Power and the Shadow
Unit 4 - Master Your Energy E-course.
Embrace your natural, conscious and spiritual power and balance your feminine and masculine essence. When these energies are in the shadow we do not access our full potential.
Maps of Power in the energy body
As we live in a unified field of energy there is no lack of power in the universe. Power is channeled freely when we are open and embody all the archetypes and frequencies of our energy system.
The journey to self-mastery is about becoming whole, owning our sovereignty over body, mind and spirit in order to manifest our Soul essence and purpose.
There are maps, principles and techniques that can help us better channel the life force in our energy body. In this chapter we will go deeper in exploring the map of the Basic Self, Conscious Self and Higher Self (already mentioned in chapter 2). We will also look at the Feminine and Masculine Selves as archetypal energies of our psyche.
In order to express ourselves authentically we need to align our natural, conscious and spiritual power and allow the intertwined dance of the feminine and masculine principles at all levels of our being.
Whenever one or more of these aspects are dominant or in the shadow, we do not access our full potential and feel separation and disconnection from our true essence.
We can learn how to re- balance these different parts of our being, to live consciously in a higher vibration of joy, peace, love, freedom and creativity.
The three Selves: Basic Self, Conscious Self and Higher Self
The conceptual model of the 3 selves has been adopted by many traditions, amongst which Huna, Celtic, Inka and Core shamanism, to include metaphysical teacher D. J. Stone and psychologists S. Freud and C. Jung.
We will use the Huna terminology of Basic Self, Conscious Self and Higher Self. The Reclaiming Celtic shamanism talks about the Younger Self, the Talking Self and the Deep Self. Core shamanism and Inka shamanism divide the Spirit world in Under world, Middle world and Upper world, representing the realms of the three selves. Freud and Jung describe the Subconscious, Conscious and Superconscious as the three level of consciousness of the human psyche.
The Basic Self manages our vitality, our instincts and our actions. Energetically it is centered in the root, sacral and solar plexus chakra, domain of the body, the emotions and the action-mind.
This Younger/Elemental self has the power to manifest in the physical reality and is very connected to the natural world. It is the emotional self, able to sense and feel beyond the mind, following her intuition and perceptions. The Basic Self speaks the language of the body and of symbols, myths and rituals, communicating beyond logic and in deep communion with Spirit. It is the magical child who learns to speak, paint or make music naturally and effortlessly, like life is flowering, sprouting or hatching, without intention or mind.
This self stores the memories of our life experiences, our karma and our ancestral heritage, at a cellular level in the body and in our subconscious mind. This memory is like a data bank containing all our skills and talents, but also retaining negative beliefs and emotions which can create a lot of resistance. And without the powerhouse of the Basic Self we cannot ground and manifest our Soul energy and purpose.
The Basic self needs our unconditional love and acceptance. It is like a child, extremely sensitive, pure at heart and somehow wild. The Basic Self needs to be guided by the moral integrity and compassion of our Conscious Self, in order to feel safe and protected. Without this Parental/Adult Self taking personal responsibility, the Basic Self becomes like a child without a structure and boundaries to hold her.
The Conscious Self is connected to the mind and the refined methods of expression of language, imagination and thought. Energetically it is linked to the throat, third eye and crown chakras, which channel the consciousness of the Higher Mind. This Self is the one who interprets and organizes the world around us, holding the responsibility of co-creating with Spirit by making decisions and leading.
The Conscious Self needs to be inspired by The Higher Self. Without the wise and clear guidance of the Higher Mind, the Conscious self can lose awareness and become conditioned by the Ego mind with its patterns of limitation, separation and suffering. When the conscious Self is attuned to Higher Self we have access to the power of clarity, discernment and detachment.
The Higher Self guides the Conscious self who holds the Basic Self. However, this is not a hierarchical order, as the Higher Self also speaks directly to the body/Basic Self. When we listen to the wisdom of our body and emotions, we are guided by the magic of the Basic Self who is naturally attuned to life and Spirit.
From an energetic perspective, the Higher Self is channeled downwards and resides in our Heart centre as a focal point. The Higher Self informs all the chakras, communicating both with our Basic Self and with our Conscious Self.
Our Divine/Deep Self holds the wider perspective of our Soul and stores the akashic records of all our lives past, present and future. It exists in Oneness with the Universal field and is connected to the Higher Selves of other people, groups, nations and the whole planet and star-nations.
Ultimately both Basic Self and Conscious Self need to surrender to the Higher Self. When the personality surrenders and merges with the Higher Self we realize our own sovereignty, we become our own Sage/Guru, we realize divinity within ourselves.
