The Collective Within The Individual
To greet oneself from a new point of view, suggests a deeper look into the mirror. In this case, referring to the reflections of ourselves that we see in others. So much can be learned from the feelings, inner dialogue, and outward expressions that we display when connecting with another individual. Which aspects of yourself become animated when scanning the infinite hall of mirrors before you?
The individuals you connect with serve as focal points, allowing you to become aware of specific aspects of your being who are most needed in that interaction. There is no difference in quality or value amongst these aspects, they are all purposeful for not only your expansion, but the expansion of others. By accepting all of your aspects for how they present themselves, you are providing validation to the unknown. You are allowing yourself to freely exist and express in ways that may not be recognizable to you, until they are. Previously unseen versions of yourself are given the opportunity to surface once you fearlessly extend this invitation deeper into your consciousness.
This particular exploration can be very illuminating, and is certainly full of surprises. There may be challenges that arise as you become aware of the soft whispers that grow into echoing voices within your mind. Once a platform has been given to the suppressed identities within you, they will make themselves known. Allow them to share, coax out their laugher and cries, and listen curiously as they reveal to you what needs to be heard. Though these aspects may be reverberations of past identities, they’ve awakened from hibernation in order to provide you with an opportunity for further growth.
Memories that consciously resurface, are direct gateways into the aspects of ourselves who desire reconnection. This act of reaching-out is always mutual; it is an action that offers both sides the option to evolve. By engaging in these connections, the tool of “compare and contrast” can be used in a very conscious manner. During this process of reviewing yourself positively and constructively, while neutrally observing the differences rather than judging them, you act as your own guide towards your next focused identity. Suggestions and insights can be drawn upon from all of your timeless aspects; those who used to be your primary focus, and those who don’t yet reside in your present awareness. They all exist now, and are available to assist you at any moment.
This process of initiating connection among your various aspects can be a very organic and natural unfoldment. Communication between your identities can develop by simply honoring the diversity of information that may suddenly fill your awareness. They are always sending, always broadcasting energy to you in various forms. You assign the meaning to the messages, implying that all of the messages have already been received, just not yet interpreted. The influx of information will begin to settle and become organized the more you validate all the unique ways in which your aspects can connect with you. Once you invite more and more versions of yourself into your awareness, a coherent collective is born.
Begin talking to yourself as a collective, and feel the assortment of responses that rise within. Observe as they harmonize into a single answer, and as your consciousness condenses and translates infinite views into one, clear response. As you practice this, your attention may shift from voice to voice within the choir, as you tune yourself to the layers of information that create the collective.
You aren’t really an individual, you are a focus that shifts between various expressions of your soul. You are always channeling multiple aspects of your being, just using the same “equipment”, therefore you appear to be the same singular being. But you are a collective of voices, perspectives, identities, and choices. Treat yourself as a community; your community. By supporting all members in your collective, they will all support you. Due to the fractal nature of reality, we are each an embodied example of the paradox that is Source. We are simultaneously the individual and the collective.
Upon deeper investigation into this idea, you may find that the way you navigate reality drastically changes. By realizing yourself to be a vast collective, you discover that all states of being are available to you already. There is an aspect of you expressing themselves as love, as fear, with great freedom, and great limitation. Once you truly understand how all of these expressions are you, and all equally attainable, it becomes effortless to shift. No process is required to embody a new perspective. Your belief in your capability is what allows you to change.
Though it may feel contradictory to love your shadows, your pain, and your wounds, it is a way of neutralizing all choices. Imagine and personify each challenge as being an aspect of your personal collective. They are teachers and opportunities that you can either observe, or embody directly as a way of fully absorbing the information they have to offer. By integrating with the teacher from the perspective of the student, you are demonstrating to yourself the depth of your power. There is no difference between the apprentice and the master on this level. It can appear that these two aspects must require a process, or an evolution, in order to become one. However, both identities can be present within you at the same time, and they work in tandem to remind you of your ability to transmute any challenge.
By learning how to utilize the power of your emotions, thoughts, and intentions, you can seamlessly integrate with an aspect that feels more aligned with how you’d prefer to express yourself. By directing energy into versions of yourself that don’t reflect the qualities that feel most natural to convey, you are suppressing the aspect that is most needed in that situation. This applies in both negative and positive directions. If you invalidate an emotion or thought process that arose naturally within you, and don’t allow a version of yourself who was designed to process that energy to step in, disorientation may follow. A sense of emptiness and disassociation may briefly envelop you, as you take a moment to pause and reorient. By insisting to remain focused as only one aspect of your being, you are denying your other expressions of their roles as members in your personal collective. If you unconditionally allow yourself to shift between identities as they are most needed, you will always feel centered, supported, and aware of how to respond in any circumstance.
It takes a great deal of vulnerability to open up to this new way of perceiving yourself. All secrets become known, all shadows are invited into the light, and all fears are granted permission to take the stage. But with such a degree of vulnerability, comes the strongest, most indestructible experience of self trust. Actually, the trust precedes the vulnerability, though it may not appear that way initially. Without self trust as your companion on this journey, the open landscapes of your soul can’t be explored. By confidently displaying vulnerability, and inviting new perspectives to occupy your awareness, you can experience yourself anew.
So, who are you now? Who’s eyes are gazing back at you in the mirror? Why not ask, and see who answers…
With gratitude,
~Willow
