The moniker Rainbow Warrior can conjure up images of an exalted

being who selflessly battles against the dark forces of the universe in order to safeguard and protect the human race.

They are placed on a lofty superhuman pedestal, exuding a radiant glow of holier than thou supremacy. Like with all superheroes, there is a belief that they are humanity’s only hope for salvation from the soul destroying clutches of the evil darkness. Their mission is to usher us into a new Golden Age of higher consciousness, peace, harmony, prosperity and tranquility. Unless you are one of the chosen few, you are destined to a victim’s fate, helplessly waiting to be rescued by someone more capable and braver than yourself. This idealistic image of the Rainbow Warrior has polluted people’s minds with a rhetoric that serves only to foster the illusion of either becoming the messiah who saves the world or the one who is so helplessly incompetent that you need saving. Ironically, this creates the separation, segregation and isolation that these warriors are meant to eradicate.

Yes, I believe it is true that a Rainbow Warrior can impact humanity on a large scale, ranging from elevating the collective consciousness to moving the collective towards living in harmony and balance with all life on the planet. With the awakening of each Rainbow Warrior, the movement towards this destiny strengthens and intensifies. The fallacy, however, lies in the belief that the warrior is uniquely different from the rest of humanity, possessing a higher consciousness and a higher calling to selflessly dedicate their life to rescue the rest of us from our lowly ignorance and pathetic inferiority. Phrases like “only the few are destined for such great work”; “they are fulfilling a prophecy with a higher calling”; “they are doing God’s work”; “they are more evolved than the rest of us”, all lend credence to this false belief. Quite honestly, I believe we are all Rainbow Warriors, we just don’t know it yet or don’t choose to admit it.

By definition a rainbow is the spectrum of all colours within the light, while a warrior is a person who fights in battles, being renowned for having courage and skill. Therefore it can be surmised that the Rainbow Warrior is someone who has the courage and skill to do battle in pursuit of the emergence of the whole spectrum of the light. These qualities exist in anyone who is willing to fight and struggle through their own pain and suffering as they change and grow. Every time you fight against the inner demons that haunt you from within your darkness you are donning the role of the warrior and choosing to let your inner light shine outward. In other words you become the Rainbow Warrior.

So what is it about the darkness that is so fearfully paralyzing and who are these horrid demons that live there? The dictionary defines darkness as a partial or total lack of light which houses wickedness, cruelty and evil. The darker your thoughts and beliefs about yourself the less shining and good you see in yourself. This is how you create the demons that live in your shadow which are essentially the parts of you that you consider to be wicked, evil, or cruel. In spite of the horrific evil acts that humans have inflicted on others throughout our history, I believe that humans are more naturally attracted to the light than the dark. I base this on the understanding that in every given moment, every human being is doing the best they can with what they have available. From this perspective hope and compassion arise, while the need to judge things as good or evil becomes unnecessary. Believing yourself to be wicked or evil are extreme perspectives of this but any belief that diminishes you and criticizes you for who you are in your naturalness are just as cripplingly debilitating. The child who is scolded for laughing too loudly because daddy is sleeping is not a bad child, nor is a person evil if they become fidgety and disruptive during a sermon in church because they are bored to tears. Being judged and shamed for your natural actions and behaviours creates pain and suffering, which only serves to make you judge yourself. You don’t believe it’s safe to be authentic or natural. This fear motivates you to numb the pain by hiding the unacceptable parts of yourself in the dark recesses of your shadow. The sad truth is that what you are really hiding away from yourself and the world is what makes you unique and sets you apart from any other human being that has ever lived or will ever live. This is your shining. The greatest fear you and all humans face is the fear of your shining. To keep this hidden denies the world from witnessing the gift of your greatness. Every human being has the right to shine. By courageously daring to make this happen in your own life, you open the space for others to free themselves from the fear that shackles them in their own dark imprisonment. This is what I believe it means to be a Rainbow Warrior.

Being a Shamanic teacher and facilitator has afforded me the privilege of being in the presence of thousands of such Rainbow Warriors and to respect the power of the human spirit to rise above adversity. To witness the bravery and courage it takes to face the fear of your own shadow and push past the pain, anguish and suffering in order to find more of your shining, moves me beyond words. Regardless of how horrific the story, circumstance or conditions, the human spirit cannot be diminished nor vanquished forever by the darkness. In fact, the darkness deserves to be celebrated, because without it there would be no adversary to the light and no opportunity or motivation to shine ever more brightly. To live, is to shine. This undeniable truth lies beneath everyone’s inherent desire for change and growth. To blame the darkness for your problems and challenges is a senseless waste of energy and counterproductive to discovering what you are truly capable of as you pursue your birth right to shine as a Rainbow Warrior.