Nurture your inner light is about recognizing that each of us have an inner light that can be nurtured. Julia Baird (2001) in your enthralling book Phosphorescence cited a study performed in Japan that found that the human body emits light, indetectable levels of light. When I was a child, I loved sitting outside at dark during the summer months because the fireflies or lightening bugs as we called them would emerge from the field in a magnificent glow. Baird associated increasing our capacity for awe and wonder as contributory to increasing our inner light:
“Being awestruck dwarfs us, humbles us, makes us aware we are part of a universe unfathomably larger than ourselves. . . .
Wonder is a similar sensation, and the two feelings are often entwined. Wonder makes us stop and ask questions about the world, while marveling over something we have not seen before, whether spectacular or mundane. ”
In my faith tradition, light has often been associated as an identifier where Jesus asserts I am the light, you have the light within you, shine your light. It’s a fascinating idea to claim one’s light and then figure out those practices that make our light shine brighter….
