MPMU1 Dont be Afraid of Your Shadow

The Only Thing Standing in Your Way

Welcome to the first online, Musical Pick me up. In a way I suppose I have been doing this for some time at The Weekly Songcast, which I have currently put on hold in order to focus on this – a kind of extension and integration of what the WSC was about anyway, sharing my work as a developing process.

Here is what I wrote about the shadow when I first published this song at the WSC:

There is a part of you, a part of me and a part of everyone else that has got it in for you. I’m not being negative I just want to point out that we all have a side to us that maybe doesn’t quite believe enough in ourselves or our abilities to achieve the things we want to achieve. What is so clever about this "thing" is that it is so familiar to us that we don’t even realize that it has us trapped in it’s cage. Your shadow is there to protect you, but it’s protection is way too much. It’s that voice in your head that is just automatic and you simply accept it without questioning what it is. It tells you that you must play safe, not take risks, not follow your dreams. It’s the voice that tells you that you are about to potentially mess up famously and that it would be advisable to stop now, turn back and resume the normal, safe and uninspired proceedings of your everyday life.

It’s easy to see that a shadow is not real
The voice of your shadow is unrelenting. It only really stops when you are very present to the moment, which is why meditation is so good for raising the levels of your awareness, so you can catch it in the act and see that it is NOT YOU! Not the essence of who you really are and you can see that it doesn’t share your dreams or desires. It’s goals in life are boring compared to yours, so be strong, be bold, be big and above all: Don’t be afraid!

Now back to 2009!

Well I think it was rather concisely summed up in that original post actually, but to add to that whilst trying not to repeat myself, the shadow is simply part of you without being who you truly are. It is the part of you that you have constructed yourself through decisions you made, based on how you perceived certain experiences throughout your life, resulting in you developing the character you are now playing in the movie of your own life.

You have given it a script, characteristics that have become synonymously you and you have given yourself expectations to live up (or down) to. All of these are an illusion – like a part being played by an actor in a movie, they are simply being acted out. I’m not saying this is bad. I am saying that we are under the illusion that this is who we truly are. We identify ourselves with our fears and worries and traits, when in truth we are what is left when you strip all of that away. What is left is what is real.

We all do this. How, why or when did we forget that we have a choice not to act out things in the way we believe is "Just the way I am"?

The answer lies with the shadow. If it was honest enough to answer the question, it would tell you that it has been leading you on your whole life. You have had free will to ignore it’s surreptitious ways and it’s persuasive commands that you have subliminally been following. It’s not the enemy though because it’s yours, mine, ours. We created our shadows and they provide a reference point to our true selves as shining light in comparison.

When we are living in the err… shadow of the shadow… we are selling ourselves short and playing small. Acknowledging the shadow, but being aware that it is just a voice and you have a choice, you can accept it for what it is and choose your own empowering path where you light the way rather than the shadow dimming the lights for your ‘protection’ The only thing it is protecting is it’s own dominance, so it can continue to run the show.

There is nothing to be afraid of. Why would you fear yourself?

I invite you to watch the video, listen to the song and rock out! You can download ‘Don’t be Afraid of Your Shadow’ for free or, if you choose to you can buy it. Either way I will be happy if you enjoy it, share it and above all, let me know what you think of it, so please leave a comment.

I am currently developing more material to package together with this song, some of which be free, some of which will form a premium version. Stay tuned.

Thank you and Enjoy!

Tagged as: inspiration, mpmu, Music, musical pick me up, Videos