Releasing old emotions
Have you ever found that you sometimes get caught up in your past and find it difficult to move on?
This happened to me just recently.
I was in the middle of something quite pleasant, thoroughly enjoying it and feeling really good, when everything slammed to a halt as an old memory came barging in. Think of that awful screeching sound as the needle gets pulled across the record and everything comes to a jarring halt - that was me.
Over the next few days, every time I tried to get back to that lovely place, this memory was in my face, stopping me from moving forwards or getting through it. I seemed to be stuck and when I thought about it, I had actually been stuck on this for years. I just hadn’t wanted to deal with it before.
I was being presented with an opportunity to work through this and start moving it on - but where does one start with this sort of thing?
My logical mind knew it was time to deal with this and release it. My emotional body was completely caught up in the feelings of it all. Spiritually I was playing the victim.
Talk it out
The first thing I did was call for support from someone whom I knew I could trust, who was experienced in this area and who I knew was non-judgemental. That latter part was important. I needed to feel free to tell my friend exactly what was going on and know that I was safe. And I have to say it helped, as it has helped in the past.
I felt much better, but there was still work to do to release these feelings.
Releasing ceremony
Next up I did a little releasing ceremony. I wrote down what happened, and all my feelings around this particular memory. I then wrote that I no longer wanted to feel this way and that I released these emotions and memories back to the Universe. I put it in the fireplace and burnt it, said out loud that I was returning this energy to the Universe to be transmuted into something better, and then watched it travel back up to the Universe where it belonged.
This was good, but it didn’t resolve everything instantly. I still found myself completely caught up in the emotions I had brought up as I wrote everything down. I had really felt into that place, which in some ways is good as I had really been in touch with the emotions at play, but it meant I was unable to shake those feelings for the rest of the day. I took myself out into nature and listened to a podcast to lift my spirits.
It’s not always instant
The following day I felt a lot better. I was reminded that sometimes these things take time and handing things over to the Universe doesn’t mean it’s going to be resolved instantaneously!
Spirit emphasised the importance of letting go when they reminded me that the emotions I was experiencing were not happening now - I was just remembering them. They asked why I would want to keep myself trapped in these emotions when they are not happening now (good point) and reminded me to be present and experience the present moment.
It’s just a memory
It makes total sense. Why would anyone want to keep feeling those feelings when they happened years ago? After taking the above steps and getting that gentle reminder, I chose to refocus on the now and what was right in front of me.
So when letting go of past events:
Acknowledge the memory
(thanks Universe for showing that to me, I know you’ve brought it to my attention so that I can let it go)Release it
(talk about it, burn it, flush it away - whatever works and is appropriate but safe)Refocus on the present
(what do you see/hear/feel right now?)
Having emotions and feeling the feels are important - it’s all part of the human experience. We can, and should, acknowledge them, take the lessons from them, and then return to the present moment.
If you’re ever challenged by past events and memories, I hope these steps will help you to work through the emotions and let them go, allowing you to come back to the present and the goodness and love that surrounds you right now.
Karen
