As this shift on Earth is proceeding, many people are faced with traumatic experiences. Some are caught in the middle of natural or man-made disasters, some lose family members or loved ones, some experience increased violence and abuse within the family unit or workplace, some are fighting for change in the streets and are brutalized by opposing forces… The intensity of these times is unprecedented and will as yet increase. We must be able to deal with what has happened, heal from it, and find our strength again to be able to continue to face the reality of our times, and to be able assist others as they are in need of our support.
When we experience a traumatic event, the cerebral mind usually takes over, shutting down our emotions to protect us. Depending on the intensity of the rupture you have just been through, you may still be in a survival mode, and cut off from your intuition and heart. Your breathing may still be shallow, your body contracted, and your stomach in a knot. Fear may cloud your thinking, or you may be very rational and hypervigilant. You may be controlled in your actions and thinking, even able to joke and laugh, but with no depth or connection to yourself, and lacking authenticity. You may emotionally and mentally still be in a panic mode, able to present a calm outside, while feeling bombed out on the inside. If you are still in danger, you must take care of getting to safety first. All else can wait and will follow.
Once you are no longer in danger, and in a safe space, it is time to start dealing with what has happened to you in the most gently way possible, and to start processing the experience. Seek the support of the people who love you, and let them help you. Finding your voice and telling your story helps so much in processing and releasing emotions and pent up energy. You may be able to find a therapist or spiritual counselor who can listen. I recommend getting a journal and writing down what has happened to you and how it makes you feel. Allow yourself to cry and feel your pain, fear and anger, and the feelings of betrayal, sadness and loss. You may find yourself going over the traumatic event in your mind repeatedly, trying to make sense of it.
Allow yourself to feel broken. Allow the hopelessness and the abyss of your pain to be there for a while. Allow the overwhelming emptiness and loss of self to be felt. Cry hard and release as much as you can at a given time. Allow the natural flow of the grieving process. Make sure that you eat well, and get enough sleep. Your mental, emotional, physical and physiological systems are incredibly strained. You may have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), which can include severe anxiety, nightmares, involuntary flashbacks, depression, and physical reactions to associated sounds, smells, or anything that reminds you of the event. Be gentle. Healing is a process, not an event. Nurture yourself as much as you can. Be compassionate toward yourself for what you are going through. Release any guilt and shame that you have placed upon yourself. You did the best you could within a complicated situation. Forgive your vulnerability and the fallibility of your human side. If you need to clean up things with others involved, do so as you can. Set aside any “should have”, “could have” inner dialogue and focus on self-care.
Know that how you feel right now is temporary, and that you will get through this. You are much more resilient than you think. Any emotional damage can be healed if you dedicate to the healing process, and your body possesses incredible self-healing abilities. You will see the beauty in life again, and find joy. Give it time. Be patient with yourself. Trust the process. Take baths with Epsom salt and baking soda, or long showers to clear your energy. Smudge your space by burning Sage or Copal resin. Go out in nature as much as you can, and let yourself be recharged. Go hiking or sit by water. Give yourself processing time, and let your thoughts flow. Do mindless things that allow you to just be. Do things that used to bring you joy, things that relax you. The answers will come with time, and with coming out of survival mode.
The hopes and dreams you had for your life may have just been crushed, and you have to grieve what was or could have been. But somewhere in the back of your mind and heart, hang onto your dreams and permit them to take a different form. Change is not easy for us as human beings. And we forget that nothing on Earth is permanent, and that change is the only constant in our lives. We strive for stability, comfort and safety, and all that has just been disrupted for you. Allow your life to change as it needs to, now. What sets you free is a total willingness, a total acceptance of what is now, not a clinging to the past. Forgive yourself for the situation you are in. Life on Earth is messy, and sometimes incredibly hard and unfair.
You may have to forgive the perpetrating party over and over. You can call in their Spirit, and talk to them directly and express your feelings, if speaking to them in the physical is not possible or not safe. And you may have to forgive Mother/Father God. Most of us feel abandoned, rejected, punished and betrayed, and blame God when bad things happen to us. But we forget that God doesn’t do those things to us, and only loves us unconditionally, and offers continuous support, no matter what we go through in life. Our Spirit guides and angels have been very busy helping us whether we are aware of their presence and love for us, or not. We are never alone, and we are never abandoned by the Divine – our own Spirit being part of the Divine.
Most of us are unaware that often our experiences happen as per our soul contracts that we signed for this lifetime, and that we asked for certain experiences before we were born. What were we thinking, right?? We also make use of our free will during our lifetime, and set certain events in motion by our thinking, actions and choices. That doesn’t mean that we deserve what happened, it just means that we may not the victim here, and have played an active part in the creation of our lives. We can learn and heal, and make better, healthier choices in the future. We may have volunteered for certain experiences because having lived through them, and found a way to heal them within ourselves, gives us the insight to help others heal. This is especially true for lightworkers and healers.
We can use any experience to shut down, and remain locked in a victim mentality. Or we can allow it to open us up to a deeper vulnerability – to further our soul purpose, and our healing and awakening. If we can change our perspective, we can use the trauma we just lived through to get to know ourselves at a deep level, and to access and heal things from our childhood that had still been locked away. It is our choice whether we allow this experience to define us and to break us, or to use it – like the phoenix bird rising from the ashes – to find our strength and our will, and to break free from limitations that we ourselves, and others, had previously imposed on our lives. So, heal well, and embrace all that you are going through…
Neha