Book a Free Consultation
 

The Dimmer Switch

Aug 02, 2021

Video Blog Transcription:

(00:00):
Welcome to the Natural Way of Being video blog. This video is titled “The Dimmer Switch.” So there's nothing more natural and more beautiful than allowing our inner light to shine, opening our heart, letting our beauty naturally express itself, and to let our essential nature just beam and flow and shine.

And yet there's this tendency to dim our inner light. We tend to dim it to fit into the experiences and the relationships and the people, the situations that we're in. Sometimes it just seems like it makes more sense to just dim our light down.

It's like we have this dimmer switch to dim our light down a little bit, and we do this unconsciously.

(01:01):
But why would we do this? I mean we worked hard to let our light shine and reawaken our light. I know I did. It wasn't easy going in and taking the shrouds off my heart and letting my light shine again, you know? So why would we dim it down? That's what this blog is about.

Anyway, there's kind of two sides to this equation of why we might dim our inner light. It basically involves the people around us and our side of things. So we'll start with the people around us.

So people in general, ourselves included, are comfortable and accustomed to a certain level of people allowing their light out. A certain level of brightness, if you will, in the people around us. And so when that brightness is brighter than what people are accustomed to, it's often out of their comfort zone.

(02:07):
And what they start doing is giving signals to please turn that down a little bit. They're unconscious of this, but they might offer a little sarcastic comment, or make fun of what you’re saying, or call you woo-woo or whatever else.

They’re basically saying, “Dude, your light's a little bright, could you please dial it back a little bit? It's kind of in my eyes a little bit here.” And again they're not conscious of it, but they definitely will do that. I'm sure you've experienced people doing that before.

So from our side of things, we tend to feel a little bit vulnerable when we allow our light to shine brightly, especially at first. You may notice this when you come back from retreat or a backpacking trip or being in nature and your light is shining more brightly.

(02:59):
And there's a little bit of a vulnerable feeling of if I let my light shine brightly with my family or with my friend, are they going to still like me? What are they're going to think? Are they gonna think I'm different, and I don't love them anymore. So we tend to be a little self-conscious.

So what we tend to do is we allow our light to shine, and then we pay close attention to how people are responding to it.

So now you can see both sides of this dance, right? We're self-conscious about shining our light, and they're giving us signals about whether it's too bright or not. And you can see how this dance happens in which the end result of the dance often is us dimming our light.

We dim our light to the level that that interaction is comfortable with- comfortable from both sides. Because they're not comfortable with it being bright, and we're not comfortable with them not being comfortable.

(04:02):
And so we unconsciously dance this thing out, and then we make an unspoken agreement to lhave our light shine at this amount. All this is unconscious, but it definitely happens.

So we tend to adjust our light to the level that the people around us and ourselves are comfortable with. And this almost doesn't seem bad; it’s got a practical sense. There's no need to blast our light in people's faces, we figure. It almost seems respectful or considerate to dim our light a little bit.

But the thing is, it's not natural to dim your light. And it's actually painful spiritually. Your light wants to shine. And when we start shrouding that or dimming it or covering it up, it gets painful. And besides that, it's not what we came here to do. We came here to shine our light.

(05:02):
And perhaps, the people around you need you to shine your light brightly. They may not be comfortable with it, and they may give you signals to please stop doing it. But when you shine your light brightly, it challenges them to shine their light.

And it shows them the possibility of them being able to allow their light to shine too. So in a sense, when we dim our light, we enable people to not shine their light.

So the obvious alternative is to let your light shine, to allow your beauty out, to crank that dimmer switch up and let it rip. But in order to do this, we need to become conscious of our dimmer switch. We need to notice when we're dimming our light down, or when we have dimmed our light down, and when we are allowing it to shine.

(06:06):
So it can be really useful to notice how it feels to allow your light to shine. When you're shining your light, how does it feel? For me, it's like this feeling of openness.

And, it has not only an emotional feeling, but it has a physiological feeling or sensation to it. That's a really useful point of reference because then you can notice if you're in that or not.

So what I'm suggesting is you kind of allow this to be a practice- a practice of noticing when you allow your light to shine and when you don't, when you dim it down. When you do dim it down, just asking yourself, “Was there someone or something that I dimmed my light for? And why would I give them that kind of power?”

(07:02):
And then it's like finding a way to allow your light to shine again. It's like an intervention. For me, it feels like I'm pulling my energy up, and allowing it back out again, allowing my light to shine again.

And you have a way you do this too, I guarantee it. It's just figuring out what that is. And then when you notice it's dim, then inviting it to shine again.

But I'd really focus on it being a practice. And the main part of the practice, especially at first, is just noticing: when do you allow your light to shine, and when do you dim it down? Is it some environments that you allow it to shine and others you dim it down. Is it some relationships you allow it to shine?

(07:46):
And I would just start by noticing it, and don't pressure yourself to do anything about it at first. And then one day, if you're feeling feisty, let it rip and turn that dimmer switch back up again and let it shine. And see what happens.

So anyway, that is my video blog for this week. I hope that you enjoyed it. And I hope you enjoy your week and that you allow your light to shine, and you notice if it's shining or not throughout the week. So I’ll see you in a week.

What do you think?

Leave a comment to share your truth on this blog topic below...

Introducing My Free Mini Course

7 Ways to Integrate your Spiritual Nature into your Everyday Life

This online course guides you to bring the spiritual well-being you feel with yoga, meditation, or in nature into your relationship, work, and family. Each of the seven approaches includes an instructive video, guided meditation, and self-inquiry questions.

Sign Up For The Free Course