Have you committed time to healing your life and growing beyond some past issue that has, thus far, limited your ability to feel whole and alive? If you are in a body, you probably answered yes to this question. Believe it or not, nearly everyone on the planet who is spiritually conscious is becoming more and more aware of a current “healing crisis.”
You may have already found yourself longing for the days when you were less conscious; the days when you were numb to the issues that are now closing in on you. Well, let your heart be lifted by knowing that there is a reason for those difficult times the ones that are recurring patterns in your life.
Dealing With Life’s Tests
The first thing to accept and affirm is that, despite the seeming weight of your difficulty, “this too shall pass.” Deep down at the core of your being is a perfect image of love, compassion, and peace. The second thing to understand is that each of us accepts a cross or anchor as the issue that keeps us bound here.
Of course, this cross is often a relationship with another person in our life. As we process through our chosen/given cross (issue), we find ourselves merging with our true Divine nature. This is the point that is referenced in A Course In Miracles wherein we are told that we will one day be grateful to those who taught us to go inside of ourselves and embark on the healing path. Further, it is only by gathering the faith and strength to make the commitment to heal your “stuff” that you will enter the “peace that surpasses understanding”-the God Consciousness.
It used to be thought that the greatest spiritual advancements were reserved for a few masters who, after long periods of detachment from the world, would eventually achieve a sense of God-Presence. Now we find that each of us is a potential master, whose enlightenment awaits our commitment to journey within, through the limiting beliefs and tragic memories that are tightly wrapped around our hearts.
If your past controls you (knowingly or unknowingly) in a way that does not feel joyous, then you are incapable of unconditional love. There comes a time, however, when “you have had enough.” You are tired of the grief that some past trauma has caused you and yet nothing you do makes it go away. So you just give in again.
Healing Through Forgiveness
However, there is another option! We can learn how to see “the cross we bare” as a focal point for healing through forgiveness only to release ourselves but everyone else on the planet with a similar issue. As it is done in one of us, it is done, to some degree, in all!
To accomplish this we need to accept that there is a purpose (usually beyond human awareness) for this issue to be before us. Further, we need to own up to the fact that on some level, we “signed on” for this assignment. Once we accept this, we can feel empowered once again, rather than remaining frozen in a stalemate and/or continuing on as a victim.
As we release being a victim, we can bid farewell to our victimizers. The funny thing is that for many of us, this is a frightening concept. After all, we have had those *!?#%*#?! in our lives for so long. You might find yourself afraid of what life would be like without them or the pain that they share with you. Take time to do a self-inventory on this, but be very clear and honest with yourself.
The greatest lesson you can learn, however, is that you do not have to put so much attention on the trauma or pain itself. Instead, you can practice focusing on your goal of love, which can take some discipline. Yet with this goal in mind, you find that you can drop your issues and the control they once had because of your stronger commitment towards peace. It is still wise to choose some practical tools/techniques to assist the healing process, but now you keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel.
The best way to know if healing has occurred does not come from tears, dialog, affirmations, rituals, counseling, or sedatives, but from your feelings and reactions. When you have honestly given the pain or trauma up to God, as well as following your healing path, you will find that the memory or people involved, no longer find buttons inside of you to push. That is not enough though, since we can become masters at suppressing and denying our responses.
The final sign of healing comes from an absolute sense of peace in the face of memories or pain. You might even be startled to find that you not only have little or no reaction to the old “stuff” but that you actually feel PEACEFUL despite it all. You will know you are there when the stuff comes up and it has as little effect on you as a light breeze to a well-rooted tree.
