By Jean Tinder

The journey back to sovereignty isn’t for the faint of heart! 

During our sojourn into time and space, we’ve amassed a remarkable amount of baggage in the form of identities, costumes, masks and souvenirs. Like a helium balloon covered in countless layers of leaden paint, even though our nature is to soar, we’re weighted down by it all. 

For most Shaumbra, this lifetime is about gradually letting it all fall away, keeping only the memories and the wisdom. Because of this, I consider Aspectology to be one of the most important workshops I’ve ever experienced. Like the Sexual Energies School, it unlocks profound understandings about how life actually works and provides the foundation for creating your life as a sovereign being. 

However, as with anything that’s truly life-changing, it takes courage to deeply experience the difficult feelings that accompany real change. While a basic mental understanding of Aspectology can be very helpful, real-world transformation comes from bravely facing yourself in the darkest moments. And this is where it gets tricky.

How do you know when an aspect is running the show? What can you do when the inner conflict seems impossible to resolve? How do you even know it’s an aspect issue when the emotions, thoughts and fears just feel like yourself? 

I’ve learned a lot in my own personal journey of integration, and one of the most helpful things to remember is this: Emotions depend on stories, and stories come from – and maintain – aspects. Therefore, every emotional reaction indicates the presence of an aspect. 

Often, aspects cause tremendous pain and inner conflict. We think it’s our own self that’s confused or in trouble, but when we recognize what’s going on, we can finally find the way out. Or, more accurately, our Self is finally allowed in.

Not every aspect is “bad,” and every one of them was created for a valid reason. Sometimes it was to protect ourselves from further harm or to keep us from harming others (again). Sometimes aspects keep us on the path, and sometimes they only distract. Whatever the reason for their existence, we can’t take aspects with us into sovereignty. It doesn’t mean we destroy them; it means that these partial and often unbalanced expressions don’t have the ability to be sovereign. They try to take charge of our lives but, not having the capacity of full awareness, they’ll never do a good job. 

Many years ago, I wrote (here) about an experience with conflicting aspects. One was twisted and dark, stuck in the arrogant rage and cruelty of something long ago, and it was easy to despise that part of me. But hold on – who is despising whom? My soul, the All That I Am, despises nothing! Every experience is treasured and welcomed, so it’s not about sorting out the aspects and helping the “good ones” win. 

Instead, integration is about allowing the conflict to rage within, feeling it all, AND holding on to the awareness of my bigger Self, the Me who contains the storm. When it comes to this inner reunion, value judgments of “good” and “bad” simply have no place, and this is where the courage is needed.

It takes tremendous bravery and determination to face both your darkest and most righteous parts without bias. Like the debt I wrote about this month, they’re in an imbalance that can never be settled. So, to paraphrase Einstein, we cannot integrate our aspects from the same level at which they were created – that of right and wrong, wanted and despised. 

When you are ready to accept full responsibility and authority for your life, whether you know what that means or not; when you’re ready to face yourself with courage; when you’re willing to bring all of yourself home, Aspectology is for you. It’s where freedom begins.