Within each of us is the capacity to love beyond imagination. This is the intention behind enlightenment, to love no matter the circumstances. The opposite also exists, the ability to do great harm. We may doubt this, but do we lose control of our emotions and spew hatred?

We are taught that demons live outside of us, but do they? They may, but they also reside within us. Most of us have been taught to control our inner demons, keep them in check because we don’t need their presence in our life. Yet they are always there, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

If we don’t think we have demons lurking, look how quickly we lose self-control. How often do we snap when we are frustrated? Do we retaliate when someone doesn’t behave in a way that pleases us? This will tell us if we have control over our inner demons or not.

Oftentimes we go through life centered and emotionally balanced, then in the blink of an eye, we stumble and our demon is released. Once it’s out there in the world, it can be hard to capture.

Demons are not only limited to our outbursts of negativity. They can haunt us through the day. They whisper in our ear we are not good enough, not smart enough, not good looking, what were we thinking. I could go on, but you get the picture. Demons are the voices of our self-doubt and negative self-talk.

Our inner demons are a part of who we are. But they are also teachers, showing us where we need work. Crazy to think we can learn from such a powerful force of negativity, but we can.

The lessons we learn from our demons reveal to us the false beliefs we have used as part of our identity. Anytime we get angry, ask what are we to learn from our behavior. When we choose to judge, ask why we judge? Is it because we want to feel better about ourselves?

It does seem we learn more from difficult times than the good times. Our demons are very experienced teachers. They know just when to teach us a lesson. Although they would rather we allow them to control us emotionally, we are wise enough to see through their charade. When our demons arise in a situation, we have the ability to shut them down.

Our inner demons think they are the center of attraction, although our self-love is the true headliner. Our self-love will always overpower our demons. Yet first we have to push our demons aside to connect with this eternal source of unconditional love.

The funny thing about self-love, even though it is always there for us, we have to make room for it in our consciousness. Why? Because we may not realize our self-love is real. Self-love is the quiet warrior that keeps fighting for us, when we are deep in a battle with our inner demons.

Self-love will never shout or throw rocks to get our attention, we must silence our mental chatter. Only then will we begin to hear the voice of our authentic self, our self-love. When we are struggling emotionally, our self-love strengthens our resolve to keep moving forward.

When we feel the need to destroy someone, we are pleasing our demons. When we choose to lift others, we are guided by our self-love. The path to enlightenment is to overcome our allegiance to our inner demons and unite with our self-love. Only then can we move through life without the fear of our demons ruling over us.

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Can we learn to control our demons? Or do they control us? Let me know what you think, leave a comment. I always enjoy hearing from you.

It has been a busy time here in southern Arizona, I just published my book, “Abundance to Zen, Wisdom for a Fulfilling Life.” This book was fun to write and is unlike my other books. Each letter of the alphabet is a chapter. Within each chapter are mini chapters with titles beginning with the same letter as the main chapter.

Chapter “A” has Abundance, Accountability, and Authenticity, for example, all the way to “Z”. It may seem like a lot but each mini chapter is no longer that 800 words or two and a half pages.

My intention was to have short chapters that could be quickly read for a bit of inspiration or clarity. There are chapters on monsters, villains, warriors, and service. Click the link to read more. This link will take you to the Amazon page. An eBook version is also available.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735766917/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1

Thank you for your support, I am truly grateful to share my journey with you.

Peace and well-being,

Paul