Don’t Shoot the Messenger

There are always people who want to bring light into the world because they are afraid to reach down into their own dirt.
(Carl Jung)

I remember a time during graduate school when I was discussing with my room-mate what alternative career path we would have chosen could we do it all over again. Perhaps I surprised myself most when the ‘rational economist’ told her that he would choose psychology and counseling instead. My room-mate responded that before she would lie on anyone’s couch she would ask him first what deep-rooted problem got him into the profession in the first place. I found her response a bit sarcastic at that time, but I would concede in the meantime that we often sign up for missions that offer us  subconscious healing opportunities.

Fast forward by 25 years, as I put my finishing touches on my forthcoming book, ‘The Way of the Meister’, I hesitated whether I should write ‘spiritual coach’ or ‘spiritual life coach’ in the ‘About the Author’ section. Gone are the days when I aspire to lead anyone to ‘enlightenment’, but my conviction has grown stronger that life holds all the answers for us spiritual travelers. Coping with life is where we can all support each other. It is hard it is to keep our sanity as we undergo the spiritual transformation. So ‘spiritual life coach’ it is! Face life. Let it digest you and rip off everything that isn’t you. Don’t run away from life because you consider yourself ‘holier than Thou’.

We live in our heads. We want to be good, but have a hard time admitting the demons in the basement of our being. The reason why we spiritual travelers perceive life as so hard is because it is ruthless in confronting us with the spiritual transformation that is required to advance. Our secret hope that good beats evil, or that love conquers everything gets likely shattered, as will our wish that bad things don’t happen to good people. No! Life will more likely than not show us the finger whenever we are conflicted, avoid facing life, or project our spiritual super ego onto others. We are called to go Home, not to row the boat merrily down the stream.

I titled this note, ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ because I want to encourage us all to take a good look around and see whether we overlook something in our well-intended strive to be loving, holy and wise. I have added a few additional quotes below that also hint that light-workers have some self-reflection to do before they can credibly lead others towards the light:

Man is not what he thinks he is; he is what he hides.
(Andre Malraux)

The people who trigger us to feel negative emotions are messengers. They are messengers for the unhealed parts of our being.
(Teal Swan)

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of the light, but by making the darkness conscious.
(Carl Jung)