Recently I have been watching a movie series called the Last Kingdom, about medieval England. The display of Warriors, Kings and Magicians/Priests can represent a metaphor of the alignment needed of the Basic Self, Conscious Self and Higher Self. The Warrior-Basic Self is directed by the King-Conscious Self, who in turn follows guidance from God-Higher Self, for the welfare of the people and the land. A warrior out of control only creates havoc and a warrior who fights with no aim only gets worn. The king seeks council from the Magician/Priest as a way to access God/Higher Self consciousness. A king without a higher perspective only follows limited group interests, whilst a king who abdicates his power and responsibility cannot lead his council.
The Higher Self is our Wisdom, the Conscious Self is our Discernment, the Basic Self is our Power.
The Higher Self holds the Conscious Self who holds the Basic Self.
To master our energy body we need to align and integrate our natural power and our conscious power with our divine power.
Balancing and Aligning the three Selves
When correlating the three Selves to the chakra system, the Lower Chakras (1-2-3) represent the energy of the Basic Self, the Upper Chakras (5-6-7) give expression to the Conscious Self whilst Higher Self is channeled downward in the whole system and centered in the Heart chakra.
The energy of the three selves needs to be in balance and aligned. As conscious beings we must embrace our conscious power and manage our natural power in continuous alignment with Spirit. When the energy of the Basic Self or Conscious Self is either excessive or deficient, we are unable to connect with our Soul guidance. Let’s look at a few examples.
An excess of Basic Self energy can keep us stuck in tribe consciousness and in materialism, attached to immediate comfort and physical identification. We become then disconnected from our power as independent adults and from our divine power as spiritual beings.
An overload of Basic Self energies happens when we repress negative emotions and patterns, which block our power to manifest. For examples Higher Self and the Conscious Self may be aligned and intending to invite success at work or a loving relationship, however if the Basic self stores programs of worthlessness, shame or rejection, we experience extreme resistance.
A deficiency in the energy of the Basic self can manifest as a lack of grounding and can be caused by too much focus on the logical mind, which dominates with an intellectual interpretation of reality, overriding the intuition of the body. In the same way a dominance of ascetic spirituality can disconnect us from the body and the natural world.
An excess energy in the Conscious Self can harm and deplete the Basic Self. This is the case when a critical or tyrannical conscious Self creates emotional stress and physical illness with negative mind activity. At other times the Conscious Self belief system can prevent access to our Higher Self guidance. For example the Higher Self is showing the path of the artist whilst the mind believes it is not sustainable financially.
A deficient energy in the Conscious Self means abdicating personal responsibility. In this case there is no or little Adult Self operating, with lack of awareness and personal authority. An example is when people are looking to be fixed rather than taking responsibility for their healing, not owning the power to influence reality with their emotions and mind. Likewise, in patterns of codependency we abdicate responsibility by giving away our power and independence to others in marriages, jobs or addictions.
The Higher self is like a dome of energy enveloping our whole energy system, whose focal point is seated in the heart chakra. We are never alone and always supported by our Higher Self. Recently I met my magical child in meditation as she was feeling rather vulnerable and realized once more how important it is to acknowledge, soothe and protect her. However, something happened that surprised me. After holding her in my arms, an enormous luminous Angel came! My inner was then held by the tall glowing aura of the Angel, surrounding her in unconditional love.
Higher Self is always guiding, protecting and loving us.
Our task is to hold ourselves and trust that when we open and surrender to Spirit we receive all gifts of love, power and abundance.
The Masculine and Feminine Selves
The Feminine and Masculine Selves are two archetypal sources of power which needs to be considered in addition to the three Selves, in order to have a basic picture of the energy body.
The masculine and feminine essences are expressed in different ways in all three selves and in each chakra.
In the yoga tradition the kundalini energy rises up the body through the Ida (feminine) and Pingala (masculine) nadis. These are channels of energy that run along the central axis of the body, starting as one in the root chakra, intertwining in each chakra and uniting again at the third eye and crown chakra.
In the model of the Three Selves as a way to cross-reference the Masculine/Feminine we will use the following archetypes:
- the Natural man/Natural woman in the Basic Self
- the King/Queen in the Conscious self
- the Magician/Priestess in the Higher Self.
When defining the essence of the Feminine and Masculine we go beyond all stereotypes of gender and culture to embrace qualities that need to be present in equal balance in ourselves.
Yin (feminine) and Yang (masculine) energies need to dance as one in our Psyche and Body, for harmony at all levels of being. Any polarization implies patterns of dominance and shadow which preclude access to our power as a whole.
The divine feminine is associated with the enlivening kundalini energy rising up the body and manifesting in all myriad of forms on earth.
The divine masculine is associated to the unmanifested energy of Spirit channelled down the body and penetrating all levels of being and all life.
The divine feminine opens in unconditional love to receive the presence of the divine masculine and in their union and dance all life is manifested.
