Turn on Your Inner Light

No switch needed

Did you know there are two types of light switches in your life?

Light bulbs have been common items in homes since the early 1900s. Our ancestors went to bed when the sun went down because it was too dark to do anything, whereas we can stay up all night if we want to, reading, dancing or tinkering, because Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb. And now we switch them on and off without consciously thinking about it.

So, that’s the first type of light switch. It’s on the wall, about shoulder-height, operated by one finger, usually the one kindergarten children call Pointer. And unless there’s an electrical fault, it works every time. One moment you’re surrounded in darkness thick enough to cut with a butcher’s knife — then you flick a switch and presto! — light floods the scene.

The second light switch is inside you, requires no finger, and is harder to turn on. It’s called your inner light.

Bob Dylan sung about it in ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’. Like all memorable songs, this one touches on common human failings:

· We demand too much of others;

· We don’t grow up;

· We waste people’s time;

· We don’t turn on our inner light.

Dylan’s exact words about that last point were:

And it ain’t no use in a-turnin’ on your light, babe The light I never knowed An’ it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe I’m on the dark side of the road . . .

What did Dylan mean? What would’ve happened differently if his girlfriend had turned on her light? It’s obviously referring to her inner light because Dylan would’ve seen her house lights on any number of times.

What I take from the song is that both people in this relationship hadn’t turned on their inner light, so both of them were on the dark side of the road. It was too late for either of them to help the other.

What is our inner light?

It’s what we never turn on because we’re afraid of the consequences.

In her book, A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson wrote:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness That most frightens us.

It could be said that our darkness is our unconsciousness. It’s our automatic, habitual way of being in the world. We live our days recreating the world we lived in the day before, by being the same again today. It may seem to be the easiest and safest way to live, but it’s the hardest and the most dangerous.

Our inner light is our consciousness. It’s what we turn on when we stop living on autopilot. It spills out into the world through conscious thoughts, words, actions and presence.

This inner light doesn’t really have a switch. No finger is required. It’s more advanced than that. It’s operated by tuning in to the universal impulses that are flowing through us continuously, not just in our head, but throughout our whole body.

How do we tune in to universal impulses? By tuning out of automatic, habitual thoughts that dictate our every move. These thoughts form endless loops that prevent the inner light from being noticed.

The trick is to catch yourself in unconsciousness. Next time a difficult situation arises, a relationship sours or something unexpected happens, watch for your automatic thoughts and reactions. See them for what they are — probably pointless, petty and potty. Then let go of unconsciousness and step into consciousness.

This light (that you don’t actually turn on, but let through) brings rare ingredients like space, silence and wisdom.

One moment you’re surrounded in darkness thick enough to cut with a machete. Then you flick a switch, so to speak, and presto! — light floods the scene.

Living with mindfulness

During an interview with Eckhart Tolle (https://www.bodhijeffreys.com/read/conscious-activism/eckhart-tolle), Simone Marie Lorenz said:

We need to wake up out of our own unconsciousness first, because without that we inevitably add to the pain in the world that our hearts want to mend.

It only takes one to turn on their inner light to change what is happening in the world.

Dylan or his girlfriend could’ve turned on their inner light earlier, and maybe found a way to nurture the relationship that was turning bitter. He may not have had to leave, and the song may never have needed to be written. But that’s another story.

And here’s another story based on a Bob Dylan song:

With love, Marlane

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Thanks for reading! I hope it helps you for the rest of your life. For more articles on Mindfulness, visit me at https://www.marlaneainsworth.com