The Light Within:

Not a Metaphor, A Reality!

By Teri Degler

© 2010

Adapted with permission from an article originally published in Seattle’s New Spirit Journal.

The artwork is by Sandy Brand

The pieces are stunning representations of the “light within” expressing itself outwardly 

When I originally wrote this piece for New Spirit it was December, and I was thinking a lot about light. It was that time of year when the dominance of darkness in the cycle of day and night is coming to an end, and the sun is slowly beginning to reassert itself, assuring us that it never had the slightest intention of fading into oblivion.

And, of course, it is no coincidence that the spiritual and religious festivals celebrated at this time of year all feature some element of light.

To the Light expresses the power of prana shaktiCould this be a hint from the cosmos that we’d do well to celebrate light – especially the light within – a lot more often in our daily lives? It could well be! But to truly celebrate this light we have to understand the difference between what we tend to think it is, and what it really is.

Just take a moment to consider the expressions we use that refer to light: Don’t hide your light under a bushel. Be a light to the world. Light one candle and the darkness disappears. And don’t forget childhood songs like, “Let your little light shine, let it shine, let it shine” – or that phrase heard increasingly in the mind/body/spirit movement, listen to the light within.

In expressions like these we are generally using the concept of “light” as a metaphor – as a symbol for our abilities, our personal power, a higher source, or, in the case of the light within, to get across the idea that the Divine is a force that is both close to us and accessible and not some old man with a beard sitting on a throne in the sky.

The Divine Feminine Light Within

All these are wonderful references to light. But what would it mean if this light isn’t just a metaphor? What if there really is a light within? And, if so, what could it mean to us in our daily lives?

When we explore the life stories of saints and mystics from virtually every spiritual tradition we find they experienced this inner light as something real – tangible – something they could quite literally see, feel, and experience with their bodily senses. The 14th century Italian nun St. Catherine of Sienna describes this light in detail, saying that it burned in her soul and that she could see it in “fullness and perfection” with her mind’s eye. She then adds that it was nothing less than the “very self” of the Divine.

This image of the wind shows the creative power of the Divine FeminineIn her book The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila tells of a flaming, radiant angel who repeatedly plunges a fiery golden spear into her heart and down through her body, leaving her filled with the divine love. She goes on to make it clear that, while this experience of fire and light was a spiritual one, it was also physical: the body, she writes, “has some share in it – even a considerable share.” Four centuries earlier in India a holy woman known as Mahadevi Akka described experiences that, like St. Catherine’s and St. Teresa’s, were spiritual and yet very much grounded in the body. Often they were characterized by experiences of light. After one of the most profound, she writes that her mind was filled with “a light exceeding a billion suns and moons”.

Kundalini-shakti and the power of the light

Interestingly enough, it is in the age-old writings on yoga that we find detailed descriptions of exactly what this light is and what it means to us in our daily lives. The ancient yogis called this light kundalini – or, more properly, kundalini-shakti – and said it was the very real manifestation in the human body of the divine feminine. They called this cosmic feminine essence Shakti – the Sanskrit word for power, energy, or force. These great sages explain that Shakti is the evolutionary energy that propels the universe forward but that, as kundalini-shakti, she is also the evolutionary energy in every human being. They also indicate that, while the activity of this energy may have been “awakened” – or, we could say, accelerated – in the great saints and mystics, it is no less present in those of us who are ordinary people. In us, it works in a slower way, propelling us forward on our journeys, transforming us gradually, filling us with a yearning to know ourselves, to grow spiritually, and care for those who suffer and – at the same time – providing us with ever-closer access to the source of divine inspiration.

An image of prana-shakti expressing herself in nature With this in mind, consider those expressions that refer to “light” again: Don’t hide your light under a bushel – it is far too precious. Be a light to the world? You already are, you just need to let that inner light shine outward. Listen to the light within? Indeed. For,certainly at least according to St. Catherine, it is nothing less than “the very self” of the Divine.

Sidebar: Prana Shakti and Being a Light to the World

In yoga “life energy” is generally called prana. Not surprisingly, its more complete name is prana-shakti. Prana is also the word for breath – and our most basic means of connecting with the light within is through the yoga breathing exercises known as pranayama.

1. For basic pranayama, breathe in slowly – filling up the bottom, then the middle, then the top of your lungs. To do this, allow the muscles in your abdomen, your ribs and chest, and then your upper chest to expand in turn. To exhale, reverse the process – beginning by gently contracting your lower abdominals first and moving upward.

2. As you do this, visualize the “prana” you are breathing in as a sparkling, radiant white light.

3. See this light filling your body, becoming brighter and more intense with each breath.

4. Then visualize it rising upward, centering around your heart, and intensifying and transforming to love with each beat of your heart.

5. Allow this love-filled light to flow outwards; visualize it reaching someone you feel is in need, embracing them, and filling them with this life-giving, life-sustaining light.