Soul Searching & Self Discovery

Q: How and where do I begin a soul searching/self discovery process?

A: This is a question that many have pondered throughout human history. I can only answer from my own perspective, based on what works for myself and for the people I work with. Two paths often emerge as highly reliable. They are both based on an understanding that within each of us is a higher wisdom and love nature. The "work" or "play" becomes to contact this source, more and more, until there is an abiding sense of connection or even indwelling.

The first path is to begin looking for, trusting, and acting on inner knowing. Some might call it intuition. At a deeper level, we are all aware of greater things. This kind of knowing gently nudges us along our path. Often it feels very quiet, almost still. Sometimes the guidance comes in just a few words. Hunches can sometimes be recognized by a little energy or push towards action that comes with them. Chill bumps are often the way my Higher Self witnesses to me that something is important. Sometimes people report that while something personally meaningful is occurring it's as if an extra light suffuses the relevant person or event (almost like a movie effect.) It is helpful to stay alert and receptive to discovering what form your information primarily takes while watching also for other leadings in new forms.

Many things can contribute to a disconnection from Self. Our culture teaches that the outer life is what is important. Many people who have sustained abuse have learned to disconnect from their bodies and that is often where we feel this kind of guidance. In addition, abused victims often have a great deal of jammed emotion, this makes it difficult to "hear" their guidance. Also for many victims of ongoing abuse they had to stop hearing any danger messages in order to feel sane. But, no matter how damaged a person may feel, it is my belief that their inner knowing is intact. Prior to abuse, or trauma, people remember having hunches and guidance. Rape victims have often reported to me that "knew" something dangerous was going on, but they ignored the feeling until it was too late. It's possible to bridge back to this kind of knowing.

Honoring and valuing this inner knowing is one path back. For some it will be easy once they decide to shift to this way of processing. For others it will more painstaking. They must learn to honor any small hunches they might have. As they act on this, more information will become available. It is the "acting on" that turns on the faucet allowing intuition to flow freely.

No answer about inner knowing would be complete without acknowledging the importance for many of dreams. Much could be said here but I'll be brief. Dreams do come from this higher knowing oftentimes. The best technique I've found comes from the area of psychology termed Gestalt. In Gestalt dream analysis we take apart the dream into it's individual components. Each bit is then viewed as an aspect of the dreamer. For instance, I might dream that I'm riding a horse on a beach and I see a turtle holding an American flag. I begin by looking at each part, the horse, the rider, the turtle, the flag, and the beach as representations of myself. Instead of using a dream book, I free associate each part. Ex: turtle = has a shell- is cold blooded- carries it's house with it- also I personally love turtles. This turtle might be a certain color, or have other notable characteristics. What is the turtle doing? Is it standing on it's hind legs waving the flag? After exploring each aspect, piece it all together and "feel" how it fits. Avoid being highly mental here. This method will definitely take you deeper, but it is time consuming and requires personal effort. Often when I suggest this method to people, they reject it, hoping I will interpret their dream for them. The gifts comes from being willing and self loving enough to do it for yourself.

The other path that I feel is most direct would be working with the emotions. For some who feel overwhelmed by their own emotions, this might mean allowance. Allowance means encouraging awareness and expression of emotions rather than suppressing them. For people with anxiety disorders or mental illness, this should only be done with great care and support. In these cases, a well thought out criteria considering timing and support systems should be applied. Professional help would be indicated in these cases.

For most people however, emotions are like the boogie man. As a child they lacked understanding about emotions, and didn't have a well defined ego. They got the idea that emotions can overwhelm and obliterate that child's tenuous sense of self. This is pure illusion, no longer true.

Working with emotions is greatly helped, by understanding some basic things about feelings. Emotions are important helpers in life. They tell us we need to pay attention and learn something about Self (Big Self). Emotions come like waves in the ocean and if expressed fully, they release their hold on us. We express and allow while knowing there will be a rest or pause periodically and we won't be swept away. Unexpressed emotions can keep us attached to things that should be long completed and integrated. It's important to stress that expression doesn't mean abusing others, it means working first within the self. After pent up emotion is released, a profound sense of essence or deep Self can come. New more life affirming beliefs can then be formed.

Some people feel out of touch with their emotions. They often have a feeling that something is missing. Life lacks luster and juice. Sometimes these people report feeling stuck in their heads. Working with music, breath, movement, and bodywork can help enormously.

Lastly, flower essences can greatly assist awareness and expression of feelings. Flower essences can be purchased at health food stores, New Age shops, and here at the Self Empowerment Center @ LightSeed.com. A flower essence practitioner such as myself can make custom blends based on your personal issues. The goal is to get the emotional energy or juice moving again and then rebalance it. The subject of working with the emotional nature, is vast. The articles Emotional Factoids and Processing Emotions Effectively will greatly assist anyone who would like to make peace with their emotions.

 

Resources:

1. Working effectively with emotions was the single most freeing part of my own journey. For this reason I have studied emotions for thirteen years now. I've put a lot of love into the tape set called Understanding Your Emotions This is meant to be a user's Guide for the Emotions.
   
   
2. Asking yourself, "What must I be believing in order to feel this way?" is enormously helpful. Sometimes the realization that you are carrying an outdated belief is all that is needed to create positive change. For help in shifting belief patterns please see the article entitled, Process for Shifting Limiting Beliefs.
   
   
3. Begin to notice the sensations within your body that characterize emotions. Name the feeling. This is a simple intervention that bridges back to emotional health.
   
   
4. The book entitled Emotional Clearing : Releasing Negative Feelings and Awakening Unconditional Happiness by John Ruskan is a helpful introduction to working effectively with emotion.
   
   
5. The book entitled Conscious Breathing : Breathwork for Health, Stress Release, and Personal Mastery by Gay Hendricks gives profoundly helpful advice and guidance for using the breath to release as well as rebalance. Many will find it easier and get more value from the audio tape.
   
   
6. Our Acorn Solution called Emergency Blend will support any deep releasing process. It removes shock from the energy field, and body. Then Emergency Blend helps you to rebalance.
   
   
7. Working with shame is some of the most difficult work I know of. For working with shame I would recommend Shame Less Blend. I feel it's important to know that shame is one of the emotions that really tends to heighten before release. For this reason good support is sometimes needed. Shame is not only very painful, but it causes blind spots that interfere with self acceptance, insights and integration. If you work with shame and feel the need for a little help please consider using the phone services on this site. I have a lot of experience in helping people ease through this most difficult process. For a better understanding of how systemmically shame diminishes life we suggest reading Healing the Shame That Binds You by John Bradshaw.
   
   
8. Grief tends to cause a loss of vitality and connection to life. Our Acorn Solution called Grief Relief Blend will begin to lift it right out. The description we provide will help you to work effectively with this process. For me in my life grief was a big one for that reason I know that the person in grief often needs tenderness and so for that reason my phone services might be advisible and very comforting.
   
   
9. For those working with the toxic emotions produced by sexual violation I strongly recommend Reach for the Rainbow : Advanced Healing for Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Lynne D. Finney.
   
   
10. Sometimes working intensively with strong emotions can be ungrounding. We can feel rocked at the core and nervous and accident prone. In such cases I recommend Grounding Blend, even if you don't purchase the product please read the description of the blend for helpful information.