 Welcome back. This is Zona Christie and today we're going to talk about our relationship to our dark side to our shadow side and the reason I'm talking to you here is because I just came on this hike and It's actually a descent down into this watershed on the Rock River here and Then you have to hike back up and what it really reminded me as I was hiking today of the soul journey of this descent and Rising back up the Ascension process and so on my way down today. I was just given this insight into the stages of relationship with the shadow self with the dark side and I think this is a process that we all go through as part of the Ascension process and So here they are there's four stages. So stage number one. I call identification identification with the shadow self and That's usually I think often starts as in sort of an unconscious level Where we kind of get sucked into the dark side of ourselves reflected often as a result of traumatic experiences that we've gone through and whether it's this lifetime or past lifetime and So when we identify with that dark self sometimes it comes Through as just sort of a wallowing in the dark darkness Turning to the darkness for solace in a way, you know, especially if we've had Traumatic experiences that we haven't fully integrated. I think sometimes that that the stage is very important because we we get to fully feel The the effects of the dark and and really bring it home I want to say that the dark is actually a part of us. It's It's something that's part of nature. And if you look at nature, there's always polarities of light and dark, right? And this we see this in the seasons. We have the dark season the winter and the light season We see this in the cycle of the days So I just want to say first of all that dark doesn't necessarily mean evil But when it's out of balance it can It can morph into evil, right or it be can be Just inverted in a way that that can become very very destructive and evil, okay? So this first stage of identifying with the dark it can take a very very a destructive Pathway, but it can also be it's also part of the healing process, right? And so some people I apparently there are some people their soul probably just needs a little bit more of that identification stage But the danger is that you can really get sucked into it And that's what happens when we get into like these dark cults They've identified with the dark to such an extent that they can't get out. They've given themselves over to it that they've Devoted themselves to such an extent that that's Become their identity So that is one of the the real dangers of this phase is is to be caught into this this dark cycle It's it can be very very destructive to self and others on the other hand Sometimes we need to experience enough of that dark in order to trigger us to want to change And sometimes I think we need to hit a bottom need to hit that deep dark, you know part of ourselves So that identification stage can be unconscious and that's where we often see the the artist just kind of expressing it And if it's unconscious it'll often get played out in terms of addictions or depression That kind of thing or it can also be conscious and that's where people start working with like the the the dark occult And that's where you're going to start seeing Spiritual practices that can be very very harmful to to Usually often to other people It's always harmful to the practitioner too, but they may not be aware of it right away What can happen if a person Gives themselves over to the dark is that they can feel a sense of power out of it And what's happening is that it's like grip them and it's actually eating away at them But it's like they don't realize it because it feels like they're empowered Okay, and it feels like they're being given special gifts or special powers or it's like, you know drawing out of that Now the reason is because they're drawing on other people's energies. They're really being an energy vampire But it will always eventually eat away at the self the shadow side of us does You know when we start working with the shadow, it it does bring a certain There's a definite power that we tap into But the thing is it has to be done in balance and at this stage Where it's just identifying with the shadow. It's not in balance Right and so that's where you get things like artists a lot of times will are very creative people Will can spend a lot of time in this this dark face They because you're digging into some deep deep stuff and that can fuel a lot of the creative things that come forth And again, the dark side isn't always evil, right? So the dark side is it's sort of like this this gray mother kind of thing And and it does help to tune tap into that that those creative powers But it has to be done in correct balance with light in order for it to be Life affirming or life supporting Okay, so how this can manifest sometimes a lot of times you see this like it happened to be as a teenager Like a little bit. I wasn't quite goth, but some of that stuff You know wearing black and really being into the dark imagery Some there are certain Religious or spiritual traditions that in modern days have become quite dark And and that's that's tapping into this However At some point you're a person will will either just go fully down that dark path and that that could be really really destructive but then At a certain point a person may realize or their soul may realize it's just like this had enough darkness and there's this realization of Gotta gotta turn to the light and that brings us to this second phase Of relationship with the dark side and that is denial, right? And that's this That's this feeling of okay. Well, we're turning to the light and just bringing in the light Which is really necessary and I want to say all these phases are necessary, right? So I'm not saying this is bad or good or whatever But I'm saying that this this is a phase that especially happens with like people who are kind of starting the starting their awakening process Where it's this like love and light and love and light and love and light and love and light And love love love love love open heart and bring in the light This is realization of oneness of divine oneness where we are one with everything and I am you and you are me and we are all together And seeing the light in everybody and what it does is it's a purifying force that that we work with That that comes through and we're inviting into our