I came across this quote by Carl G. Jung,  from  “Alchemical Studies,” the other day,  and it’s so very, very true, so I thought I would share it with you. First, however, a little story about moi, and moi’s own folly and delusion (or innocence, if you want to be kind.)

Years ago, when I first embarked on a path of spiritual development, I believed I could use the knowledge I was gaining to avoid all of life’s ”bad stuff.” I’d discovered “The Seth Material,” by Jane Roberts, you see, and believed I’d discovered the secret to how the universe worked.

All I needed to do, I thought,  was study how I was creating my reality and I would never have to worry again about mundane things like struggling to find the money to pay the bills, I would be prosperous,  universally loved,  completely fulfilled,  ecstatically happy -  not to mention an enlightened being! I would, or so I imagined,  float inches above the ground in my own ascended space and instruct lesser mortals on how to do the same . . .

Actually, I’m exaggerating a tad, but I was at the stage where I didn’t know my ego from my Higher Self and I certainly wasn’t conscious of the fact that I’d embarked on the spiritual path in the first place to avoid  life’s “bad bits”,  or to enhance myself in the eyes of the world by showing everyone that I could live life better than those people who weren’t clever enough to be “in the know,” as it were.   But then, maybe we all begin this way, who knows?

Suffice to say, I have learned many,  many things since those days, and not least of those things is this:

                                                          “One does not become enlightened by imagining

                                                            figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

   The darkness Jung refers to, of course, is our own unconscious, and it’s that which we must work on and bring to light - bring to consciousness, or awareness. 

Unfortunately, we  can avoid doing this for a long, long time (at least, I did) because, for example,  we don’t want to examine where we’re really coming from,  ie. what our real motives are. Also, we don’t want to face what we’re  really, really, really, hoping to  get out of something (our ego, or thinking mind, is  always trying to get something.)   

It takes courage and honesty to enter the darkness of the unconscious because, basically, we’re afraid of what we’re going to find there. We fear a monster lurks deep  in the centre, and that monster is our real self, the one we go to such lengths to conceal  from other people,  as well as from ourselves.

The paradox is, however, that the monster we thought was in the darkness, isn’t a monster at all, it’s a divine child: a perfectly innocent, embodiment of love that is united and at-one with all of Creation. That’s who you are, that’s the so-called monster that awaits you in the darkness of your unconscious.

So don’t be afraid.

Also, just in case you’re still at the wanting to float  a couple of inches above the ground stage, it really isn’t where joy and peace reside, neither is it being ascended- although it’s probably the ego’s version of being ascended! Rather, it’s being on a pedestal, which is exactly where you don’t want to be if you hope to reach enlightenment. Aim for ground level: embrace your humanity, your imperfection. That will move you towards enlightenment a lot faster than standing on a pedestal will, I promise you. And, contrary to what your ego will tell you, it’s a lot more comfortable down here at ground level, along with all my (  other lesser- mortal )  equals!