In my last blog, I shared the importance of looking back on this nine year cycle that just ended and uncovering any remaining wounds and burdens about your life’s work. You do this so you can step into the next evolution of your life’s work, free of patterns you’ve outgrown. In this way, you don’t need to attract those experiences again because you have already integrated the wisdom that these challenges brought (see Expanding Your Soul Medicine by Turning Challenges Into Wisdom).
Below is a simple and powerful process* that I created that can help you do this. Remember, simple does not necessarily mean easy. This isn’t a complicated process, but it will, most likely, bring up some uncomfortable feelings. This doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you. The uncomfortable feelings are merely indicators that there is pain that needs healing and integration before it can transform into wisdom.
5 steps to turn challenges into wisdom- (Detailed description of each step follows below)
1. Align with your Soul and invite it to be part of this process.
2. Take an inner journey back in time and bring to mind any challenges connected to work, your clients, your students, your employer or employees. Write, and if possible, speak them out loud.
3. Take an inner journey back in time and bring to mind any celebrations/blessings/wonderful memories connected to work, your clients, your students, your employer or employees. Write, and if possible, speak them out loud.
4. Infuse this process with the energy of unconditional love. This is enhanced if you use Reiki (or other energy healing modalities)
5.Take this process even further by adding a ritual or ceremony at the end.
Step 1-Align with your Soul and invite it to be part of this process
In a way, this step might seem unnecessary because your Soul is always with you. However, your awareness of your Soul and your ability to receive its healing and love isn’t constant. It is necessary to explicitly align with your Soul so you can become more conscious of your Soul’s love. Doing this will elevate this process, so it’s not just a reflective exercise, but a spiritual process for transformation.
My favorite way to do this is to bring the palms of my hands over my heart center (at the center of my chest). Then mentally (or out loud) ask your Soul to be with you. Let it know that you are open to receiving its guidance, love and healing. For this particular process you might want to say something like,
Beautiful Soul,
I am here seeking to release any burdens, wounds, and patterns that interfere with my ability to evolve my Soul’s medicine and attract the work I am meant to be doing. Surround me with your love so I am not overwhelmed as I take this journey. Also, remind me of the blessings, and wonderful learning that I experienced during this time. Guide me as I think back on the nine year cycle that just ended. Bring to my mind the memories that I am meant to revisit.
With love and trust, ________
Step 2: Take an inner journey back in time and bring to mind any challenges connected to work, your clients, your students, your employer or employees.
Now that you asked for your Soul’s help take some time to reflect on the past 9 years. Think about any challenges connected to work, your clients, your students, your employer or employees. If you didn’t work for pay then think about any volunteer work you did, or your role as a parent, or caring for others. Don’t strain yourself to remember everything. Trust that whatever your Soul wants you think about will come up naturally.
Although it can be tempting to just do this process mentally it is important that you write these down. Additionally, if you have a trusted friend you can share them verbally. Doing this might bring up some uncomfortable or even painful feelings. Be gentle with yourself but keep going. Of course, if it feels like too much stop, take care of yourself and come back to the exercise when you feel ready.
Step 3: Take an inner journey back in time and bring to mind any celebrations/blessings/wonderful memories connected to work, your clients, your students, your employer or employees. Write and if possible speak them out loud.
Now think about the past 9 years and any celebrations/blessings/wonderful memories connected to work, your clients, your students, your employer or employees. If you didn’t work then just think about any volunteer work you did, or your job as a parent, or care giver. Don’t strain yourself to remember everything. Trust that whatever your Soul wants you to think about will come up naturally.
Now write these down. Additionally, if you have a trusted friend you can share them verbally. You might notice that some of the things you things you think about here are also in your challenges list. For example, on my list of challenges was leaving my career as a teacher and starting a whole new career. There was a lot of stress and fear connected to this. At the same time in the celebrations side I wrote this as well because I had a lot of joy connected to my new career and seeing my business grow and expand. So it’s ok as you do step 2 and 3 if you notice that some things are both on the challenges list and the celebrations list.
Step 4: Infuse the energy of unconditional love. This is enhanced if you use Reiki (or other energy healing modalities).
This step is very important. This is where divine alchemy actually happens. Alchemy is deep transformation. In this case you’re transforming the wounds, the old patterns into wisdom and compassion–into your Soul’s medicine. Go back to your list of challenges and notice which ones, if any, still feel painful and put a check next to them. Those things that you checked off are parts of you that still need healing. That still need love before they can fully turn into wisdom. Take a moment to notice if you can identify a place in your body where you feel that pain and, if so, write down where you feel it.
For example, when I looked at my list of challenges many of them did not feel painful. Again, using the example of leaving my teaching career, when I looked at that on my list I didn’t feel pain. I felt gratitude that I had followed my Soul and made that decision. However, when I looked at my list and saw the challenge I faced with my daughter’s unexpected illness I could still sense feelings of fear and panic about this issue so I put a check next to that. I could identify that feeling of panic in my stomach as a tightness, like a knot.
After you have identified which parts of you still need healing ask your Soul to send these parts love. You can say a prayer like this,
Beautiful Soul I have found parts of me that still need healing and love. I know that with your love these wounds can transform into wisdom and compassion. I am an open channel for your love to flow through me to these parts now. Thank you.
Now bring you hands either to a specific area in your body where you feel these old wounds or any part of your body that feels right. Let your Soul’s healing light and love flow through your hands into these wounds. Feel free to use your imagination to visualize light infusing these wounds. You might feel something (heat, tingling) but it’s not necessary. If you know Reiki do self-reiki on these wounds/burdens/beliefs. Reiki is at its essence unconditional love so this will bring this healing to a deeper level. Do this for as long as feels right. You can do it every day for a period of time or a few times a week as your guided.
In my experience, the healing happens gradually and steadily. At first you might notice that you feel more space between you and the pain your working on. Then you might start having some insights about the experience that you hadn’t been able to have before. At some point, you’ll start to feel an embodied wisdom, that can now become part of your Soul’s medicine. This is an organic process. Trust that it will unfold perfectly for you.
Step 5: Incorporate a ritual or ceremony that symbolizes the release of these old burdens/wounds/patterns.
A ritual or ceremony is a way to symbolize externally the healing that is happening internally. It is also a way to ground the healing so it really brings about positive changes in your life. Below are a two simple examples of rituals you can do. However, the most important thing is for you to do what feels right for you. Let your Soul guide you.
Simple rituals:
Go somewhere beautiful in nature and find some rocks that symbolizing these burdens you are releasing. Say a prayer as you release these rocks into the earth or in a body if water.
Buy a large candle and engrave with a sharp point on the sides of the candle words that represent the burdens you are releasing. For example, “shame”, “guilt”, “anger”, “poor boundaries” and so on. Every day as you burn the candle do a short meditation giving thanks for the learning experiences and affirming that you are ready to release those burdens. As the candle burns and gets smaller you’ll watch the burdens burn away.
As I said before these are just two examples but there are many more rituals you can do. Be creative, have fun and keep it simple.
Sending you blessings,
Lisa
*I will be leading a version of this process in my upcoming workshop at Insight Awareness next Thursday, March 30th. If you are guided to be there I’d love for you to participate. Click here for the details.