5 Steps for Creating Inner Light

Wishing you peace, joy, and fulfillment in 2022.

Although troubled times for planet earth continue, we encourage you to hold on to your inner light. No matter your disappointments and misfortunes, aim to connect to all that nourishes your soul and spirit.

This is the spiritual aspirant’s aim. Yogis, and many other seekers, strive to create light in every situation.

Holding to your inner light doesn’t mean you split off from the darkness or pretend it doesn’t exist. This is the novice’s approach to spirituality, which only serves to create an opposition between light and darkness. The novice mistakenly denies his or her own darkness and eventually projects it onto others. You can see this projection today as society becomes increasingly fractured.

How To Create Inner Light When Darkness Is All Around

1. Begin by affirming the light within you, which is your ability to bring nourishment, kindness, humor, warmth, and wisdom to your life and the lives of others.
2. Make a resolve (sankalpa) to create light even in routine activities, when preparing a meal, tidying your home, or interacting with others. Avoid being entangled in worry and anxiety by focusing on your creative capacities.
3. Darkness is a purposeful teacher. Make a list of the lessons you have learned from your experience of darkness and how you overcame the difficulties. Then do a shadow list of the lessons you refuse to learn and perhaps are, therefore, forced to repeat.
4. Notice the many forms your darkness takes, from neglecting what you know is good for you, to the outright denial of your admirable talents and traits. For example, examine your attitudes toward money, power, sex, and death.
5. If your light has dimmed in recent times, if you feel world-weary, reach out to other light-bearers. Whether you create or follow the light doesn’t matter. What matters is that you keep the connection alive with consistent intention and a pure heart.

Toward What You Are Running From

Inner light comes from illuminating your darkness, not by running from it. By applying the above 5 steps, you become increasingly skilled in how you experience suffering without the need to suppress or feel swamped by it.

Awareness, courage, and wisdom grow. If you stay the course, you will peer through your darkest veil and find beauty there.