One term that is used a lot in spirituality is the word “lightworker”. I’ve seen discussions about what this word actually means, so in this article I’d like to first clarify what a lightworker is.
On the spiritual path, what we are doing (whether we would think of it in these terms or not) is working on ascension. I.e., we are consciously choosing to cultivate love and positivity, which in turn raises our vibrations. And in raising our own vibrations, we then affect the vibrations of others around us.
If we were to see emotions in our auras, we would note that these positive emotions give off bright colors of light, while negative emotions look dark and murky. The positive emotions radiate out in all directions and help raise the vibration of those around us. Have you ever been around someone who was so genuinely cheerful and positive that you enjoyed being in that person’s presence? Likewise, have you ever known someone who was always negative and made you exhausted just by listening to this person talk? These are examples of our vibrations affecting other people.
Note, however, that a lightworker affects the vibrations of not only those around them, but also of the world as a whole. Think of what happens when you put a candle in a dark room. In the place surrounding the candle, you may be able to see. But in the far corners of the room, it is too dark to see anything. Now imagine adding more candles to this room. As each candle is added, the light in the entire room gets brighter. In other words, the light of the candles collectively raises the light everywhere.
Therefore, a single lightworker may think that they are insignificant. But the reality is far different. Alone, each of them may only shine a small light. But together, their collective vibration is changing the world.
The Power of Light
In the 1950’s, a man by the name of Lester Levenson had become very ill. He was suffering from multiple health issues and had just experienced a second heart attack. The doctors did not think there was anything they could do for him, and so they sent him home from the hospital to die. Lester, realizing he didn’t have much time left, lay in bed and reflected on life.
Lester had been a successful businessman. Yet he realized that his success had not made him happy. Being curious as to what caused true happiness, Lester started searching for memories of when he was truly happy.
One thing he realized is that he was not truly happy when others loved him. Instead, this led to a situation of becoming addicted to that love, and fearing when or if it might be taken away. Lester was surprised to realize that, in his experience, true happiness only occurred when he was loving other people. The key was that this love did not have an agenda. He wasn’t attempting to seek love in return. He was simply loving others without any expectations. And this love, Lester realized, was what brought about the moments of happiness in his life.
While lying sick in bed, Lester tried an experiment. He visualized other people he knew being happy. He especially focused on people that he didn’t like in real life. When Lester visualized these people, he would not stop the visualizations until the images of the people were so real and joyful that they in turn made him feel joy and happiness within his own heart. After a few weeks of this experiment, Lester’s health issues had disappeared and he was completely healthy.
Lester’s story is a powerful example of what a lightworker does, and the miraculous results that it can have. It should be noted that Lester was not expecting results. Instead, he was simply “working with light”. And the results of what he was able to accomplish were likely beyond his wildest imagination.
Traps of the Lightworker
Many people have walked the path of the lightworker before us, and have stumbled along the way. There are several traps that a lightworker can fall into, which will temporarily cause them to lead the path. I wish to discuss some of the more common ones here, so that they can be avoided. If you have already fallen into such a trap, this knowledge will allow you to recognize it and return quickly to the path of the lightworker.
Preaching Spirituality
Finding the spiritual path can seem like a “luck find”. You realize that this is what you are looking for, and you become eager to share it with others. However, preaching to others about spirituality does not benefit others: each person will find their path at the appropriate moment.
When we set an example to others by walking the spiritual path, this gives them an invitation to explore the path themselves. However, if we try to preach to them about spirituality, this will likely cause them to become defensive. Psychologically, nobody likes to be preached to as this makes them feel inferior.
Even though we are on the spiritual path, we still can easily fall prey to our own pride and ego. In this case, the ego tries to use spirituality to show people that it is better than others. It will claim that it knows the truth, and that others don’t. To avoid this trap, a good rule of thumb is to never discuss spirituality with those who do not specifically request this information.
