The Egregore of Truth

"In the shadow of the gods are the very gods themselves." James Hillman.

For the past three years I've immersed myself into the world of my own shadows. I've always been naturally inclined to self-improvement. I'm an aspiring psychologist working through my degree program. I'm deeply spiritual and take the tack that every being has light and dark within and that we shouldn't damn the darkness and exalt the light in us as though we are champions. However, up until several years ago I did just that. As I've self-actualized and spent time in meditation I've learned to hold space for both things to be honored. Because they are there for a reason. Without going too much into my personal journey I wanted to highlight some food for thought about the statement I began with.

Here is question I'd like to pose. If not to you then certainly to myself, publicly. Is it possible that our pursuits to ascend and our efforts to heal our shadows are made of shadow material itself? I came across this concept as I've studied archetypes. It is something that has crossed my mind before but this was back when I was immersed in religion. I always wanted to be better, more pure, more right. And if I've learned anything the past four to five years it is that being right, has become an egregore of sorts. An energy all its own projected onto the collective consciousness by a political movement that did the world a great disservice. As someone who travels internationally I've observed this energy in other countries. It feels like an undercurrent but it is ubiquitous all the same.

I've recently concluded something scandalous and it is this. When it comes to truth we equate truth with being right or correct. Yet when it comes to truth we must understand that collectively it isn't something that any group of people have gotten correct. Is it true the sun warms the earth? Yes. Is it true the moon reflects the light of the sun? Yes. These are facts. I'm talking about truths. Specifically religious, moral, spiritual and metaphysical truths. Since the dawn of humanity none of us have been able to corner the market on truth. Yet entire genocides have been carried out in the name of truth. The blood of martyrs cries out for the spilling of its truth. We as humans have been all too willing and quick to both die and kill to honor something that is subjective. We never have and we never will get truth right. Not you. Not me. No one can corner the market on truth.

But there is one thing we can right nearly every single time. And that is love. Because of this I am no longer striving to be in truth. But, to be in love. In love with my own humanity and yours. To give you space and honor your shadows. And somehow by sowing this in to the collective I believe I will reap and attract that same love and honor. For me this makes me feel more free, more light, more authentic. By letting go of the virtue of truth that has now become a golden calf I've made space for love. Where there is love there is light and where there is light there is health and where there is health there is high vibration. I don't say that in a "hippie-dippie" way. I say that in a scientific measurable way. Truth doesn't give life. Truth is not the catalyst for conception. But, the soil of love is forever and perfectly fertile and yields abundance and life. Love is like a self-renewing energy source. It is dynamic in that it can sow in to "itSelf" and others. The world is going to hell defending truths that simply do not and cannot be applied broadly or generally. I'm not saying that I hate truth or it has no place. But those who champion it as though it is the pinnacle of all virtues will all too often find themselves hemmed in and without defense against the very thing they promote. Truth has a karmic nature to it. It has a way of circling back to those who posit it and condemning them at points in which they are not living or believing or behaving in honesty and truth. While people use truth as a weapon against others it gathers up steam for its return to the one or ones who wielded it. I've seen this many times. Have you?

So this is where I am on my path of ascension. Less enthusiastic about a surrogate for truth. A bit more still and steady. Increased capacity to give and receive love. Definitely more authentic and strangely enough...more honest than I've ever been. That statement by James Hillman, "In the shadow of the gods are the very gods themselves" has brought me into a beautifully raw and organic place. That statement is a catalyst for me. I hope it will be for you as well and that you are as encouraged and freed by it as I have been.