Shadow of Inertia
inertia, n. – a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.
For the Gene Keys that I have covered thus far, I focus on the shadow and tip a toe into what it is or what it takes to move beyond it. That’s not entirely an accurate way to contemplate each Gene Key in its entirety as that can be a lot. Many people do not want to know what it will take to be enlightened beings. That just isn’t the goal for many people. In Gene Keys, there are 3 levels, so to speak: Shadow, Gift, and Siddhi. The Shadow is kind of like trying to operate life with an arm tied behind your back. It’s not bad. You can power through and get by, yet it is often a whole lot easier in the long run to address why you are working with an arm tied behind your back. The Gift level is what happens when you finally untie your arm from behind your back. You get to enjoy life in a different way; an easier way. That’s not to say life is easy. Life still has its challenges, yet now you’re working with both arms or both eyes open. The Siddhic Level is the path of enlightenment. It is the ultimate manifestation of each Gene Key, what it is like, and what it takes to get there.
For Gene Key 9, I won’t start at the enlightened or Siddhic level, but I do need to start at the Gift level. The Gift Level of the Shadow of Inertia is the Gift of Determination. At its most basic level, the Gift of Determination is not just living from the heart, but living from the heart with every single decision you make and every action you take in a day. From the most mundane including chores, getting dressed, cooking meals to the more serious decisions as well. Behind each tiny step, behind each tiny decision made from the heart is the energy of momentum.
“Every intentional act is a magical act.”
Life is meant to be lived from the heart and with a purpose. When you lose track of that purpose and you forget why you’re doing what you are doing, you get stuck in the Shadow of Inertia. The Shadow of Inertia keeps you moving in a circle experiencing the same thing over and over again packaged in a different look. Perhaps you have low energy. Perhaps you even have health problems. Or maybe you just feel deeply that you’re not doing what you are meant to be doing.
One of tricks to the Shadow of Inertia is getting caught in future-thinking and being bogged down by the details. When you spend your energy focusing only on the future and only on the details worrying or blaming, then you’re not looking where you need to. That’s not to say that it’s bad to know where you want to go or to be prepared, but if you’re always looking “out there,” then you’re not looking “right here.” Right now. The Present. Life is not lived at some point in the future when you accomplish “fill-in-the-blank.” Life is lived in the here and now.
I like what Richard Rudd says about Shadow of Inertia. He says that the “9th Shadow is our addiction to trivia – details and trappings extraneous and unnecessary to our lives. Unless it is either beautiful or practical, it can safely be classified as trivia.”
When I look back at my life and, especially, my job with the government, I realize that I was deeply in the Shadow of Inertia. The big thing with shadows and why I like talking about them is often we don’t realize that what we are doing or experiencing is shadow behavior. Most shadow behaviors are so commonplace and “normal” that we can easily forget or disregard that things can create limitations on our lives. More than that, we often believe that the limitations are all there is.
This upcoming Monday, the 18th of September, is the 3-year anniversary of when I put in my notice to leave my job. I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made (2nd only to me deciding to get my dog, Sam, but I digress). That said, it’s not daisies and rainbows when you decide to follow your heart. Think of life as a series of stone paths. When operating within the Shadow of Inertia, you end up on a stone path that goes in a circle. Sometimes that circle is a bit more circuitous that others, but you still end up back in the same place or circumstance or life experience. This can even happen if you choose to leave a job you hate, but you still aren’t following your heart. It turns into more of the same shit just in a different place. Or maybe this is something you experience with relationships. I heard recently that if you have a type, then you have a pattern and that pattern may be your circle path.
So, when you take a leap and follow your heart, your stone path turns into more of a straight line only you can really see where the path is going. You might have an idea where you might like it to go, but that doesn’t mean that is where you will end up. You may end up somewhere better than you can imagine, but the path is often hard to see. That leap can be huge, but it also counts if it’s small. Even just starting to live your day to day, while you take measured steps that lead you towards listening to your heart. If you’re lucky you can see the next couple stones in front of you. Much of the time you may only be able to see the stone you are on and you wait for the next stone to appear. It can suck and it can go slowly. Really slow. In the Chinese I Ching, the length of time for transformation is 3 years. The number of 3 years came up again when reading Women Who Run With Wolves. Regardless of some esoteric number, it does takes time to change.
The Repressive Nature of the Shadow of Inertia is Reluctant. “It manifests as our seeming inability to do anything about our situation despite the fact that we understand it and even see our way out.” Reluctance is being afraid of following your heart and stepping out of your comfort zone. The only way out is through. Through your fears with the force of your will power. Either you choose to break through, or you continue in a state of unchanging.
The Reactive Nature is Diverted. When someone with the Shadow of Inertia is Diverted, they are restless and fidgety. They constant seek to divert their attention, stay busy, seek stimulus as a way to distract themselves from their lack of fulfillment. When a person can’t ever relax or rest, it eventually takes a toll on their health and even their finances.
How to work with this shadow:
Take my Honoring Your No course. When you get clear on what the Nos are in your life, it can help make clear what is a yes. The course asks you to get quiet with yourself and feel into your body’s wisdom, your heart’s wisdom for what your yes and no truly feel like when you live from your heart. Once you get clear on your yes and no, you start making choices based on how that yes and no feels, even down to the most mundane of activities in your life. If you aren’t sure what your heart wants or what you would feel more fulfillment, start small. Big life changes sometimes need more time to sort out. The longer you’ve been disconnected from your heart, the more time it might take to unfuck the inertia and find your determination.
Consider switching up your routine. Do things in a different order or try something new instead of the same old, same old. Part of Inertia is remaining unchanged, so sometimes it helps to do things differently to shake things up a bit.
Maybe you already know where your heart lies, but you’re scared to move forward with that. Scared to move out of your comfort zone. In this case, explore what is keeping you from taking the leap.
Work with a therapist or a coach. I know. I’m probably going to include this on all of them. Get used to it. We as human beings are not meant to do things alone. We don’t always have to go at it by ourselves. It helps to have accountability or to have someone call you out on your shit. If not a coach or therapist, then a friend you trust and feel like you can be yourself around.
I want to add in a little something else on choosing to follow your heart. At some point, you will realize that you will likely also need to change your definition of success. Often, we look to others for what success looks like and the path we take. While this may fall under a different shadow, it does also work with the Shadow of Inertia if you are looking to someone else to decide what steps to take or how to be successful. Those definitions now need to be defined by you and by what your yes and no feels like
Not sure how to work with this? Check out this Blog Post here to see how to work with the Shadows. Also, feel free to check out my courses Honoring Your No and Owning My Sh*t here to help work on that self-awareness piece.
Disclaimer: What I find unhelpful with the Gene Keys text is that it is more spiritual than realistic, especially when these states are resulting in mental illness. Maybe all mental illness has a root in shadow, but that isn’t for me to say and it is super invalidating for people who experience these states. So as you read through this, or any of these shadows, know that your own experience is valid regardless of impersonal spiritual texts. This goes for Gene Keys, Human Design, and any other spiritual text even from world religions. If these texts invalidate a person’s humanity, then it’s the text that is the problem and not the person. Always use personal discernment. More of my two-cents on spiritual and religious dogma, modalities, and texts here.