body and it is it's it's something that is necessary for reversing any inverted dark energies that we've been working with with that identification process It it's a very cleansing and clearing and purification a sort of phase and again, this is so so important and so healing But on the shadow side of that is a naivete and that's not recognizing You know where things may be inverted not seeing the shadow aspects of other people not seeing the shadow aspects of the self and then getting caught into negative loops into A narcissistic patterning Getting getting caught into relationships where you're giving and giving and giving and you're leading out your energy Just allowing yourself to be taken advantage of By your own darkness or by other people's darkness in the third stage I call resistance And a resistance is when a person becomes aware that That they need to protect themselves right that there are dark forces that are you know will will pull you off balance that will actually harm you and that you need to You know that there is potentially evil in the world and being able to see that The third phase is how you learn about spiritual protection psychic protection And this is a phase of deepening awareness Where you begin to really discern You know what's true to me. What's not what's mine. What's what energies are not mine? It can be a very very challenging phase so This is a time when sometimes when a person has had an awakening from that Identification with the dark into the identification with the light the second phase And you know everything's beautiful And then they have this realization that there's both And that you do have to protect yourself sometimes that's a very very difficult You know part of the soul journey Is uh moving through This learning To recognize where's the dark? Where's the light? How do I tell the difference? and So where the power is of this phase and again all these phases are necessary But the power of this phase is to really learn to claim your power And to own your power And again, it's a it's a further progression of the purification process of coming back to the self Um, so this is this is a very very very powerful and necessary phase to to be able to To recognize these things This is a really a phase where you're resisting the dark Where you're identifying fully with the light but not in a naive way. You've shed that naivete And this is when you're actively choosing. This is where free will really comes in where it's like you have to Stake your claim and say I identify with the light and I'm bringing the light in and I Am a force for life. I'm not going to Support the death agenda. I am part of the life agenda where This phase can Kind of trip you up is when When one becomes rigid in this phase When it becomes very black and white where There's a certain amount of judgment that comes in where it's you know, we have to make these choices We have to choose, you know, am I going to take this action or that action? I'm identifying this way or that way. So it's it's it's a stage where one has to Have this discernment, but when the discernment eventually comes to this point of um discomfort because We all have a dark side and it's part of us and when we start Judging that dark side as being evil or completely You know Something that we're completely fighting against that we're completely resisting It will create this Discomfort within ourselves and so what's happening is we're actually fighting fighting ourselves And so this phase can go on for quite a while. It's the Good versus evil phase and it can last for lifetimes It can last for eons But at some point we have to break through and integrate and come into The fourth phase and these are all phases or stages of ascension The danger with phase three is that you can get so caught up so obsessed with With staying on the light side Or so obsessed with being aware that you That you actually call in You just call in the dark because you're so focused on it And it it's a sneaky way that the the the dark side actually Kind of comes in the back door in the space And that's when you need to really just move into phase four and so in the fourth stage this is the stage of integration to where a person Has done the work of Being able to discern, you know, what's what's mine. What's not What's dark what's light and be able to Come to a place of acceptance Of everything it reiterates the oneness of the second phase in that, you know We see god and everything but then we also are able to see that There's dark and there's light. It's not just light. It's not just dark You know the first phase is we're looking at, you know, really focusing on the dark everything seems dark Second phase is that everything seems seemed light Third phase we have all this kind of discernment and and figuring things out fourth phase It's like we recognize the dark. We recognize the light. We recognize that it is all part of the great oneness and that it is present in ourselves as well And so what needs to happen is that we have to accept And love every single part of us And recognize that we do have a dark side And to be able to work with the power of that dark side because that that's that's a lot of it's the deep feminine It is it does it does contribute to the creativeness, right? Even the dark masculine has its place But we've come to a place where we have enough discernment so that we can You know work with those dark parts of ourselves, which are never going to go away They're part of us But we can work with them without letting them get away with taking us over right and so this is a This is high mastery here And it's a process that never ends. I don't think So one thing that could be really really helpful in navigating all of these phases is a knowledge of the 12 universal spiritual laws if you haven't seen my webinar on that I've put it up on my website if you If you go to artofawakening.life Slash laws And there is a sign up for my newsletter and when you sign up there You will get access to my 12 spiritual laws webinar and it will explain not just the 12 universal spiritual laws that can help you to better able to Move through these phases with more grace and ease But it will also give you a lot of context as to how to use the laws At this time of great awakening both to assist in your own awakening and in this Planetary awakening that we're all a part of So thank you so much for watching. I love you all and remember you were born to be free