I'm a huge fan of healing and release. As we peel away past layers of ourselves, hurts, limiting beliefs that no longer serve us, and anything else that needs to be cleared, we step more fully into the person we're here to be in this life.
As part of my TAT Acupressure certification, I get to work with a sweet soul from India as we give one another sessions. In our most recent session, we both showed up with a similar focus. She was focusing on feeling like she didn't have enough time and always feeling rushed. I was focused on feeling the pressure that comes with major expansion in my business, and the fears and worries of someone who has crashed and burned spectacularly in a past businesses.
The fears we carry from our past weigh us down, and often cause us to recreate the exact same situations we set out to avoid.
During our sessions we focus on silent conversation with whoever or whatever shows up... and there I was, facing my younger, less experienced self. The person who, while building a pretty great and successful business, also made some really poor choices and decisions financially, with clients, and just in life in general.
When my younger self appeared to me, a whole swell of love and compassion washed over me. I found myself saying to her that it was okay... more than okay. All of what she went through was so necessary and so needed, and that without her errors and poor choices, I wouldn't be the business owner I am today. I wouldn't have the business I have today, doing the work I do, completely fulfilled and in love with every aspect of it.
More importantly, I wouldn't be as fully aligned as I am today, in life, business and relationships.
Each and every misstep brought me closer to this space, and every mistake and failure has taught me so much. I've built a really solid business with an amazing team, serving so many beautiful and inspiring individuals around the world. I've learned how and where I need support, what works and what doesn't, who I really want to serve and support, and how to best deliver my work.
The mistakes are a huge part of my getting to this point.
I left my session feeling totally calm. That part of me that has been so afraid of repeating past mistakes finally feels at peace. Expressing compassion and appreciation to that older version of me... wow. Healing and release is one of my favorite things in the world. It allows you to grow more completely into the person you're here to be, and show up more fully in your life, relationships, and work.
Heal and Release What No Longer Serves You
1. Recognize the layers that are at play.
It took me some time to realize that much of the fear, worry, and stress I had in my business came so heavily from my past experiences. I've done a lot of work around faith and trust, and I've felt so clear that everything is really aligning for me right now in an amazing way... yet I felt a lot of fear. Fear that it was all going to come crashing down more spectacularly than I'd ever experienced before. Fear that I didn't have what it would take to continue growing, expanding, serving, creating, and showing up how I desire to.
You have to take pause and really dive into the heart of what's coming up for you. Sure, life may be hard and stressful right now, things may be off, but is the fear, worry, stress, or overwhelm truly coming from this moment? Or is it coming from a past hurt, failure, or period of your life? Are you projecting beliefs you cling to onto people and moments that don't warrant them? Dive in with curiosity (not judgement) and see what you uncover.
2. Heal the layers that need healing.
Sometimes in order to truly move forward, we need to forgive someone we never thought we could. Sometimes that person is ourselves, the one who made mistakes or hurt others. Sometimes we need to send light and love to older versions of ourselves, and show some compassion for what we were going through. Sometimes we need to rebuild trust, reconnect to our truth, and accept ourselves exactly as we are. This will look different depending on the layer that's coming up. My favorite forgiveness exercise is Hoʻoponopono, the ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Simply sit with the statement, "I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you." You can do this while tapping with EFT, in meditation, or while sitting in front of the mirror looking into your own eyes (a really uncomfortable and powerful practice). I'm also a huge fan of Acupressure for releasing attachments, resonance, and stuck emotions.
3. Release it.
Sometimes we become so attached to our stories, beliefs, and limited ways of operating in the world that it's terribly uncomfortable to be without them. But if you want to experience a life, relationship, or work you really love, you have to release. Take all the pages you journaled on through your healing and burn them. Write a letter or make a call and create closure. Use Acupressure to remove it for good. Bring yourself back to the present moment, fully healed and whole, and engage in what's in front of you right now.
When you've really worked through this process, you'll feel more peaceful, focused, aligned, and on purpose. There's no longer anything holding you back from doing and becoming anything you desire... except maybe the next layer.
4. Repeat as often as you need.
Here's the thing... there are so many layers. Layers upon layers upon layers will come up for you as you work to create more joy, purpose, fulfillment, and alignment in your life. It's natural! We pick up so much "stuff" from our childhood, as we grow up, and all the experiences that we have in life. All relationships leave energy and imprints, from family to friends to partners. All experiences leave imprints as well. With a world and people made up entirely of energy, it's impossible to avoid being effected by what's happening to and around you. Continue this process as often as you need, and remember that you're not broken if another layer surfaces, you're just human.
Take action now!
Where are you feeling stuck or held back due to past experiences, beliefs, or versions of yourself? Work through the steps above and start healing and releasing those layers.
Stephenie Zamora is the founder of www.stepheniezamora.com, a full-service, life-purpose development, design and branding boutique and author of Awesome Life Tips book. Through her Mastery program, she merges the worlds of personal development and branding to help men and women build passion-based lives and businesses they love. Click here to access her free Foundations for Unshakable Joy™ video training series and learn the unexpected trick to transforming your life with one single question!
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