On the ever evolving path of our spirituality, when we embark on our great heroic journey, it is commonly said that we must “slay our dragons”. It is as though you wake up one day and realize that you gotta do some stuff to live your best life. At first, the path is fun and adventurous. There is excitement of the unknown and anticipation of the journey…and then, (cue scary and foreboding music) you meet your dragon. How in the hell did this dragon get here, right all up in my business? And, as if on prompt, there is always one (or several) well-meaning folks who instruct you to wrestle, cajole, subdue, master, dominate, and/or kill your inner demons. You then conceive and draw up battle plans, game plans, and methods to destroy the very things within you. It is though you are a surgeon and you must excise with precision the alleged diseased tissue from your body. Uh, okay, scalpel in shaky hand, let’s kill this crazy mofo. However, truth be told, it takes a LOT of energy to kill something (dreams, addictions, behaviors, thoughts, houseplants, etc.). The idea of fighting something until it is destroyed seems a bit of overkill, pardon the pun. And what happens when you do your due diligence and slay the dragon only to find 5 more dragons rise up to confront you? The mental and emotional anguish is even greater than before (like dude, why bother?). You try to master the beast by using all sorts of methods. Think positive thoughts. Keep busy. Talk about it. Exercise. Ignore it (very dangerous suggestion by the way)…and so forth. Try as you may, you wind up exhausted and confused. Why isn’t this dragon dead yet? You sit back down and think: what have I done wrong? And to further add salt to the open wound, all dragons love self-doubt. Bloody hell!
So all of this begs the question: Isn’t there an easier way to come into alignment with our higher self? Because at the end of the day, slaying our dragons is about living our best lives with purpose and love, just as our Inner Being/Creator promised. So, how do we find the easy way? Back in April 2015, I was deep in the Peruvian Amazon jungle, participating in an amazing shamanic ceremony, laying on the literal and proverbial mat, about to tap out. The slaying of one of my crazy inner dragons had me so stuck that I was filled with unmovable dread and terror. My higher being quietly said, “Self, instead of conquering this dragon, why don’t you embrace it and make friends with it?” I was like, “Dude, really???” Higher Self said, “Dude, yes!!!” With a bit of hesitation, I softened my heart, and welcomed this gnarly dragon into my arms. Immediately, my whole body, mind, emotions, and soul relaxed. The rest of the ceremony was spent enjoying the “pretty lights” while I came to understand the story of this dragon. See, a long time ago, this dragon was actually needed to protect me. The dragon kept me safe and allowed me to put some time and distance between my past self and my present self. Eventually, the dragon became unmanageable (as all dragons do). With a little patience and understanding, over time, I started to make friends with all of my dragons. Granted there are days when a few of my dragons become a bit noisy and fiery, and when this happens, I look at opportunities where I need to better state boundaries, or needs, or whatever is needed to bring me back into balance. Befriending dragons seems counter-intuitive; however, it is a lot easier to surrender in friendship than battle to the death.
If you need help working with your own dragons, give me a call!
Dianne Hamda