Healing your past is a powerful shamanic tool that any person can utilize to release energy that is entangled within the story, pattern or issue. While many esoteric teachings point to staying in the now and dealing with life as it happens, we can have energy “tied up”, entangled or trapped in a story. Once it is released, the power returns to you and you are freed from the story and that energy can be utilized in the present. You do not have to be a shaman to do this work. The wonderful thing about shamanism and journeying is that anyone can try it, because it involves using the imagination and this technique is very similar to a guided meditation, for those who need more direction in doing this. There are no limitations with this exercise: you can heal any issue, pattern, interaction in any way, using your imagination to create the healing through you personally healing the issue, or some energy outside of you, such as angels, ascended masters, spirit guides, healing light and universal energy. I do not want to direct you too much in this mediation, because your imagination is the key, and makes this healing personal to you. Just know that it is okay to use any form to heal the issue, even cartoon characters are acceptable! What you need to get started:
- Journeying can be done using a drum - there are some short videos on youtube with shamanic drumming if you don’t have a CD with shamanic drumming or a drum. The rhythm of the drum induces a meditative state that helps with journeying but is not necessary. A rattle can also be used or just laying down on a couch or bed and daydreaming will work also.
- Journeys can take from 5 minutes to 30 minutes or longer. It just depends on how easily you relax and go into the meditative state. It is okay to “make it up” if the journey does not seem to be happening.
- Make sure that all phones are turned off and that you won’t be disturbed during the meditation.
- Use blankets, pillows, anything to make sure you are warm and comfortable.
Journeying to heal the past:
- Pick a story from the past that you want to heal: this could be anything from bullying, abuse, rape, arguments, family issues, relationship issues, work issues. Again, there are no limits, just whatever you want healed.
- If you need more guidance on this part, imagine that you are slipping backwards in time, or visualize the pages of a book turning backwards to the point in time that you want to access.
- As you journey, let your mind go back to the scene, the place it happened, how old you were, sounds, sights and smells can help to anchor the journey. You may also look at a picture from near that time to focus on the energy surrounding the issue.
- You do not need to “relive” the issue, especially if it is extremely painful. Just start sending yourself the healing in whatever way you want: light, energy, angels, words, guidance. Imagine yourself in that time frame getting the healing and surviving this issue, which you did because you are here now! You may say to this aspect of yourself “You are okay now, you have made it through the pain and suffering, you are strong and will survive this. I am here to help you through this and I love you.”
- Say a thank you to whatever energy sources you used, and to yourself for doing this work, and return to the present.
- This journey can be repeated as many times as necessary for this issue or any other issue that you want healed.
Rewriting the story
After sending healing to the issue, you can now work on rewriting the story. This is where you free yourself from the victim role in the story. This step means that you take responsibility and control and rewrite the story to bring the power back to you. This step may be difficult for some people, who may not connect with rewriting the past. I am not advocating an erasure of past events, they have happened of course, what I am advocating is changing the story of HOW it affected you and the other person people or energies involved, to change how you view the story, to make it a “newstory” instead of a history. If you feel that you are not ready to do this step, it may indicate that there is more healing needed around the issue, so go back and repeat the journey and send yourself more healing.
The real breakthrough in doing this step is that this is a doorway for you to send healing to the other people involved in the issue. Eckhart Tolle, author of “The Power of Now” talks about the pain bodies we all carry. These are energies associated with us (but not us) that live and thrive on pain, and causing pain to others. Painful experiences can be the doorway through which we can transform and transmute the pain into love, light and healing. Osho, one of my favourite Indian Gurus, also teaches how anger, hurt and pain are doorways to forgiveness, wholeness and love. This technique is a method to access this power and transmute negative energies into their higher vibration, taking a poison and turning it into a nectar of love.
Once you have healed yourself in this story, you can rewrite the story to send healing and love to everyone involved and entangled within the story. Again, there is no limitation on how you do this step - imagination is the key, and how you do it is personal and unique to you. You can rewrite the story by journeying again, using your imagination or writing down the newstory on paper.
Case Study...
I would like to share with you now a case study. My client did not remember all the details of the trauma - she was very young at the time, but she had distinct memories and nightmares about the trauma for years afterwards. She was living in Beirut, Lebanon at the time, and was about 3 ½ years old. She was sent to a school at which only French was spoken. My client only spoke Arabic at that time and did not understand the language. The teacher was a strict disciplinarian, and had a stick that she used to hit the children with if she thought they were being bold. My client was a headstrong little girl, not understanding the language and by her own admission, caused a lot of trouble. The teacher terrified her and hit her most days. My client ended up contracting hepatitis while in the school and was delighted at the time that she no longer had to suffer from her teacher’s anger. She escaped, but the pain and trauma stayed with her for years. Her Shamanic journeys gave her healing and helped her through a very dark time, that was painful also because she had been so young.
It’s important to realise that we can go back in time, and heal the Nun who had hurt her also. Her newstory was that my client was there to heal her, and that she was in such pain from being abused and hurt herself and could not heal herself. The ‘newstory’ turned my client from a victim of this person, to a healer of this person. A doorway opened and pain and trauma turned into love.
Some examples of re-writing the story...
- You are no longer the victim in this story, but the healer and this happened so you could heal this issue for this person, group of people or even on a collective unconscious level.
- This was a soul contract and you have finished the contract and cleared the karma, and do not need to experience this again in this lifetime or any other lifetime.
- This was a random event, with you in the wrong place at the wrong time - it was not a karmic event, and it does not affect you any more in any way.
