100 Days of Wisdom: Wisdom Day 64 – The Wisdom in Following Your Bliss & Finding Your OWN Shine

Wisdom Day 64

Read about the 100 days of Wisdom™ Project by Tonya Marie

Follow me on Twitter @WisdomWhispers and hashtag #100daysofwisdom for more reflections on life, love and the wisdom of Spirit!

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“You don’t want your happiness to be conditional upon the behavior of other people. It’s bad enough that your happiness is conditional upon your own behavior. When you start making it conditional upon other people’s behavior, you’re in serious trouble.”

~ Michael Singer, The Untethered Soul ~

Joseph Campbell’s famous life creed is “follow your bliss”. And what is bliss, you ask? It is defined as supreme happiness, utter joy, paradise … heaven.

I view Campbell’s creed-turned-call to action both as an opportunity and a responsibility. Michael Singer’s quote above speaks directly to that responsibility to follow your own heart and not to hitch your wagon of bliss to the whims, wishes and behaviors of others. In my poetry, I express the sentiment this way:

“Find your OWN shine!“

~ Tonya Marie Evans, Seasons of Her & SHINE ~

Whether it’s following your bliss or finding your own shine, underneath it all is that divine directive to take charge of your life by going where your soul’s desire leads you. And when you tune into the voice of spirit cleverly disguised as the bliss that beckons you, you will (re)connect with your destiny, your very reason for being here and now.

100 Days of Wisdom: Day 5 – Embrace Your Shadow to Find Your Light

Wisdom Day 5

Read about the 100 days of Wisdom™ Project by Tonya Marie

Follow me on Twitter @WisdomWhispers and the hashtag #100daysofwisdom for more reflections on life, love and the wisdom of Spirit!

Our dark side exists to point out where we are still incomplete, to teach us love, compassion, and forgiveness — not just for others, but also for ourselves. And when the shadow is embraced, it will heal our heart and open us up to new opportunities, new behaviors, and a new future.

Debbie Ford, The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self

Greetings!

The light within is that part of the Divine, higher self that exists within each of us. However, as we grow up and experience all of life’s ups, downs and in betweens, our light gets covered up and eclipsed by what Debbie Ford refers to as the shadow self. Carl Jung defined the shadow self as “the thing we think we are not.”

If you’re not sure what your shadow self is, observe what angers or irritates you about others — and there your shadow will be. Rest assured that about which you are most judgmental is what you desperately fear or altogether deny is in you. Our shadow self is that part of us we fear would make us unlovable or unsupported if people knew.

The irony is that we are never truly able to heal, overcome and evolve into the fullness of who God created us to be unless and until we embrace rather than resist our shadow selves. So instead of shunning your shadow surround it with patience, kindness and compassion. Instead of fighting or denying, lean in to the lessons your shadow exists to teach you and invite healing into your heart.

Our shadow self is both our mirror allowing us to see where we are broken open, hurting and fearful and the pathway to our wholeness and a full and fulfilling life.

Embrace your shadow to find your light and there you will “find your own shine”!

[Listen to Tonya Marie’s signature piece, Find Your Own Shine from the book & companion CD SHINE!]

note: temporary streaming issues have been resolved. 9/27/2012 tme

{SHINE! at CDBaby.com}

Wisdom in the Whisper™ and WisdomintheWhisper.com by Tonya Marie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.wisdominthewhisper.com.