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"Oh, you do energy healing...are you a Lightworker?"
"Well no, I am not."
"Then how can you be a healer?"
This is a conversation I have had far too often since I formally opened my healing and metaphysical education practices. And to be honest, I used to think I was exactly that...a lightworker.
But, what is a lightworker?
Technically, the term lightworker was first coined by author Michael Mirdad in the early 80s. Later Doreen Virtue popularized the term in her book The Lightworkers Way.
The simplest way to describe lightworkers would be as beings who feel an enormous pull towards helping others. Also referred to as crystal babies, indigos, Earth angels and star seeds, these spiritual beings volunteer to act as a beacon for the Earth, and commit to serving humanity.
Lightworkers tend to be sensitive, intuitive, and are often seen in carrying out coordinated efforts to dispel or chase away negative consciousness using their positive energies and healing powers.
Lightworker often follow the path of healers, both spiritual and physical, psychics, seers, and those who choose to spiritually guide others.
The Eco Institute suggest the following are the most common traits of a lightworker:
✓You often feel very different from others, and often misunderstood.
✓You have a great sense of a "higher purpose."
✓You are a natural helper and / or have a problem telling people "no."
✓You have high levels of empathy, readily feeling the emotions of others.
✓You often attract "hurt" people into your life, giving while expecting nothing in return.
✓You feel "not of this world," with a strong desire to "go home," though not on this planet.
✓You are drawn toward natural foods, veganism, and / or vegetarianism.
✓You have very little interest in mainstream topics such as: fashion, sports, celebrities, etc.
✓You are naturally very kind, even when not reciprocated.
✓You are attracted to careers that help others.
✓You love nature, plants, & animals.
✓You are generally not afraid of death or dying.
✓You aren't religious, but have a strong sense and understanding of spirituality.
Once fully awakened we add the following traits:
✓A bulletproof sense of inner peace.
✓True happiness, no matter the circumstances in your life.
✓Feeling "at one" with everyone & everything.
✓Unconditional love for all living beings.
✓Finding your true self and your true path.
✓A worry/stress/anxiety free natural existence.
✓A very fulfilled, meaningful life.
✓Deep healing of mind, body, and spirit.
✓A permanent higher shift in consciousness & understanding.
✓Fulfilling your life mission or calling.
✓Having the ability & capacity to fundamentally "change the world."
Honestly, these resonated so highly with me at first. I sought out other lightworkers and their activities. But yet still felt there was something missing.
It all just felt...well for lack of a better term...too froux froux for me. You know, all BoHo and macrame and running around naked with flowers in your hair. And don't misquote me, I love this aesthetic and lifestyle, just not for me.
For me, I am the night. I live in black, and am often surrounded by skulls and other reminders of death. I am drawn the the moon and thunderstorms and all things gothic. Communicating with the dead has always been something I could do, at least for those close to me. Yet I do not consider myself a Darkworker either.
A blog by Ysadora Alexande defines a Darkworker as such:
Like light workers, there are those who work with the energies of a darker nature. Dark workers are not evil or bad, but work with elements deemed dark, such as the dead, crystals (which grow and form in darkness, despite having such a light appearance) and varying planes and guides. To a dark worker, darkness simply means "not light".
Dark workers are accustomed to energies of a more shadowy nature, bending it to our will and caring for those it effects. Most importantly, we are healers, first and foremost. Darkness is required to balance light, as everything in life is balanced. A dark worker is not the opposite of a light worker, rather we are complimentary. While a light worker such as a reiki healer will infuse a person with universal light and energy to flush out darkness, a dark worker draws away the darkness already present, or manipulates it to become more manageable. Dark workers do not draw upon the universal light through the crown chakra, rather we draw energy up from the earth below through the root chakra.
As energy workers we may perform our functions either consciously and directly drawing darkness or unconsciously, by counselling those in need. Before "awakening" as a dark worker, we often take on many roles as counseller or protector, quite subconsciously. As a result, we can take on that darkness and often overwhelm ourselves with it. If not well managed, a dark worker can easily fall into depression and self harm, either psychic, emotional or physical. Current times are seeing an increase in darkness, leading to more and more dark workers falling into the darkness, as it consumes them.
There is something going on, a change occurring, that is proving hard to weather. Many of us are falling prey to suicide, or giving up helping completely and losing their empathy. Those who lose it can become sociopathic, even if they were previously an empathic and caring person. It is becoming an almost daily battle to not let the darkness overwhelm us.
Darkworkers can also be known as shadow-workers. Those who are willing to work through the shadows of oneself in order to create emotional and spiritual healing.
Remember, your shadows are often the internal spaces you avoid, deny or ignore. And as a society, we have developed a fear around feeling our emotional pains, which turn into subconscious thoughts that become belief systems built on pain and fear.
The reason why you have worries is because either you experienced something traumatic, you were taught something that doesn’t align with your soul truth or you carry the emotional pain from the generations that came before you in your family. This thought pattern is built on deep emotional wounds that you carry, and these worries are now a belief you hold that says something bad is going to happen.
So what am I?
I call myself a Grey-worker...a Grey Witch...a Grey Healer.
I am the balance. I draw out as much as bring in. I realize the power of experiencing the highest of highs, to thus be able to comprehend the lowest of lows. Life is rarely all pretty and roses. Those roses have thorns, you know.
Herein lies the stigma. The term Grey-Worker often is seen in a negative light. Greyworkers have been depicted as the masses. Those are greatest in number and are all those in between a lightworker and a darkworker. Greyworkers are seen as the most human of us all with motives and behaviors that are influenced by conflicting and unclear intentions. Because Greyworkers are not polarized, they have to weigh up opportunities for action against many factors, such as their personal wealth, status, contribution, friendships, colleagues, reward, etc. It is a constant battle in the head – and it is stressful. Lightworkers and Darkworkers don’t tend to have this as they operate with a much clearer head. Modern society for most people is a complex problem to resolve and this takes up brainpower, and therefore time. Procrastination is a key attribute of Greyworking.
This, I assure you (ok, maybe some of the procrastination seeps in on occasion) is not how I define myself. It is about understanding the whole spectrum, and its extremes, and bring them together to find a new form of healing.
Think of the Yin/Yang symbol. One side is light, one is dark. But within each is a small dot of the other. It always represents balance.
For most, when you become aware of your thoughts you start to notice the worry, doubt and fear that plagues your mind on a daily basis. The most common thing I hear in the world of manifestation and law of attraction is how you need to use affirmations to change your thought patterns.
Repetition of little mantras may work over long periods of time, but I’ve learned a more effective way to shift your thought patterns. This includes doing the shadow work and actually uncovering the root of the thought pattern. When you know the root of the issue you are able to heal the emotional and spiritual wounds in order to re-write your belief system in a supportive way.
Bringing harmony to ego and spirit is not about denying your ego thoughts. It’s actually about bringing compassion and comfort to yourself when those repetitive, unsupported thoughts come forward. Your ego believes that you are not safe, which is why it repeats the worries and fears because your mind wants you to understand that life isn’t safe.
The reality is that you actually are safe in this moment, and you need to learn to make yourself feel safe, even in the discomfort of the unknown. The moment you are able to feel safe and comforted it becomes easier for you to hear your guides and to lead yourself from a space of trust and faith, this is your light.
Differentiating between ego thoughts and soul messages is how you can understand the shadow versus the light. Integrating this practice into your everyday life will allow you to overcome worry, doubt and fear in the moment so you can trust your intuition more easily.
What am I? I am a proud Grey-Worker. I wonder if this is why my main guide always shows them self as Gandalf the Grey?
