Learning from your 'Enemies'
Posted on Jun 18th, 2008
by 
wanderer7
wanderer7
are there people in this world you really dislike?
and they hate you too?
there's a lesson to be learnt here. Much of that which we find distasteful is often an unintegrated component of ourselves, the so-called Shadow that we cast, without ever knowing it. Granted, there are things that genuinely do not 'vibe' with you, are a different part of the world, but that which generates the active emotion of 'hate' and 'disgust' points at something deeper; something within yourself, rather than solely 'out there'.
Examine those reactions ... see how certain things you once 'disliked' when younger, have now become common-place friends; as you learnt to appreciate them and integrate these 'elements' into your life.
your enemies are often your best teachers; they get in your face, and shout out: "hey, you've got something to learn!" ... and they do it day after day :-)
what diligence!
love and light
wanderer7
Access: Public
experience
July 2008 
both enemies and people you intensely like can be great for shadow work, because as much as we tend to project out aspects we dislike about ourselves, just as much do we project aspects we do not yet recognise. I have for example been overly admiring of artists, not recognising how artistic i am.
“just as much do we project aspects we do not yet recognise.”
Hi Nicole! very subtle point, and one that I hadn't thought of. Thanks so much for this little twist of an insight :-) we learn a lot, too, from our 'friends' .
:-)
I blogged about this earlier in a responce to a gaia question.
>>
Has something you resisted ever ended up being for the best? Posted on Feb 1st, 2008 by ***_***_*** This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for January 24, 2008:
Let's call it someone. The someone in this case is a director of an institute to which i deliver services on freelance basis. He has quite an obnoxious character, and 5 years ago, when we started to cooperate, i often felt resentment for the way he handled certain cases.
However, it was during this period that someone told me that when we really disapprove of someone, we usually see our shadow in that person. Someone we are not connected to in any way will leave us quite indifferent.
I realized that this was true for me and this director, and started seeing our actions in a different light. Me too, i have an obnoxious character. I saw some of my lesser traits mirrored back through this person, finally realizing that i have them myself.
Since this realization, despite our many differences, we have been able to work together as a real team, amplifying each other's better sides, and as i hope, diminishing each other's lesser sides. <<
ps: apart from the sakka dawa month being halve with a full moon, nothing special happened today, … although a full moon always makes things happen … 8-)
blessings to all
bert
Hi Bert. thanks so much for sharing this. I feel that you have a well of life experiences to share with the rest of us here; not just because of your geographic location, but because of the varied situations you've found yourself in. You seem to have extracted a lot of the wisdom from these events; and many of your comments reveal this. Hope that wasn't too idolising :-)
“ps: apart from the sakka dawa month being halve with a full moon, nothing special happened today, … although a full moon always makes things happen … 8-)”
it certainly powers creative energies … I have felt them strongly in the last 12+ hours.
influences … influences. The hidden currents of our life :-)
take care bert,
w7
i agree, some of the things i resisted most have become the biggest blessings. i am grateful for my therapist at that time for helping me see how i externalised what i thought i didn't have that i craved as well as what i didn't like about myself
The world and others are my mirror. How about you?
“The world and others are my mirror. How about you?”
true. One's feelings project outwards, so we can see what is Truly going on in our minds.
a learning tool, par excellence.
love, w7