It’s 5.45am, Friday morning, we are in lockdown. Although that time of the day is always of profound significance, I sometimes fail to get myself to sit down and sink into that golden hour; when the silence is so deep. That silence that can stabilize my being in the state of consciousness that is the essential truth of existence.
But this time it was different. I woke up with a subtle ping in my heart that I am going to receive a nice little download from the luminescent consciousness. I sat on my chair with my red mug, my soul was excited and ready to receive. It reminded me of my trips to Peru for the occasional ingestion of sacred plants as an integral part of my path. I can hear the gentle bells of the cattle in the far land. Feeling the light gentle breeze on my feet. I am here, nothing else matters.
I focused on my inbreath and out-breath, bringing enough calm into my mind and body to listen. I opened my eyes to see a dragon shaped cloud in the middle of the impeccable ombre color sky. It’s a remarkable thing to catch the sky at that perfect moment; when the sun is slowly rising and the colors shift, rich and vibrant, ever-changing, ever-brilliant.
Dragons are mythical creatures; I see dragons as a metaphor for a certain aspect of the human condition, demonic or evil in perspective. In thinking about it, I am reminded of Nietzsche's quote: “Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman - a rope over an abyss. What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.” . I am using the metaphor as it is apt for how I see dragons; creatures which blend the bestial and the refined - the primal might of nature and the esoteric power of knowledge. This dichotomous nature and the strength to change, be it beneficial or malign.
“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on... that’s who we really are.” - J.K. Rowling
I closed my eyes back again; and went deep into seeing the metaphorical dragon in me. Those dragons I refer to are not phantom ghouls waiting for us in dark places; they reside within us and an equal part of us. The intrinsic part of our essence; which is ego-clinging. They are our obsessions and fears, feelings of insecurity, chronic illnesses, unworthiness, self-limiting beliefs, anxiety, and addiction.
It might sound a little paradoxical at first; but I realized that rather than fighting them or attacking them in an attempt to wipe them away, we need to feed them with attention, understanding and acceptance. What I have learned so far from my personal journey, and also in helping my clients; this notion turns out to be a remarkable alternative and an effective path to liberation from all suffering.
Our demons stem from our basic human instinct; we are dark and light, and that is manifesting in an infinite variety of ways in our lives. For an example, we might have a demon that makes us fear abandonment or a demon that causes us to hurt the ones we love.
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness’s of other people.” - Carl G. Jung
When we obsess about weight issues or become drained by a relationship or a habitual destructive pattern, we give our demons strength, because we aren’t really paying attention to the demon, we are chasing it. When we understand how to feed our true need with fearless generosity, the energy tied up in our demon will tend to dissolve, and become an ally.
As time passed in this moment; I opened my eyes and the dragon was gone. I was left with a serene magical sky infused with a divine light, and this beautiful experience I am sharing in this reflection.
Meditation is a skill; it is cultivating awareness of our thought and projections. As we expand our skills in this way, the intentions that we have been using to shape our experience of body and mind become more and more transparent. When we sit with our dragons, no matter how scary, fearful, shameful, uncomfortable they may be; we realize that they are actually an inseparable part of us, and we meet it with compassion and say hello to our teacher. This experience of non-duality frees us from our usual fixation of “self” versus “other”, for that which is threatening to the ego is liberating for the heart.
“By truly knowing our fears, we can break their spell” - Ezra Bayda
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