In yoga Shakti (feminine) means energy, whilst Shiva (masculine) means no-thing or emptiness.
Shiva as unmanifested emptiness holds Shakti in her life expression.
Translated in qualities of being, masculine essence is about presence, awareness, focus, direction, holding and leadership, whilst feminine essence is about love, resonance, flow, expansion, communion and interconnectedness.
There are many archetypes describing the divine feminine and divine masculine as depicted in the vast array of Gods and Goddesses throughout many cultures, each divinity expressing different degrees of male-female balance.
In this context, for the sake of simplicity, we cross-reference the male and female energies with the three selves with the following archetypes:
- Basic Self: the Natural Woman/Natural Man as the Earthy Mother/Father and the She-He Warrior
- Conscious Self: the King/Queen as the committed focussed leader and the generous sharing community holder
- Higher Self: the Magician/Priestess as the Light Feminine/Light masculine or the He/She Sage
The Divine Feminine is associated with the Moon and with the inner world. Her qualities are those of being, openness, receptivity, inspiration, empathy and body wisdom. She oversees the realms of the unseen and receives power and vision through her psychic abilities and intuition. She lets herself be guided by her heart, body and dreams, operating beyond the logical mind, instead embracing unity and interconnectedness.
When feminine energy is deficient, we are disconnected with our openness and vulnerability, unable to sense our body instinct, our emotional guidance and our spiritual intuition.
The Divine Feminine by her nature needs to be open, vulnerable and unboundaried, therefore she needs the presence and holding of the Divine Masculine. Open and vulnerable doesn’t mean powerless! The feminine holds the unboundaried power of love in both her fierce and sweet aspects.
The Divine Masculine is associated with the Solar logos and outer world. His qualities are the ability to manifest, commitment, determination, focus and will power. He is action-oriented, he plans, sets goals and builds structures, whilst enjoying challenges and accomplishments. He uses presence and discernment to create, to contain and to protect. With wisdom and intellect, using all tools of communication and creative skills, he manifests in the world with integrity of purpose.
When masculine energy is deficient, we are disconnected from presence and awareness and find it difficult to manifest, to take action and to keep focussed on our Soul purpose.
The Divine Masculine is by his nature detached, pragmatical and active, therefore he needs the warmth of love, relaxation and receptive inspiration of the Divine Feminine.
The Selves in the Shadow: a graphic picture
The energy in our system can become polarized when dominant selves take all the front stage, forcing other selves in the shadow.
The model of the three selves and the polarity male/female are useful tools for mapping basic imbalances in our energy system.
In the table below we summarize the information given so far.
The Basic/Conscious/Higher Self imbalances are described in fig. 1.2.3
The Masculine/Feminine essence are shown see in fig. 4
The Higher Self field and heart-focus is shown in fig. 5
Fig. 1 Dominance of Lower Chakras
blocks in accessing spirit connection (ascending current): excessive materialism
blocks in accessing conscious self: lack of personal responsibility, abdicating power
emotional wounding and overload, with resistant or reactive behavior
Fig. 2 Dominance Upper Chakras
blocks in grounding (descending current): excessive intellectualism, disconnection with reality and the body
blocks in manifesting: spiritual escapism
Fig. 3 Dominance of Conscious Self
Mind like a cage blocking connection to Basic self: disconnection with the body, lack of emotional expression and instinctual creativity
Mind blocking access to Higher Self and Soul purpose: rigid identifications to roles, beliefs and egoic patterns, social conditioning
Fig. 4 Masculine and Feminine energies
Upper Chakras
the King/ Queen; the Adult selves
the Priestess/Magician; the Light Feminine/Masculine or the He-She Sage
Lower Chakras – the Natural Man/Woman; the Earth Mother/ Earth Father; the He-She Warrior
Fig. 5 The field of Higher Self enveloping our Being
Our energy body is contained in the field
The field is healing and guiding us
Working with dominance and shadow: my story
I would like to share my own story in order to give an example of the dynamic of dominant and shadow selves, where parts of ourselves dominate the scene whilst others are disowned and denied expression.
Whilst emptying my parents’ house I was struck by a portrait painted of me as a child of 7. I looked like a wooden puppet, like a Pinocchio, and I felt like that, moved robotically by invisible strings.
As a girl I was uncomfortable in my body, very orderly in my behavior, trying to follow all rules about what was right and proper. Obedience was necessary to receive approval and ultimately love from my family and the world. From this child an Adult/Ego developed that would impose a pattern of controlling and achieving in order to receive love.
My Conscious Self was like a cage blocking access to my Soul guidance and to my Body instinct
Another consequence of the dominance of my Controller-Pusher Self was that my Feminine Self went into the shadow as well. The reason was due to a cultural paradigm focused on intellectualism and materialism, as a way to guarantee survival and safety in the world. This gained me a brilliant first class degree in Economics but left no space for spirituality, inspiration, introspection and heart.
