DO YOU HAVE A CAGED TIGER TOO?
Mundane
Let me say here, I do know it is really important to be open to breathing into endless possibilities, and to focus on the positive aspects of life. This enables us to be aware of faith, hope and trust in how life can be for us, and move beyond the mundane or reality of what is actually happening. So I am not disagreeing with the use of this way of being or thinking. After all, research has shown that ‘energy does follow thought’ and this has been held down through the ages.
What I am saying is – yes it is so – AND it can also be the avoidance of our inner pain and uncomfortable feelings (or the shadow aspect of us) that some think is wrong and bad. The parts of you, you think the world won’t like:
- your moaning
- your jealousy
- your competitiveness
- your neediness
- your fear
- your anger
- your vulnerability
- your ………..
Each of you will have parts you don’t want others to see. I can hold my hands up to this, and I’m sure others of you can too.
In my opinion, it is important to look at what is inside, at our reality and the bigger picture. If you push the feelings away, it can take too much energy to keep them down and you can become tired and exhausted and not know why – and say it’s because of …………. and, to a certain degree it may that that’s true. And the problem is that they leak out anyway – if not in the present then on some future occasion unexpectedly and can cause chaos in the immediate world around you.
The Caged Tiger
In my second book, ‘I Don’t Care – The Art of Divine Indifference’, I talk about this build up of energy. My focus (because it was what I did!!) was on the swallowing down of all those times I felt I had to say YES to people or events in my life. This energy I pushed down, I called – the caged tiger – as I could see in my mind’s eye that it ‘pads up and down going nowhere, lies dozing because it is exhausted or else it roars and roars endlessly but doesn’t come out of the cage I’d put it in– even if the door is opened’. It is all the feelings, usually shame, fear, anger and underneath that pain, that had been swallowed down as I’d got the message from others that I needed to ‘rise above’ them or focus on the positive.
I can tell you that it became harder and harder to allow this beautiful life-force – this energy out, as I’d become so scared of it. I was frightened of the force my ‘caged tiger’ could display in the world. Do you know what I am talking about here?
You can’t have one without the other!
So, in my opinion, although it is great to be focused on the affirmations, positive thinking and all the other spiritual aspects of life, it is also really important not to avoid what is called ‘the shadow aspect’. I agree with that old song, ‘You can’t have one without the other’!!!
You also have to look at your anger, your pain and your tears as well as your beauty, your joy, laughter and fun. It is always both-and as You are both-and (the Light and Dark, Male and Female, Ying and Yang) so while it is important to bring in and allow your positiveness, you have to allow your shadow too. There are gifts (gold) contained in your shadow, and when you shut or hide the so-called darkness away, you shut or hide away those gifts.
I am quite sure that this is not what you truly want to do, and I am here to accompany you while you get to know the gifts inside of you. There is more to you than meets the eye, I can assure you!
I’d love to hear from you on what you have called this energy you have hidden away so please let me know.
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Brilliant post Irene!
Thank you, Isaac, for your comments and support x