Understanding light projection changed my life and it can change yours. When you understand that you are always seeing yourself in others, you will discover the secret to uncovering, owning and embracing your light. For the first time, I wrote about my own process of discovery in The Shadow Effect book:
| More than twenty years ago, as I continued making progress in my recovery from drug addiction, my life in South Florida, where I owned a retail boutique, seemed empty and insignificant. I kept feeling the impulse to do something deeper and more meaningful, so I decided to go back to school and study psychology, thinking that I would become a therapist. I had moved to San Francisco and was immersed in consciousness studies and enamored with shadow work. One night my sister called to tell me that Marianne Williamson was speaking at the Palace of Fine Arts. She got me a ticket to the sold-out event, and as I sat in the audience I was stunned. I watched as Marianne boldly called people to a higher vision for themselves and the world. I heard her unabashedly implore us to step out of the smallness of our own ego-centered lives and into the grandness of serving as part of a divine mission. Although I was listening intently to the words she spoke, I was more overcome by her presence. I left there completely in love with Marianne Williamson.
I returned to my apartment, intent to discover the parts of myself that I so clearly saw in her. I loved that she had the courage to speak the truth, even if it meant shocking people in order to wake them up. Also I admired the way she was able to clearly articulate a difficult message, speaking with such eloquence that her words penetrated into people’s minds and hearts. I was enamored with the depth of concern she seemed to feel for humanity and the sense that she was dedicated to something larger than just her individual life. I also envied her beauty, her sense of style, and her willingness to look like a hot, sexy woman and not one of the many stereotypical frumpy spiritual teachers. She took the stage looking gorgeous and sophisticated, yet her holiness came through loud and clear. As a dedicated student of projection, I looked beyond her behaviors and tried to discover the underlying characteristics that gave rise to those behaviors. I asked myself, "What kind of person is able to just be herself on stage?" Clearly, an authentic person. "What kind of person would care so deeply for the rest of the world?" A selfless person. "What is the quality that allows Marianne to speak up, to tell the truth even when it’s shocking or scary?" I heard very clearly-a bold person. I looked at my list of qualities, which read, "bold, authentic, and selfless." None of them were characteristics I owned or acknowledged within myself. Those who know me now may find this hard to believe, but back then I was not somebody who told it like it is. Afraid of losing the approval of those I loved, I skirted around issues and lacked the self-confidence to even stand in front of a room without shaking. I was more concerned with looking good than I was with saying something that would change people’s lives. I was more concerned with saying it nicely than with being straight or authentic. Yet I knew that if I saw these strengths in Marianne, the potential for them must exist also within me. I began practicing being more authentic with people and challenged myself to speak up even when I wanted to be silent. To develop the visionary part of myself, I started my day with a prayer for the world and followed with a daily prayer for myself. To be more selfless, I focused on what I could give rather than what I could get. Marianne’s magnificence reflected back to me my own hidden potential. By seeing her light, I literally glimpsed who I could be in the world if I had the courage and the tenacity to acknowledge that the strengths I attributed to her were also my own. This is not to say that they don’t exist in her as well; clearly they do. Boldness, authenticity, and selflessness are universal qualities; each one of us has the right to express them in our own unique way. Before I broke the trance of my light projection on Marianne, I wanted my first book to be as beautiful and poetic as her groundbreaking book A Return to Love. But as I surrendered to the unique unfolding of these qualities within me, I realized that I was being guided along a different path. My mission was to be the Champion of the Darkness rather than the First Lady of the Light. This was the divine plan for my life, and I never would have glimpsed it if I hadn’t embraced all of my projections. Taking back our light from those we’ve projected it onto opens the door to an unimaginable future. I never dreamed that I would one day write a book with Marianne Williamson, that we would become friends, or that we would support one another in the fulfillment of a collective mission. This is what’s possible when we take responsibility for the light we see and admire in others. Instead of staying in the trance, we own up to the part of us that is aching to come forth and do the work to own it within ourselves. |
Your Transformational Action Step
(1) Identify someone you love or admire, someone you think is amazing, someone you’re drawn to or someone who has what you want.
(2) Find two qualities in them that you most admire. To find the qualities, ask yourself questions like, "What kind of person would be this way?" or "What kind of person would achieve that?" or "What kind of person would have that?"
(3) Each morning this week, step into these qualities. Breathe in and claim them as your own. Then ask yourself what actions you can take this day to bring forth these two qualities in yourself. Don’t think about them. Be them.
Everyone has enough of their own light, so there’s no need for you to proejct yours on to somebody else. Take it back and watch how magnetic you will become.
I love it! I will do this homework with delight….
Thank you!
love,
constanza
Wonderful reminder. Thank you!