In many carnival and amusement park settings, there is a “house of mirrors.”  Within this playground of vision, we are confronted with a myriad of reflections, distorted shapes and unusual sizes of ourselves.  Yet paradoxically, in the midst of this ‘confusion,’ we actually enjoy seeing these images of ourselves, watching how they change as we move, walk or even talk!  We find it humorous and non-threatening as we look at these projected images of ourselves, and will invite others to look at them and laugh!  And, after doing so, we still have a sense of self that feels intact and even refreshed by such explorations!….

The observational ability we use in a carnival house of mirrors – to laugh and play with our reflected images – needs to be developed within our daily lives.  We need to become comfortable with exploring new, healthier and happier ways of being and communicating.   And yet this has proven to be one of the most difficult gestures for us to develop.  It is necessary so we can leave the crisis of self-doubt behind, so we can let go of the repetitive, hypnotic examination of the endless stored images of ourselves.  If we do not, we inflame our shadows of self-doubt, dislike and negative self-absorption.  When we constantly use our house of shadowy mirrors, we intensify self-doubt and block our ability to relax and open to ourselves, let alone to the Greater Whole.   ….

See the house of mirrors as an analogy.  One in which we assume we are just reflections of our behavior, that we are just what is projected into the world.  We falsely believe that our actions, thoughts, behaviors and words are all that we are and build an identity upon it.   We become trapped into thinking about ourselves and constantly worrying about whether we are accepted, approved or loved.   We end up searching, always mentally wandering through life, and desperately looking for some validation of our right to be accepted or loved.  ….

We need to have compassion for ourselves, to relax the tight grip we have upon our ‘failure’ to ‘know it all, right now!’ approach to growth.  We need to be merciful, releasing the constant judgments.  We need to celebrate and support our insights and changes, give up fighting off a deeper integration of truth and change.   Why defend that which is truly not you, but just a “mood of energy” that flows through you into the world?!    Why not enjoy making adjustments that birth a healthier and happier sense of self and relationships, one that allows a happier, cleaner, more profound life to be lived?  Choices which allow your life to be expressed in peace, harmony and happiness, within and without?  A space in which you can begin to open to what you actually are: an Incarnation of the Light?  Doesn’t this seem more interesting than the defense of your footprints in life?  Why not look at your way of walking in life, celebrating all new understandings of yourself and how you interact with the world?  ….

Have you ever experienced the peace that arises when you finally DO quit fighting with a new way of perceiving yourself and accept it, allowing a more advanced and mature way of being move through you?  Now the question to ask yourself: why would you avoid it?…….

The house of mirrors needs to be seen for what it is: a reflective tool used to align you to more advanced ways of loving and being, to purify how you miss the point of life.  To guide you into a space which will reveal what it is you need to learn.  After all, if you haven’t noticed, this is a realm of experimentation, trial and error!