Seeing A Fusion Of Light And Dark

Dear Reader,

I have to be honest and say the following essay is a crib. It was mailed to me from Humanity's Team, but I wanted to share this with you, linking - as it does in a transcendental way - with my post of last week:

You’re probably familiar with the ways imagery of Light has been used throughout recorded history to explain spiritual concepts. We’re told things like, “Let your light shine before humankind,” and “Light doesn’t attack darkness; it shines it away.” And while these metaphors can be critically important for our initial understanding of the ways of Spirit, they can also be limiting when used exclusively to describe the spiritual experience of being human. With that in mind, and with the current unfolding of the global Black Lives Matter movement, I believe the time has come to more fully explore the “Divinity of Darkness.” Oneness means there is no separation. Each person of every color and all colors of life are fully Divine. In spite of this truth, down through the centuries, people with light skin have been revered and treated with more honor and respect than people with dark skin. Certainly, there has been a collective outcry to draw attention to this disparity following the death of George Floyd. As spiritual beings, it is important for us to understand why this disparity exists and to see how we can come to see darkness in the same divinity as lightness. This root perception then carries over naturally into our perceptions of our brothers and sisters of every shade, so that no matter who or what we are looking at, all we see is Divinity. Throughout our history, darkness has all-too-often been reflexively equated with evil. I believe this is largely due to our deeply-embedded perception of Light as being holy, implying that darkness, as its opposite, is unholy… And, unfortunately, this carries over — both consciously and unconsciously — into the way we perceive the world around us, associating “light” with “white,” and “dark” with “black.” The critical thing to note here is that neither light nor dark are inherently holy or evil; both are simply symbols used in metaphors to try to communicate Truth… And since we’ve for so long accentuated Truth through Light, let’s look closer and take a little time here to see if we can accentuate Truth through Dark. Here are some ways the Dark provides positive experiences in our lives: Darkness is a sacred place of rest. The weary pray for the darkness and the much-needed, eyes-closed rest that accompanies it. Who would ever try to sleep in the bright sunlight with their eyes wide open? Darkness is the state of mind we seek in meditation. When we meditate, we tune out all senses and thoughts. This darkness of senses and thought allows Truth to be known. Only in Darkness can stars and fireworks be seen. This interplay between light and dark makes it possible for us to witness a beautiful visual reality we can appreciate and enjoy. Without both dark and light, such elevating experiences would not be possible. Another important thing to note is that darkness is not evilness, and this negative association has been carried through our societal subconscious unchecked for far too long. Darkness is simply an attribute of the sensory world, whereas evilness is a concept of mind. And while it is possible to make an analogy relating the two to make a point, it is not possible to equate the two. Thus, Dark is obviously just as sacred as Light, and Day just as holy as Night. Both of these concepts are merely symbols to communicate the deeper spiritual Truth embedded within ourselves. Also, white light itself is actually the sum of all colors of light, which is why white light can be “divided” into a rainbow of color, as most of us have seen in the sky or through a prism many times in our lives.

Equivalently, black pigment is the sum of all colors of pigment, as anyone who has studied painting understands as the foundational principle for mixing colors.

So, if we agree that Truth is true, and illusion is dispelled in the presence of Truth, we can make a powerful point through looking at both Light and Dark through this lens. We can say, “Light doesn’t attack darkness; it shines it away,” but when we limit ourselves to this metaphor alone, we’ve effectively become “Light Supremacists.” So we must now also complement this metaphor with, “Dark doesn’t attack light; it merely allows it to shine.” What greater demonstration of harmony is there than this? The perfect, beautiful synergy of Light and Dark form the magnificent glory of all that we see. By honoring Darkness in this way, we are allowing holiness to be equally seen in the dark, as well as the light. Lightness and Darkness are both far too grand to be confined to evilness simply because history has woven those exclusive metaphors into our way of seeing the world around us, and it is up to us to take the Dark back into ourselves and allow it to be part of our Divinity again, as it is and always was meant to be. I hope this thought-exercise I’ve just walked you through has both shined light on the darkness for you, and then removed the light to allow darkness to stand fully-formed in its own whole and holy way. We’re each called to take action and contribute solutions to the problems we see in the world, and that process occurs Here and Now, in every moment, through our own widening perspective. We’re all familiar with the power of Thought and Intention, and now is the time to use it. While there’s a time and place for peaceful protesting in the streets and rallying at events, we can each contribute to this movement to create equality, fairness, and justice for people of every shade simply by being Here and actively changing our perspective. In so doing, we are bringing this change into the world and modeling its perspective, both consciously and unconsciously. Once outdated and limiting concepts have been exposed for what they are, it becomes easier for us to let their limitations vanish into the nothingness that is neither light nor dark, but is instead everything, all, and One.

Thank you for reading this.