Spiritual ByPassing.....

for most of my life was how I survived my pain and shame. This is hard to see in one's self till the shadow is met head on. After years of spiritual practice and even years of therapy my pain and suffering still persisted. Then one day as I was moving along on my distorted spiritual path, believing I was filled with nothing but radiant light, a pain emerged so powerful it created this sickness in my entire being. If was as if  I stopped and turned around, only to see this darkness so vast and engulfing, that I knew it was going to take me down like a tidal wave and consume me. And that it did. For several years I lived within this dark and thick shadowland where every regressed experience came face to face with me.

I made the decision to stop being in spiritual drag and face my dragons and demons. But one thing that came to really support me through this very dark period was my years of practice, where I had become aware and able to reconize that a deeper Presence did co-exist with these dark shadow aspects now emerging. I also had a good therapist being present with me. So for me both practice and therapy was important.

Another discovery came that spiritual bypassing is addictive, and for another few years I was in recovery always observing how and when certain old patterns and habits triggered me to bypass and use spiritual means, like idiot compassion and over abuse of avoidance of any kind of judgement towards another. And, truth is, this is still hard and I must always work with my shadows.  Anger and any kind of confrontation sent me quickly into regress mode; I was deeply frightened of these emotions. I became the happy kid who then morphed into the depressed adult. Today through years of shadow work I've come to greater awareness of authentic joy while also knowing its ok to feel and experience the negative emotions.

I look forward to reading this book and know it will light up all my years of spiritual bypassing while also re-inforcing the significant work thats been done in my own shadowland. And, to encourage everyone who may be expericing pain and on going suffering to walk through the fire, burn out the debri, and emerge more whole and complete.

Much love,

Mary Linda