting rid of all the darkness. Boy, was I wrong! It's not about that at all. Awakening is about seeing LIFE through a new perception of reality.
The new paradigm confirms what most of us have forgotten:
There is LIGHT, not darkness hidden within all the pain, unhealed trauma and lousy behaviours. But we have to go mining for it.
It's a different mindset: the first one is all ego, and will only create more of what we don't want. The second one is the full acceptance of our Divinity. It's transformational. Our so‑called darkness is a vehicle for transformation, not for destruction, after all.
"A certain darkness is needed to see the stars." ~ Osho
Knowing this took away the need to condemn myself. Making it easier to practice unconditional self‑acceptance by holding my human self with all imperfections in one hand and the Divine Self in the other. I was finally able to become my best friend and learn to stop the voice of self‑judgment. I began to walk authentically.
I am not so naive as to believe I did it on my own. I would have never made it without my mentors, friends, and other awake beings who helped me with my struggles, mistakes, and shortcomings. I do not believe a person can wake up and recover without being vulnerable with a few other awake souls.
We need others because Awakening is much like hide and seek; somethings we know we at IT (LOVE) and sometimes we don't. The key is to have others to help remind us when we forget who we are.
It turns out; addiction was not darkness after all; it was a blessing because it made me wake up and remembered that LOVE was my birthright, not fear. And now, I can use my gifts that came out of the darkness for good in the world.
I hope you also go mining for your gifts because they are waiting in the darkness to be discovered.
From my upcoming book "Mistaken Identity" out at the beginning of the New Year.