Giving Away One’s Power
Another trap on the spiritual path is to give away one’s power to a teacher or guru. This is typical of people who come from a religious background and are used to having others say what is right and wrong. But the spiritual path does not work with absolute rights and wrongs.
Spirituality is about taking ultimate responsibility for one’s personal and spiritual development. Instead of using a set of standards for deciding what is right or wrong, a person on the spiritual path should use inner wisdom and discernment. This doesn’t mean that the choices made will always be appropriate. But that is part of the path: learning by making one’s own decisions. People who practice using inner guidance will develop this skill, and it will become easier.
But sometimes, people will listen to others instead of using their own judgement. For example, some people will find a spiritual teacher who they deeply respect, and will follow that person’s advice while ignoring their own intuition. When this happens, a person is susceptible to falling into a situation where the teacher puts their own interests above the interests of the students. And because people are flawed, this is not an uncommon scenario. So to avoid this trap, always respect and rely on your own inner discernment.
Spiritual Bypass
One common trap to fall into is sometimes referred to as “spiritual bypass”. This scenario happens when a person decides that because they are now spiritual, the matters of the material world are now beneath them. This is simply another trap that the ego uses to pull people from the spiritual path.
Spirituality is never about being “too good” for anything. Instead, spirituality is about being courageous enough to look at the “ugly” aspects of self without judgement, and constantly work on these aspects in order to purify them.
A person in spiritual bypass is doing exactly the opposite. The avoidance of people and situations that are beneath this person is a symbol of the fact that this person is also avoiding the internal aspects that need to be worked on in order to progress spiritually. In short, spiritual bypass is a form of denial that is common among spiritual seekers.
To remove themselves from this trap, the spiritual seekers must realize that the external world is a reflection of the inner. Consequently, it is necessary to learn how to cultivate unconditional love for everything encountered in both the external and inner worlds. Being above anything or any situation is a result of being able to accept self and others as they are. It is a form of withholding one’s light, and not allowing it to shine where it is needed.
Judging Situations
As a spiritual seeker, some people become tempted to try to “right the wrongs” of the world. Although well-intentioned, this strategy is actually a hindrance to the spiritual path. From the ego’s point of view, we rarely have a good enough perspective to judge whether a certain situation is truly good or bad. In truth, all life situations are for the purpose of helping us develop. The fact that they are painful does not mean that they are unimportant or wrong.
Many “bad” situations are simply a necessary part of the learning process. Consider a child who burns themselves on a stove. If there was no pain, the child wouldn’t learn not to touch the stove. Not only would the child not learn anything from the experience, but the child would be in serious danger of touching the stove again.
Thus, painful situations are a vital part of the learning process and help us to grow. Yes, we can avoid the pain by choosing something differently. But when we don’t choose actions that avoid pain, that pain becomes a necessary part of development.
We don’t need to pray to change certain situations. We simply need to work on cultivating love and light inside of us internally. This is what will allow others who are in the dark to see more clearly, and to choose more wisely. And this in turn will help people to avoid future pain.
Lightworkers in Action
To the ego, being a lightworker is simply another way to inflate itself. The ego thinks that lightworkers are special leaders who are busying themselves with important spiritual missions. But lightworkers are ordinary people. Being a lightworker is not about what you do in life, but the effect that your life has on other people. Here are some of the attributes of lightworkers.
Lightworkers live without drama. They do this by not taking sides in situations and believing that one person or cause is right or wrong. They are not addicted to believing that they must be right. Instead, they are focused on simply being in each moment, and softly spreading their love and light with their presence.
Lightworkers are good listeners. They don’t judge you or others, or try to hijack your conversations. They allow you to openly express yourself without being ashamed of who you truly are.
Lightworkers know how to deal with their darkness. They don’t run from it, ignore it, or let it consume and take over their lives. They can allow themselves to feel negative emotions, without letting those emotions control them.
Lightworkers move forward with intention. They don’t know they answers ahead of time, or how to accomplish their goals. Instead, they set intentions and then wait for the answers to appear, and for everything to “magically” fall into place.
Image by Sasin Tipchai