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Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you." – Matthew 7:7
I am captivated by the promise of this verse. It resonates as a universal principle, reflected in frameworks like the Law of Attraction—a call to engage with life actively, courageously, and expectantly. Yet, I find myself wrestling with its reality.
How many times have I asked for something and not received it? How often have I sought but not found? There are doors I have knocked on, only to remain shut. Sometimes it even feels as though I receive the opposite of what I’ve asked for.
This frustration has drawn me deeper into the mystery of asking. Perhaps my understanding is incomplete. As a seeker of wisdom, I decided to explore this concept further, starting with the word "ask."
Its Old English root, āscian, surprised me. It translates to “one without shadow.” This feels far removed from our modern use of the word, yet it holds a subtlety that might close the gap between asking and receiving.
Metaphorically, the shadow represents the parts of ourselves we ignore—our ego, fears, and illusions of separateness. It’s the voice that says we are disconnected from divine consciousness and the greater whole. To ask "without shadow" is to move beyond the ego's distortions and approach life from the heart, the place where intuition, wisdom, and divinity converge.
Carl Jung captures this beautifully: “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” Asking without shadow doesn’t mean denying the ego or its desires but rather acknowledging it, integrating it, and allowing the heart to lead.
This insight has shifted my perspective. Perhaps asking and receiving are happening all the time, but my unacknowledged shadow distorts my asking and deflects my receiving. It’s possible that what I am receiving reflects the distortions of my shadow rather than the true desires of my heart. Or perhaps I fail to recognise what I’m receiving because it aligns with my heart’s deeper desires—desires that I have yet to fully understand or acknowledge.
I see this most clearly in my financial struggles. Instead of building steady financial security, I’ve lived through cycles of boom and bust. My heart desires to master money, wielding it wisely to serve my purpose and contribute to a more beautiful world. Yet my shadow whispers that I am not good enough, that I need to achieve more before I am worthy of stability.
Through this lens, I realise I have been receiving exactly what I’ve been asking for: opportunities to grow, learn, and refine my relationship with wealth. My reality reflects my shadow-driven need to "prove myself" instead of my heart’s call for aligned stewardship.
This understanding has led me to redefine asking—not as a demand, but as an act of alignment. It involves acknowledging my shadow, connecting with my heart, and recognising the gifts already present. To embody this, I created a simple acronym:
Acknowledge: Recognise the shadow—ego, fears, and illusions driving surface-level desires.
Sense: Tune into the fullness of what I truly want, beyond the distortions of the ego.
Know: Trust that what I seek is already here, waiting to be embraced on the other side of my shadow.
To ask without shadow is not easy; it’s a skill to be honed. But with this new awareness, I feel less anxious and more aligned. Life isn’t a waiting game—it’s an invitation to engage, align, and receive, one heartfelt moment at a time.
What is your experience of asking and receiving? If you feel your requests go unanswered, could it help to consider that invisible forces—perhaps your shadow—might be at play, distorting the process?
A further contemplation: An embodiment of 'ask'. Ask, the name given to the first man in the creation story in Norse mythology. Ask was made from an Ash Tree, Embla (the first female) from and Elm; breathed to live by the god Odin ( only one of his many names- this one meaning breath or spirit). All the gods and goddesses fully had their shadow side except for Baldur, he alone was light.