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The Universe* wants us healed from emotional and spiritual pain. Healing is absolutely attainable and it requires for you to trust the healing power of the Universe and to look deep within.
You must be in a grounded space with your eyes closed to observe yourself with authentic vulnerability to tap into the emotional pain that your body is carrying. You may find that its inside your leg or your chest or at the back of your head, or anywhere else in your body. You can tell it’s emotional pain because it feels different on the inside than the rest of your body. It’s not a joint or muscle pain but an energetic “stuck place” that may feel heavy or clunky or sticky.
When you find it sit with it and see what emotion(s) it wants to share with you. There may be more than one that appears so see what comes up. This may be the hardest step for those who shy away from emotion, for fear it will swallow you up. It will not. Your body, in its love, only shares what you are capable of handling. That being said, you can always ask a close friend or your coach or therapist to be with you during this process.
You may not know what the emotion is that is showing up or you may be confused as to why that emotion is in that part of your body. It is not yours to solve. Just let the emotion be where it is and be in a space of curiosity as you sit and feel it. As you feel it, see what memories or visuals come to mind. Don’t try to resolve why they are coming up. Just observe them so that they can speak to you.
Whether you understand the emotions or the memories or visuals or not – and either is fine – know that they are there in your body because they were useful for your protection and health at some point in your past. It may be shame lodged in your heart that helped you know when to retreat into yourself as a form of protection. It may be grief hanging over your shoulders that helped you get through a difficult divorce (this one is mine). It may be fear in your throat that kept you safe when speaking would have put you in danger. It may be emotional attachment to past stories that helped you make sense of an unjust experience.
No matter what it was, it was there to help you and protect you. But it no longer serves you and who you are now. Spend time showering it with gratitude. Picture that gratitude – it may be light or beautiful soothing rain or peaceful music – whatever you picture that will make it known it is adored for how it has served you.
When you feel ready you can start to let it go. This begins with you giving it permission to leave and trusting that the Universe will help you let it go. You can call on an ancestor, or an angel, or a spiritual being of love whom you connect with, or your own self to help with this process. For one person she called on her inner strength, another it was a spirit from the next world, and in my case I asked for my dad and a spiritual mentor to assist me.
Ask them to join you and visualize them/you moving the emotion out of your body, feeling it energetically leave. In some cases it will leave all at once as you are sitting there and sometimes most of it will leave and the remainder will sail away in your sleep or during meditation. Don’t kick it out – let it leave with the assistant you have asked to help and let it take the time that it needs.
Once you have released it be sure to practice self-care in the following 24 hours, as you have undertaken a huge healing process. Take time to bathe that part of your body in spiritual light, loving energy or prayer. Be sure to drink lots of water, take a bath or shower to soothe your body, eat nourishing food, listen to music that brings you joy, journal, use uplifting essential oils, and make time to sleep more than normal. You need and deserve all this as you recover from this healing process.
Note in the following days how light you may feel or how another emotion may be bringing itself to your attention, now that your body knows it is listening. This tool is at your fingertips so feel free to tap into it each time you feel an emotion show up that feels blocked.
* I use the phrase the Universe/They/Them to speak of the unknowable divine essence who created and cares for us, but please feel free to replace this with God, Allah, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Great Spirit, Goddess or whatever resonates the most with you.
“When you breathe into the pain of your losses you detect the presence of a smoldering ember you thought had been snuffed out years ago. But there it is, fragrant and warm.”
Wild Mercy, Mirabai Starr.
“…emotions contain indispensable vitality that can be channeled toward self-knowledge, interpersonal awareness, and profound healing.”
The Language of Emotions, Karla McLaren
Try to follow the steps outlined in this piece today on one stuck emotion that you may have identified. As mentioned before, you could ask a friend or your coach or therapist to be with you while you do this.
You could also set up a session with me so that I can guide you through this process for the first time or as many times as you would like as you get comfortable with the process or to help clear out a particularly tough issue or stuck emotion. I would be honored to accompany you as you tap into this tool we’ve been given from the Universe.