In my early thirties, breaking through depression, I changed my life and moved to UK, starting my journey of awakening and to pursue my vocation as a healer. It has been years of exploring many spiritual traditions, energy healing, shamanism, metaphysics, tantra, yoga and many more. I needed to reclaim access to my Higher Self and Basic Self, learning to perceive through my body, emotions and Soul. I stopped living by the rules of my controlling mind and learnt to allow my spontaneity, my fluidity of perception. I learnt to open to the voice of my Divine Feminine.
Any polarization requires balance and the right position is in the centre, where we can own all opposite energies.
After reclaiming the connection to my Basic Self, my Higher Self and my Feminine essence I had to work on rebalancing the role of my Conscious Self and my Masculine essence, which went partly in the shadow.
For example I became aware of my pattern of co-dependency, as one of giving my power away to others or situations by being emotionally, financially and spiritually dependent. Co-dependency is a form of abdicating responsibility and sovereignty of the Conscious Self and my journey has been of owning my authority and independence.
When I became aware that my Feminine Self was at times being a Victim in her vulnerability, or a resentful dark Goddess in her outrage for not being respected, I knew I had to reclaim the power of my Masculine Self. My masculine qualities of clear discernment and detachment were necessary to balance my feminine energy. The Light masculine now holds, loves, respects and protects my Light Feminine and listening to her inspiration when taking decisive action.
The concept of Golden Shadow and Wounded Shadow can offer a simple key in handling our inner polarities. All our Selves in fact, whilst holding precious gifts and talents, may have gone thrìough wounding and trauma. In order to connect to their energy we need to first understand their wounds and heal them.
My Basic Self was very wounded by my tyrannical Conscious Self, and my Feminine Self was not able to open to her Masculine Self for fear of being hurt and dominated. My work has been of healing my wounded Basic self and Feminine self and reclaim the golden shadow of my Conscious self and Masculine side.
Everyone of us has a different life story and the path to reclaiming our wholeness is unique and multi-faceted. The good news is that we have both the power and the tools to do this, through awareness, inner journeying and energy work.
Tips to connect to the Selves
BASIC SELF – Go in nature, commune and communicate with nature spirits; Learn to be conscious of your breath (pranayama and krya are very good for this); move your body, do physical exercise for strength and pleasure.
CONSCIOUS SELF – Design a structured discipline for body exercise, mental stimulating activities, business organzation and spiritual practices. Take responsibility for everything in your life, as you have the ability to respond consciously in every circumstance.
HIGHER SELF – Quiet and empty your mind with meditation, relaxation or any other activity that gives you inner peace. Become the Observer, exercise detached self-reflection. Pray for connecting to Source deep within yourself. Listen and be attentive to all signs that Spirit gives you.
FEMININE AND MASCULINE SELVES – Affirm you love each side unconditionally. Know that there are two people inside of you, each one with different needs. Listen to their longings and desires. Allow them creative expression in a balanced way in your life.
Journal writing practice
Allow a voice to your Basic Self/ Conscious Self/Feminine Self/Masculine Self, in whichever form they come to you. Allow all their feelings and voices and thoughts.
Witness guidance coming from your Higher Self.
Allow 20-30 minutes of writing with meditation music or classical music.
Start with a phrase, any that feels relevant at the moment, a theme in your mind or a dominant feeling. Like: I am judging myself for, I want to feel free, I feel hopeless, hurt, angry…This person/my mother/father/spouse is…..
This will be your anchor phrase, which you will repeat every time the flow of writing stops If you feel stuck repeat your anchor phrase.
Write continuously, following your stream of consciousness, without censoring anything, allowing yourself to express whatever is inside your mind and in your emotions. Notice your body sensations as well.
The intention is to allow unexpressed voices and emotions inside to have an outlet. It is a very useful practice when you feel distressed and in a difficult emotional moment. However you can use anytime you need reflection, as it gives the possibility to be very honest with yourself.
Allow yourself to express fully with no judgement. Finish only when it feels you had some sort of shift. Like an inner calmer voice has found some kind of resolution. Notice the pearls of wisdom you have learnt. Notice how underneath the judgement and the hurt, a voice emerges, that gives you clarity of awareness and deep peace.
The shadow meditation
In my blog there is a recorded meditation that can be used as a template to work with your inner selves. Each time it will be different and will give you new insight into your dominant and shadow selves.
The principle is one of acknowledging and discharging the excessive energy of your dominant selves first, in order to access the voice and gifts of your shadow selves.
In the blog you will also find the meditation script, enclosed for your convenience.
