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by Steve Taylor, author of many books on spirituality and psychology including 
The Clear Light, The Leap, and The Calm Center

In general, there are three different modes in which we can live our lives: doing, thinking and being. Most of the day we’re busy doing – working in our jobs, doing chores, following our hobbies and enjoying ourselves in our free time. Thinking usually takes place between activities, when there’s nothing to occupy our attention, or during activities which are more repetitive and undemanding, when we don’t need to concentrate too much.

And being? Most people don’t spend much time being. Being occurs when we're relatively inactive and relaxing. It’s when our minds aren’t chattering away with thoughts, and when we aren’t concentrating our attention on tasks or activities. In this mode, we usually pay a lot of our attention to our surroundings, and to our own experience. We’re in this mode when we go for a leisurely walk, do sports such as swimming or running, meditate, do yoga or listen to music.

Of these three modes, our culture prizes the first two far above the third. Doing and thinking are seen as the engines of achievement. Thinking logically enables us to solve problems and come up with ideas. If we have a problem, we sit down and think it through. And doing – working and being busy – enables us to achieve our goals, to be productive, to make money and become successful.

But being is unproductive. It equates with laziness, and wasted time. Why waste our precious hours doing nothing when we could be filling them with activity and achievement?

The Benefits of Being

But this is misleading. Even in terms of achievement, relaxing and ‘doing nothing’ can be extremely beneficial. States of being and inactivity allow the creative potentials of the mind to manifest themselves. They allow insights and inspirations to flow. As I say in one of the pieces in The Clear Light:

I love the days of not needing
to be anywhere but now.
I love the days of not being productive
that become the most productive of all.
I love the days of doing nothing
that become gloriously full of being.

It’s in this state of being that ideas suddenly come to us, seemingly out of nowhere - when songwriters have ideas for songs, when writers have ideas for stories, when scientists suddenly ‘see’ the answers to problems that have vexed them, when inventors have ideas for new inventions. These creative potentials are usually blocked by the busy-ness of our minds and our lives. In order for them to emerge, both our lives and our minds have to become relatively empty and quiet.

This is why many - perhaps most - of the greatest discoveries, inventions and creative ideas in human history have not come about through ‘hard work’ or sustained logical thinking, but by doing nothing. That is, they have mostly occurred by accident, or unconscious intuition, in states of relaxation. The physicist Newton described how the ‘notion of gravitation came into his mind’ when he sat ‘in contemplative mood’ and saw an apple fall from a tree. (The apple didn’t actually fall on him, as is popularly believed.) The concept of coordinate geometry suddenly occurred to Rene Descartes when he was half asleep in bed, watching a fly buzz around the room.

A high proportion of the world’s great works of art were also inspired and conceived during moments of relaxed inactivity. The most recorded song of all time, "Yesterday" by The Beatles, was ‘heard’ by Paul McCartney as he was waking up one morning. The melody was fully formed in his mind, and he went straight to the piano in his bedroom to find the chords to go with it, and later found words to fit the melody. Mozart described how his musical ideas ‘flow best and most abundantly.’ when he was alone ‘traveling in a carriage or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep… Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them.’

The Calm Center

I feel exactly the same about my own poetic reflections and meditations, published in The Clear Light. It’s difficult to say where the pieces come from. Most of them came as a surprise to me. I’ve learned not to expect them, or to wait for them. I only know that they tend to come at times when my life is fairly quiet, when I’m not busy with projects or duties, and free of pressure or deadlines. They tend to come when I have empty spaces of time to myself, and in a relaxed mood. In other words, they tend to come when I’m in the mode of being. They arise out of what I call ‘The clear light of the present.’

Since they arose from a state of being, it’s fitting that many of the pieces are about the importance of being. They describe how we need to be in order to regenerate our energies, to re-attune to ourselves, and to regain the feeling of well-being and connection to the world around us. Being belongs to the present, so we need to be in order to find the peace of presence, to resist the pull of the future and the past. We normally associate happiness with doing and having, but the most stable and the deepest well-being is that of being itself, which arises naturally when we stop striving to do or to have. As I say in the book,

Here there is no lack
only the wholeness of what is now.
Here there is no doubt
only the certainty of now.
Here there is no complexity
only the simple truth of now.

So why choose absence when we can be present?
Why be elsewhere when we can be here?

For me it’s wonderful that these pieces - which stem from the highest or deepest aspects of my own nature - seem to have the power to reach people’s highest, deepest selves too. This is one of the great things about art, be it music, poetry or painting - it’s a channel through which we can transmit our experience. If you feel ecstatic, sorrowful or awestruck you can express and capture your state of being in a piece of music or a painting. Your state of being or emotion becomes encapsulated in the piece, and it remains there, fresh and timeless, for any receptive listener to absorb. A piece which was written 300 years ago can be as fresh and inspiring as a piece which was written yesterday. This is especially true of spiritual art - spiritual poetry, spiritual music, or visual arts. At the spiritual level our connection is deepest and strongest. The spiritual is the ground of all our being, where individual differences fade away — in fact, where individuality itself fades away. At the spiritual level, we expand beyond distinctions of gender, ethnicity or religion, and touch into a common core. So insights and experiences from the spiritual level can be communicated very powerfully, without any barrier or interference. As I say in the book:

We are each other.
Every human being’s feelings flow
like currents of air through the atmosphere
of our communal being —
brushing each other’s souls
touching each other’s hearts
stirring mutual compassion.

