SHADOWS

 

During my Mysticism course at Holos, I experienced a walking vipassana meditation, in which we were asked to focus on one thing/aspect during a 30 minute silent walk. Since it was early afternoon, and the sun was shining, my attention was drawn to my shadow.

I noticed that my shadow was created by my body/physicality blocking the light of the sun, the main source of light on our planet. As I moved, my relationship to the light changed, as did the shape and position of my shadow. When I walked in the shadow of an object that was larger than myself, my shadow was swallowed up by the larger shadow, and I didn't see it anymore. When I walked on the shadow of a object smaller than myself, my shadow engulfed it. Sometimes I could not see my shadow because it was behind me. Just because I didn’t see it, didn’t mean it wasn’t there!
If I looked back I could see that it was still there, faithfully following me.

This meditation led to a number of insights that have affected my perceptions of light and shadow in my life. For example, I realized that in order to see my shadow, I had to be in the light; that my physicality created the shadow by blocking the light.

I realized that in my relationships and interactions with others, if their shadow issues were greater than mine, I often get sucked in by their dramas and tend to lose my sense of self and perspective. At other times, my issues might consume others around me and suck them in.

That shadows are visible only when there is light was an important revelation to me. If we are in total darkness, there are no shadows, and we lose our equilibrium and sense of self.

This simple exercise of focusing on my shadow was a satori moment that deepened my understanding of the relationship between light and shadow that constantly interacts and coexists side by side. My shadow is a symbolic reminder of the duality I have chosen to experience through my physicality.

Photo Credits: Ruvan Wijesooriya - www.illerfiller.com