I’ve definitely read this idea somewhere; that the Universe is mechanical and without spirit. I would counter that in two ways. One: If someone sees a machine somewhere, they assume that someone built it. Two: All machines have a purpose. Even if they’re merely props and don’t work, they function as decoration.
If the Universe is a machine, it has a creator. Why would a machine exist randomly? I also think about the fact that no one sees a mural in the middle of a city and assumes it sprung up by itself. Why would the Universe and consciousness develop out of nothingness without a mind directing it?
If a machine exists, it has a function. The Universe doesn’t become meaningless when a human misunderstands it.
Synchronicity seems to be the language of the Universe. If it were up to me, I’d name Carl Jung the genius of humanity. He not only coined the term “synchronicity,” but identified the presence of the human shadow. If I ever ended up pursuing psychology, I would want to focus on that. Instead, I’ll write about it here.
The shadow is made up of all the suppressed parts of you, the tears you don’t cry, and the rage you don’t express. It’s the complaints you don’t give a voice to, and the tantrum you throw in your head. The problem with suppressing emotions is that they don’t disappear when you ignore them.
They gather and create your shadow self. Have you ever gotten drunk and said something and kicked yourself for it later? Some people black out and become violent. That’s also your shadow. When I got in touch with mine, it involved opening myself up consciously to my own dark emotions and letting them overwhelm me, so that I could finally learn to cry without resistance.
Yes, crying (without resistance) is a skill not everyone has. I call it a skill because it’s normal in our world to suppress tears. But if you read about the science behind crying, you might change your mind!
It’s good for you, but frustrating and can even feel shameful if you’re not comfortable with it. Once you do become comfortable, you might find that you cry more often than before. I don’t resist tears at all anymore and my life is so much better for it.
I love to tell people that mescaline helped me learn how to cry without resistance. The San Pedro cactus (named this because St. Peter was said to guard the keys of heaven) is a miraculous psychedelic that’s considered a healing medicine in parts of Latin America.
Once mescaline helped me access my tears, the chronic shoulder tension I’d had since teenage years disappeared soon after. My chronic fatigue also lessened dramatically, as if the weight of my emotions was what was making me sleep too much.
But you don’t have to trip balls to access your tears or learn how to cry without self-judgment. Natural methods can work such as breathwork (many report spontaneous tears during or afterwards) or feelings-based meditations. If you journal, writing can also be a way to access your deeper emotional self.
Another method for accessing your shadow is voice notes. You simply record your voice talking about whatever is concerning you, like you’d share with a therapist or friend. It can feel awkward at first, but I can promise you it’s beneficial if you press through it.
You don’t have to listen back unless you want to, but it’s educational in an important way. You’ll hear your self-talk habits. I learned that I was constantly grading myself based on how productive I was being, but in a stressful way that didn’t motivate me. I invite you to give it a try and see what happens.
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