by Hilary Bowring, Contributing Editor
We all hope for a good life and generally our parents (or care giver) tried to help us to succeed. However in reality life’s turbulences can be terrible and feel like a shock to our systems. Especially now in this time of tremendous upheaval, there are feelings of fear, overwhelm and powerlessness. Things that once made sense no longer do. The future appears bleak to many and hard to keep depression from the door.
The idea of Soul journeys can help us see things differently; soul journeys are about the inner landscape, the inner journey behind the outer journey. They chart our inner life, potentially leading to living here as our divine selves able to hold a peaceful inner state no matter what life serves.
They help us to understand that there is another point to life dramas and difficulties, to see life is an opportunity for spiritual learning and expansion, leading to realizing we are all part of One Source, One Consciousness.
The concept is that we have made agreements as souls before this lifetime to experience specific situations that would bring spiritual growth. We agreed as a group of souls to play different roles in life for the potential expansion of all of us. Like actors in a play of Consciousness, some play ‘goodies’ some play ‘baddies’: The Rogue, the Ring master, the Saint, the Narcissist, the Power maniac, the Doormat and so forth. The disguises are many and the plot can be terrifying…some are x-rated! Through the theatre of experience we can potentially realize our true nature as divine. We are the light.
It is said at this particular point in history many of us are shedding feelings of ‘less than’ into realizing our power for good together and able to shape a new kinder way of living together. The current melt down can be full of such a possibility if we stay calm.
Not everyone makes it as some experiences are too challenging for souls who may have taken on too much. My husband feels like such a soul to me. A brilliant creative man but the soul journey of Addiction can be too rugged and demoralizing and hopeless. His premature death was an accident but one wonders how much more suffering he could have withstood.
Life challenges and problems can often trigger an awakening to our soul journey which brings forth new meaning about what is happening. Prior to that awakening, our subconscious rules our life and creates situations stemming from old patterns and beliefs that are repetitious, like old tapes running over and over. Sometimes we wonder ‘why do bad things happen to good people’, and that very contemplation can lead somewhere new. Then one day something pierces the veil of illusion that life is unfair and subtle good things coming out of hardship become visible. We can see the truth that it wasn’t stuff going on outside that created problems it was stuff going on inside us looking for transformation.
Until this happens the soul’s journey can be like groundhog-day and literally repeat and repeat with different actors playing the same leading roles. One way of explaining this repetition is that we have karma from other lifetimes to work through. In past lives we created many different experiences to try to penetrate the illusion of being separate and alone in very particular ways that became recurrent karmic patterns governing lifetime after lifetime, soul journey after soul journey. E.g. My big pattern was Abandonment and Grief (Premature deaths of Dad and husband). My husband’s was Addiction. For others, big patterns are Abuse, Persecution, Betrayal, Suicide, Martyrdom, even Murder.
Soul journeys provide a new way of looking at things, they help us to become less judgmental, as we can appreciate that the perpetrators of harm are still souls contributing to raising Consciousness. A further twist is that we have explored many facets around these themes and may have been the Abuser in another lifetime, or the policeman or the judge or social worker in others. Our souls are trying to build awareness and deep compassion for all aspects of being Human. Often through great adversity we can become very able to help others through a similar experience.
There are other themes that run alongside the mega themes to further obscure our divinity: Victimhood, People pleasing, Caring what other people think, Co-dependency, Relentless doer ship, Narcissism. All of these conditions can be gateways to realizing our divine nature. Unfortunately the gateways are not easy to get through as it’s very hard to step outside the emotions of fear, hurt, anger and shame that go with these experiences. Every small step we can take to ‘witness’ what is going on helps to quell the emotions and we start to see the bigger picture. Earlier in my life Alanon was a big help for me to understand the only thing I can change is myself. And now I understand that when we change we positively affect others as we are part of One consciousness.
Developing an awareness of all these patterns, and how they govern our lives, raises us to a new level of consciousness where we can make changes and new choices, and get on the path to freedom. Without this awareness, unexpressed emotions arising from these very disturbing dark periods in life, breaches of trust in the benevolence hoped for, create trauma in the body. Trauma can display as panic attacks or illnesses of many kinds. So it’s important to come to terms with our inner tendencies and release their grip.
Harmonizing /Clearing the Karmic themes, the big limiting patterns
Starts with a perceptual shift to seeing a larger soul scheme underlying life which stops the blame and shame cycle. Embracing the soul journey model includes recognition that the people who hurt us or suppressed us had made an agreement to play such a role to potentially trigger greater advancement. Once we absorb this new perception we are no longer charged by the theme and become free to express our life with enthusiasm. There are layers to all the big karmic themes and once we have moved on there can still be an ‘echo effect’ in the shape of a lesser version to be cleared….or several echo effects!
Suggestions:
- When I get triggered by a person or situation I contemplate what is being drawn to my attention from my subconscious? What limiting pattern in me is behind this reaction? Is this situation similar to something I’ve encountered before? There were different people but similar challenges…..When I have clarity I can discharge my subconscious simply by understanding, as awareness itself clears the karma. Or I can take the high ground and do the opposite to neutralize old patterns. E.g. Speaking up for myself to the person who was being suppressive.
- Clearing the old limitations with therapy — Society has evolved in major ways to acknowledge these wounds and more treatments are available, both allopathic and alternatives like hypnotherapy and there are new fast methods like sound healing, quantum energy healing. Etc. We usually have to repeat the healings as layers take time to clear. Patience is a virtue!
- Look at people in the eyes, even when in is danger. This connects with their soul and can take them out of their trance. Eye contact can get us back to our soul selves.
Practices
I use Daily self Sounding and Toning as a continuous healing practice, dissolving interferences in my energy field. The human voice holds a powerful healing vibration. I chant OM, Hum, Ooo (the sound of love) 3 times each. While focussing on any discomfort in my body with an intention for healing.
Central Channel Breathing, to clear energetic knots. There is a distinct practice developed by Dr. Sue Morter an amazing luminary in the energy healing field with a background in chiropractic. Breathing up and down the central channel in our subtle body, starting with a connection with the divine energy above at our crown, breathe in and then out into the earth below our feet. Breathing up and down while giving attention to tightness; squeezing and breathing through to clear the energetic knot. Here’s a link:
- Affirmations are a good way to release the energy from getting stuck in a story of shame and blame. An old one from Louise Hay ‘I release all need for anger or resentment or blame I truly forgive all those who need forgiving as I forgive myself.”
- Forgiveness Meditation. I am a believer in the power of meditation to subtly break through our karma. And I’ve recorded several on YouTube that may be helpful. You may want to try this meditation forgiving those who hurt you. Giving the word ‘forgiveness’ the meaning ‘for giving of love and understanding.’
- Forgiveness Meditation
* Book Recommendation: Journey of souls by Michael Newton.