The portal to these spiritual depths is a state of being. Being is the source of both creativity and spirituality.

Steve Taylor is the author of several bestselling books on psychology and spirituality, including The Clear Light, The Leap, and The Calm Center. His articles and essays have been published in over 50 academic journals, magazines and newspapers, including Scientific American and Psychology Today. Since 2011, he has appeared annually in Watkin’s Mind Body Spirit magazine’s list of “the world’s 100 most spiritually influential living people.” He lives in Manchester, England, with his wife and three children. Find out more about his work at www.stevenmtaylor.com.

Excerpted from the book The Clear Light. Copyright ©2020 by Steve Taylor. Printed with permission from New World Library.

There is a tall black shadow around my wife and sometimes around her family as well. What does this shadow want? How can we as a family get rid of it? I feel it has imprinted itself on my wife's energy, as well as on my kids' and my own energy. She feels drained and tired, and is often depressed. Thanks for considering my question.

Tim

Dreamchaser:

Most people equate black with evil, which leads to many misconceptions. This black shadowy figure is actually a protective spirit.

Black protective spirits are the BIG DOGS, so to speak. When we have them around, we REALLY need protecting. This being is around your wife because she is depressed; it is not causing the depression. Chronic depression usually begins gradually, with slight feelings of sadness that gradually build in intensity.

A depressed person may begin to have difficulty sleeping or want to sleep more than usual, experience changes in eating habits, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, low energy, restlessness, loss of interest in normal activities, decreased sex drive, feelings of guilt for no apparent reason, difficulty maintaining relationships, and trouble concentrating. People with chronic depression have at least two of these symptoms for a period of two years or more. People with chronic depression are also generally extremely critical of themselves and others.

You "saw" this darkness and ASSSUMED as many people would that it must be some evil or negative force. This idea then became a dumping ground for all your family's problems and issues.

I venture to say many people have seen these beings out of the corners of their eyes. I had one in my life for a while. The building I was occupying not only had really negative energy attached to it, but I also had a person living with me at the time who was in the throes of addiction.

The black entity came to protect me and my children from all the negativity inside the place. I called the entity a HE because he felt male to me. I used to see mine standing in the doorway (covering up most of it) or passing by a doorway when I was in a room. I would look quickly in that direction but see nothing there. They are plentiful. If you see one, do not be afraid.

If you would like to make sure that nothing evil is in your house, do a really quick housecleaning. Stand in the center of the house or as close as you can get to it and say very loudly, "If you are not here from Love and Light, I command you in the name of the One God to leave this place immediately." Anything evil or negative will have to leave. You can repeat this as many times as you wish until you feel comfortable, but once should be sufficient.

Once you are sure your house is clean, if you still see the black shadow, then you can address the real issue: getting your wife treatment for chronic depression.

I wish you all a sense of well-being.

*****

Astrea:

Often we invite things like this shadow into our lives without meaning to. Sometimes no matter what kind of protection you have, carry or employ, negative entities will attach themselves on their own. There may be no rhyme or reason to it, they just show up!

There are several ways to rid yourselves of this entity that has attached itself to your wife and her family. She feels tired and drained all the time because carrying this entity around is like having BOULDERS around her neck. Bless her heart!

She might need some outside help to get rid of whatever is plaguing her. Beware of "fake healers" who say they can dispel this entity for you. If you're not going to do it yourselves, then you need someone with experience who knows exactly what to do.

Probably the easiest and quickest way to rid her of this burden is to take her to a Buddhist Temple. For a tiny fee, the Monks there will balance her chakras and dispel any negativity that is hanging around her. A Catholic priest might be able to do the same thing, but they don't get as much practice, and they're often unwilling to participate in anything they don't totally understand.

If you and your family would rather do it yourselves, here is a ritual that I know has worked for other people in the past. If done properly, this ritual will dispel that dark shadow and free your wife and her family from whatever is draining her and spooking the rest of you.

To begin, take a green candle, an ivy plant and a green fruit like a pear or apple. You'll also need a bell. Cast your circle (with you and your wife inside) and call in your corners. Cut the fruit into four pieces and arrange it facing the four directions.

Light the candle, then face north and have her say, "By the powers of the northern light, I break all bonds of negativity with this shadow in my life." Ring the bell. Allow it to resonate. Face south and have her say, "By the powers of the southern side, I am strong in my power. Let my powers rise and dispel this shadow." Ring the bell.

Face east while she says, "By the powers of the eastern sun, I have faced this shadow. I watch it run." Ring the bell. Face west and have her say, "By the powers of the western night, I face my fears and they take flight." Ring the bell. Blow out the candle.

Have your wife eat the fruit. Release the corners and reverse your circle. She should be free of that awful entity forever. Her energy will begin to return, and she'll be protected from this sort of experience in the future. Good luck!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.