by Dr. Alberto Villoldo: When we become luminous warriors, we recognize that our job is to use love to vanquish its opposite―and its opposite is not hate, but fear…
Our challenge is to exorcise the fear and its darkness within by embracing love and its light. The second insight teaches us to wield a sword of light and dispel fear forever.
Fearlessness
When we become luminous warriors, we recognize that our job is to use love to vanquish its opposite―and its opposite is not hate, but fear. Our challenge is to exorcise the fear and its darkness within by embracing love and its light. The second insight teaches us to wield a sword of light and dispel fear forever.
Fear creates a dark reality. Every prophecy is self-fulfilling―whatever scares us the most will be waiting for us around the corner. There’s nothing wrong with being cautious, but fearfulness holds us back from growing and keeps us repeating our lessons through suffering and trauma instead of through the experience of our own radiance. Fear denies and distorts our luminous nature. Fearlessness, which is the core practice of the luminous warrior, allows us to experience our light and our illumination.
Sit in silence for a moment and find and name your fears. Blow them into a stick and release them into the fire.
Non-doing
We practice nondoing by immersing ourselves in the flow of the universe, receiving and working with the opportunities it presents to us, rather than struggling to get everyone and everything to go along with our plans.
Nondoing means that rather than pushing and battling, we live in the light of love, creativity, and possibility; and we allow things to unfold as we surrender to the intelligence of the universe, trusting in its benevolence and abundance. When we practice nondoing, we don’t put energy into performing tasks today that will take care of themselves by tomorrow. We don’t micromanage our lives because we know in our very core that we’re in the hands of Spirit.
Sit in silence for a moment and get in touch with your battles. Blow them into a stick and release them to a fire.
Certainty
To practice certainty is to have an unwavering commitment to the course you have chosen. You let go of your worry that you’re making a mistake or that you’re not good enough, thin enough, rich enough, or young enough for an endeavor.
Certainty means that we deliberately choose not to leave ourselves any “escapes” that would allow us to keep one foot on the new track while keeping the other foot out the door. Back doors leak energy that could otherwise be available to fulfill your dreams. They are where fear lurks within you, and they lead to self-fulfilling prophecies of failure and defeat. Burn your bridges behind you so that you have no option but success.
Sit and contemplate your back doors that are sabotaging your success. Blow them into a stick and release them to the fire.
Non-Engagement
When we practice non-engagement, we deliberately choose not to take part in battles, particularly those where the grounds of engagement are defined by our adversary. Just because someone is itching for a fight, longing to create a drama that will allow them to feel like a noble rescuer or a victim, doesn’t mean we have to play along. And the people we are closest to are experts at pushing all of our buttons.
Even as we strive to come to agreements with others, when we practice nonengagement, we have to be completely uncompromising when it comes to our integrity or the things we deeply believe in. To do so, we have to be very clear about what our real values are, so we can negotiate efficiently rather than exhausting ourselves by becoming trapped in an endless war over insignificant details.
Sit and contemplate battles you are engaged in. Blow them into a stick and release them to a fire.
Are you ready to become a luminous warrior?
