Y
our sparkle is your inner glow, which arises naturally from being enthusiastic about life. Think of a happy child, laughing and being him- or herself. That child sparkles, and so do you
when you regain your inner glow.
The sparkle never goes away, but it can become dulled as the child’s focus becomes more outwardly directed. As pressure builds to get good grades, to win approval, to compete for attention, and to fit in, the child’s attention is less upon How do I feel?
and more upon How can I gain external rewards?
This is especially true if the child has experienced life trauma or has secondary traumatic stress from his or her parents’ traumas.
As adults, we disconnect from awareness of our inner feedback that signals: Warning—you are tired and stressed, and need to take a break!
We override these inner messages and keep pushing ourselves past tiredness, fears, and stress. That’s when the stress hormones go into overdrive, affecting our weight, appetite, health, and personality.
The “Go Faster, Compete, Win at All Costs!” world belongs to yang
energy, which is masculine. Yin energy is the feminine. Both are equally important for radiantly sparkling energy. The key is to understand the dark and the bright sides of yang and yin energy.
Every energy is part of an axis with opposites on either end. For example, “hungry” and “full” are the two poles of a continuum called appetite.
“Hot” and “cold” are the ends of the temperature
pole, and so on.
With masculine yang and feminine yin energies, the ends of the continuum are “bright” yang and “dark” yang, and “bright” yin and “dark” yin. “Bright” refers to the qualities that are generally considered positive, and “dark” the characteristics that are usually thought of as negative. “Bright” is life-affirming, and “dark” is troubled.
More Light Equals More Sparkle
Your inner sparkle is pure Divine light, which you were born with. To keep your sparkle shining brightly—and your yin and yang qualities “bright” and life-affirming—it’s essential to immerse yourself in light energy.
That means avoiding people or situations that are primarily filled with dark yang or yin behaviors. (We’ll delve further into relationships in Part III of this book.)
In the following chapters, let’s discuss lifestyle methods to increase the amount of light in your life.
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Bright Yang (Masculine) Qualities
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Dark Yang (Masculine) Energy Aspects
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Bright Yin (Feminine) Qualities
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Dark Yin (Feminine) Energy Aspects
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Motivated
Enthusiastic
Helpful
Optimistic
Active
Happy
Heroic
Successful
Inspiring
Honest
Of high morals
Trustworthy
Respected as a leader
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Competitive
Prone to lack mentality (believing there is not enough for everyone)
Chronically angry
Quick-tempered
Addicted
Bossy
Rude
Pessimistic
Thoughtless
Restless
Exploitative
Violent
Sharp
Blunt
Blaming
Power-mongering
Jaded
Deceitful
Punishing
Sarcastic
Controlling
Obsessed with acquiring
Critical
Harsh
Dishonest
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Nurturing
Sweet
Compassionate
Understanding
Joyful
Forgiving
Attentive
Gentle
Receptive
Grateful
Soft
Creative
Artistic
Loving
Peaceful
Generous
Patient
Flexible
Endowed with healing ability
Relationship-oriented
Organized
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Jealous
Narcissistic
Vain
Insincere
Self-absorbed
Possessive
Cold
Bitter
Uncaring
Superficial
Guilt-ridden
Entitled
Nosy
Self-conscious
Nervous
Sour
Anxious
Shallow
Insecure
Passive or passive-aggressive
Gossipy
Manipulative
Secretive
Perfectionistic
Isolated
Irritable
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