It helps me see the bigger picture of the earth’s systems and appreciate the extraordinary beauty that exists in our seemingly ordinary spaces. Observing and immersing myself in nature keeps my energy ecosystem healthy. As I write this, a rabbit is relentlessly distracting me by flashing its ears in my line of sight, stretching up to grab some leaves, ducking down into the ivy. One of the ways I feel my “brightest” is when I’m in nature, especially in the little jungle of my backyard. It’s also about keeping the balance of what’s “coming in” and what’s “going out,” as all healthy systems do. It’s about managing your energy ecosystem. More information about Mara is at When you hear the phrase “shining bright,” what does it evoke for you? Does it mean being yourself? Is it radiance, openness, or casting your energy outward toward others? Is it being the center of attention?įor me, shining bright is about sustainable personal energy, understanding your unique spiritual makeup or energetic personality archetype. Lives in Durham, NC with a beloved family of people, animals, and Psychology, intuition, energy healing, and nature-based practices. Her Personal Evolution Counseling™ method blends shamanism, Over 25 years of experience helping people find spiritual health and Preorder Shining Bright Without Burning Out now! From this darkness we are nourished to bloom into the 2021 Mara Bishop MA So, let’s embrace it, explore it, and be gentle with ourselves as we confront our fear of it. We need it to survive and be healthy in the long term. The dark is a vital part of the wheel of our days, our years, our lifetimes. Self-compassion is most needed when we’re a mess. Instead, we gravitate towards purveyors of easy “love and light!” spirituality, shying away from the deep, gooey work that happens to the larval versions of ourselves (and those around us) when we’re in the darkness of the cocoon. We sometimes feel hopeless and helpless in the dark. These are periods of catharsis, healing after trauma, cocooning in preparation for the next version of ourselves and our world. In darkness, transformative processes happen without spectators, often below the level of our conscious awareness. Times of symbolic darkness are also helpful. Times of literal darkness are needed for regeneration. Compassion is the magic ingredient that turns our personal “compost” into personal evolution. Sometimes it turns around faster than we think possible, like time-lapse photography of a log rotting on the forest floor with new green shoots springing to life overnight. Sometimes all those different elements take a long time to dissolve and break down. The speed with which that brew changes from nasty to nourishing varies widely with the internal and external conditions.
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It’s hard to be patient, to let everything, both scorned and enjoyed, stew in our symbolic personal compost piles. The cycles of the natural world, into which we are interwoven, take time. This meditation is part of the toolkit in the audio course Shining Bright Without Burning Out. Research shows self-compassion helps us stay present and kindhearted without sinking into absorptive empathy, which can lead to overload and burnout. Like composting, it isn’t always pretty, but it’s potent. Self-compassion (and compassion for others) holds both the rejected and respected parts of who we are.
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Our personal work includes processing our own “dark” sides, the parts we’d like to hide or discard. It all transforms into a rich sloop that eventually nourishes future plants. It’s also the leftovers from delicious things we appreciate and enjoy, silky mango skins, green tea leaves, dark coffee grounds. Compost is the stuff we reject, the moldy, wilted, too hard, too soft, nasty bits that don’t make it to the table. Cue the weird, glorious cabbage flower which came to life in the dark. Nature is our ultimate model and guide-in the light, in the dark, and in the most surprising and gorgeous ways. How can we do this if we already feel overloaded? Having compassion for ourselves and others is especially important in times of literal and metaphorical darkness. Many people are feeling a collective spiritual darkness now, exhausted and frustrated, maybe also angry and scared. Reflecting on the discovery of this “flower” in the shadows, I’m reminded of, and heartened by, the fertility of dark times. It blossomed into something unexpected, unusual, and fiercely beautiful. Instead of fading quietly however, it burst into new life in the dark grotto of my cabinetry. This exquisite thing grew out of a chunk of purple cabbage that I’d put under the sink to go out for compost. It was elegantly twisted, like a dragon at a Chinese New Year celebration. Some time ago, I found a strange bloom in the kitchen.