Stop the Pain: 7 Steps to Heal from the Past - Rachel Devine
Painful experiences from childhood or past trauma can cast a shadow over your present-day happiness. It can haunt you for decades. There could be blocks that stop you from moving forward in life due to negative voices in your head that instill fear of repeating the same mistake or falling into the same pitfall. Any past trauma or pain usually gets embedded in the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is very powerful since it directs your life 95% of the time. It makes sense to try to clear some clutter from your mind in order to move forward in life with ease. Through intentional work, you can process old wounds, shift limiting beliefs, and clear subconscious blocks to transform your outlook. The goal is to reach a point of living a happy life.
Let’s look at seven steps to heal from the past.
Awareness
The first step to healing from the past is to have awareness of what might be blocking you from moving forward in life with ease and happiness. I suggest you sit in quiet contemplation and think about what is happening in your life and what transpired in the past that may be causing conflict. Listen to your thoughts. If you continuously have a negative dialogue playing out in your head, that is a clear sign that the past is haunting your present-day peace. Listen to those voices and allow them to come to the surface.
Tell your story
When you speak your story out loud, it loses its power over you. We are only as sick as our secrets. Bringing any past trauma to the light of day helps dissolve its hold on you. You can tell a therapist or a friend. 12-step programs are so valuable and give one the space to speak about past experiences in order to heal from them. There are 12-step programs for most issues, like alcoholism, emotional disorders, smoking, gambling, and the list is endless.
Let go of blame
No matter what happened in the past, blame is not going to help. In fact, a really good practice is forgiveness. When you hold onto past hurts and don’t forgive, the energy gets lodged in the body and causes stress-related illnesses. The venom seeps into your veins with vengeance. The attitude is forgiveness. Forgiveness clears the venom and gets rid of the resentments. Don’t allow someone from the past to continue to victimize you in the present by not forgiving them. Forgive them and let go of the pain. Forgiveness equals happiness.
Release past emotions
Trauma is stored physically and energetically in the body. It is important to release the negative energy that gets lodged in different areas of the body from past trauma. Try therapeutic techniques like EMDR, tapping, massage, or yoga to discharge stuck emotions and reintegrate them. Brain spotting is an amazing way to unlock stored trauma from the subcortical brain, and it clears the area of the trauma.
Reclaim your power
Ultimately, healing requires realizing you are not broken or defined by the past. You have the power to clear inner blocks, rewrite your story, and manifest a joyful life aligned with your highest self. Glancing at the past to heal is a positive step. Lamenting over past hurts is unproductive. Don’t allow the past to define who you are today. We all make mistakes, and life happens in a way that is sometimes unexplainable. Define yourself as a child of God who is worthy of all that life has to offer you. Remember, the power is within you.
Clear the channels
A good way to clear the subconscious mind of trauma is through manifesting techniques. Before you fall asleep at night, pick one image of what you would like to clear from your mind. If you want to clear fear, you would pick an image of love and courage. Love is a very powerful emotion that offsets negative ones. Or if you want to clear past emotional wounds, pick an image of you feeling emotionally happy. Or if you want to clear past physical abuse wounds, imagine a life with peace and calm. We can overshadow the negative in the subconscious mind with powerful positive emotions. Once you pick the image, you fall asleep with the feelings that invoke positivity. Your subconscious mind will resonate with the positive feelings for 8 hours, and this will be one layer of healing in that area. You have the power to transform your life with much healing.
Affirmations
Positive affirmations are another way to change past negativity into positivity. Just write out a few positive affirmations on a sticky note and post them where you can see them. Say them out loud, often. The positive energy will overshadow past negative feelings. Continue to do this every day. Some wonderful affirmations are, I am worthy, I am loved, I am forgiven, I am a child of God, etc.
As spiritual teacher Matt Kahn advised, “Whatever you have gone through, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And it is you.” You must take the first step toward your goal. Then healing will unfold one breath, one moment at a time, through the courage to face and release the past.
One of my favorite authors and healer, Louise Hay said, “You have the power to heal your life, and you need to know that. We think so often that we are helpless, but we're not. We always have the power of our minds. Claim and consciously use your power."
With perseverance and the light of hope, old pain will lose its grip on you. Underneath the shadows of your past, there is a wonderful and amazing person waiting to emerge. Like a caterpillar experiences transformation into a beautiful butterfly, you can also transform your life into one of beauty and strength. And when you do, you will discover who you were always meant to be. Your renewed path ahead awaits.
Rachel Devine is the author of The Third Road, a book that gently guides one to the power within and their purpose in life, and Lessons from the Needle in a Haystack, a spiritual book on dating and relationships. Both books are on Amazon.
Devine Intervention - The Healing Center website.
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