We are constantly surrounded by distraction, a kind of white noise that steals our attention. Our visual, tactile and auditory senses are stimulated very moment we are awake. Especially for those who live in big cities, this is a non-stop accompaniment, that is always present. It is not only our environment that bombards us with it, but we ourselves create and seek it. It gives us a creeping feeling when it is absent. There is this constant flow of input that never lets us turn our vision inside, to observe what rises within that makes us run from it all the time. It is curious how silence is perceived as something depressing or sad. I remember once when I was in a mood to do my practice without any background music and one of my students came in, the first thing she asked was if I was okay. This lack of noise is seen as something out of place, something that makes us uncomfortable. And truly so –this is exactly why it is so needed to actually seek silence on a regular basis.
We are so used to constant movement, that we never take a moment to actually stay still. It scares us. We are used to constant noise and the absence of it makes us feel anxious. But how can you know yourself if you never actually try to hear what is inside? You cannot appreciate movement if there is nothing still in the background and you cannot clearly hear what is important in a room full of noises. Most religious and spiritual practices propose some kind of withdrawal from these stimuli in order to obtain understanding of oneself. In the modern day and age people seek all kind of doctrines and teachings that can guide them towards enlightment and there is only one thing that is needed to be done which nobody is actually doing – and it is regularly looking within. Just being with yourself, observing what is there, trying not to judge, but to understand. Inside each of us, we have answers to all questions, each of us has the internal capacity of healing and moving towards deeper understanding of the self. You do not need to go to your 100th meditation retreat and go to shamanic rituals to find spiritual awakening, you need to direct your sight inwards regularly. The tools that are out there are undoubtedly very useful, but it can become just yet another trick if you rely all the time on something external for help.
There are a myriad of frameworks for spiritual work and all of them have one underlying thing in common – facing the demons inside is what leads to the path of salvation. In Eastern spiritual practices and philosophical teachings the “black” and the “white” are not seen as opposing qualities, but rather as complimentary to each other. I think in the West we could learn a lot from it. “You cannot appreciate the light without shadow”. In the teachings of Carl Jung the concept of recognizing an archetypical Shadow that every human being is possessed with and its integration is one of the most important pillars on gaining the wholeness of the self. Negating an inherent part of yourself does not lead to its elimination, but instead to this part of yourself that regulates your behavior. When you refuse to see something there is no way to be in control of it. It is very unsettling to admit that there is a part in you that is not so pretty by cultural norms, but it is necessary for us to see it in order to have a healthy relationship with ourselves. Humans are multifaceted beings, trying to simplify and water it down, categorizing human behavior in rigid classes is counterproductive. By doing that, we infantilize whole nations. It is impossible to take well measured decisions if you cannot see clearly what might be your unconscious motivations. All spiritual practices basically come down to the same thing– learning to be able to appreciate the existence of that side of ourselves that we do not like to see, the side that might govern our behaviors without us being conscious about it. This is the dragon from the tale which the hero needs to conquer, this is the evil wizard of the castle that you need to come in terms with.
Each of us has it, this “dark side” we refuse to admit. Seeing and calmly recognizing it is what actually makes us better people, not putting it in the farthest corner of consciousness. Hiding the beast is what makes it grow and gives it power.
There are different forms of meditation and mindful practices that are aimed at opening our inner sight to those things that we always try to swipe off the surface. Buddhism and Hinduism teachings in particular have developed a great variety of tools that help their followers get on the path of spiritual awakening. Basically, any practice that forces a practitioner to bring awareness to the origin of his actions and real internal motivations for behavior is already doing the work needed to appreciate our internal turbulences and take control over them rather than let them control us. There are various forms of mindfulness, meditation, stillness and movement practices that cultivate awareness that help deal with this part of ourselves that is hiding from an unprepared eye. In the West there are schools of psychology that operate within these realms and work with the concept of Shadow integration. Find a teacher that can guide you through this as any path is easier with guidance. But if it is out of reach, it is possible to deal with it by yourself - even simple sitting without any specific instruction and observing whatever comes is already a huge step towards awakening. But remember that even if you are lucky to have a good practitioner who can help you with guidance – the main work always will have to be done by yourself.
Appreciating all sides of ourselves and making peace with them is very important, it is also often scary because it requires taking personal responsibility. It is not easy to keep on such road as it is is filled with many bumps. This is the path that never ends, but brings a lot of fulfillment into our lives. With constant background noise and distraction it is very easy to lose track of our real desires and motivations. Our environment does not encourage us to know ourselves, but it is what is needed to stay firmly on the ground and take decisions out of the place of knowing and not ignorance. We have enough of it already, be the one who is going against the current. There is no need to become a monk and withdraw yourself from normal life in order to do so. And as for the community, whether we talk about our local group or humanity as an entirety – the more whole is each part of the totality, the more whole is the totality itself.