Sometimes it takes minutes, sometimes it takes years. Nonetheless, we all will make connections along the way. Sometimes those connections are not conscious for us until years later. They say that hindsight is 20/20. That is often so true. In thinking back to moments in our lives, it is easier to see what was actually going on then from the present perspective. But how many of us hold ourselves hostage to who we were in our past? The answer there is a LOT. This is where we have to institute compassion for the self even more diligently than we otherwise would.
Each part of our past holds with it an aspect of ourselves that was completely understandable, considering everything that we were going through at that time. Yes, we may have learned better, grown from there, done better than we previously did. But we don’t have to criticize ourselves or condemn ourselves for who we were back then.
Instead it would be more helpful if we were to love ourselves for the struggles we were going through back then. We can also express how proud we are of our old selves for having the courage to go through what we were experiencing and coming out on the other end in a way that has more grace. But how do we do that?
Well, first off we make the connections. We look back from a higher perspective and see all the contributing factors in our lives. This is not making excuses for behaviors we had. It is understanding the foundations from which we were making decisions for ourselves. And as we understand this, the connections begin to really show themselves to us. This is also not about blaming others for our decisions or our actions. It is simply making the connections. Everyone was doing the best that they could do at the time. We can now move on from there and allow ourselves to see how we managed to rise up from there.
As we do this, we are actually collecting parts of ourselves that were trapped there in the past. These are soul parts that got anchored into a space and time out of which the rest of us had the benefit of growing. So as we collect these parts, in their pure, healed states, we are actually performing a form of soul retrieval. We are bringing our soul parts home through time and space to the temple of our physical body in the present moment.
As we do this, those soul parts find their rightful place within us. And then they begin to heal and grow even further, becoming contributing members of our soul selves. They learn, heal, grow and begin to do the job that they were always meant to do within us so that we can further function as grown adults. We embrace them with open, loving arms and surround them with love, compassion and understanding. This heals us, but it also has a ripple effect and heals others around us, back and forth through time and space.
So how do we do this? It can actually be quite easy. Sit quietly, breathe and center yourself. Then focus on that past self that you once were. Allow yourself to feel the connection to this part. Then gently release all the toxic and unhealthy stuff that was connected to that past self. Sometimes we need to physically do this. So place your hands in a prayer position in front of the centre of your chest, your heart chakra. State, “I now willingly release all the toxic aspects of this part of me and this part of my life.” Then pull that energy out of the heart chakra and send it away. This may take a few times to feel complete. But once it does feel complete, then open your arms and state, “I now embrace the part of myself that has been trapped in the past. I welcome you, through the Light, in your pure, healed state, that we may once again become one with one another. I call on you now to enter the temple of my physical body, and to take your rightful place within this temple.” Then move your arms as if you are physically gathering/collecting them into you. No need to worry about where they have to enter your body. Just bring them in. They will find their place on their own. Then relax and breathe them into contentment. It is done.
We often make things like this completely complicated but we can keep it as simple and easy as possible. And doing so will make it much more powerful than any convoluted proceedure. Try it. You will see. It will work and it will feel so much better. As we go into the shadow aspect of our seasons, Autumn and Winder, it is important to have simple things that we can do to accomplish our shadow work, which is all about self-healing. So this time of year is perfect for this exercise. You can do it once, or you can do it a number of times. That is completely up to you. You’ve got this.