In our day to day lives we collect and carry experiences that weigh us down. We hold them in like a clenched fist - unwilling to let go of the past. It is unnecessary and most of all unhealthy. If we are willing to shed and release what no longer serves us we have an opportunity to move forward with a wonderful lightness of life.
Issues can vary from simple but intermediate to more complex and time consuming ones. Either way, if you want to get rid of things, you have to take it seriously and include your soul in the decision. To make the release meaningful and carry weight, it is helpful to use symbolic and physical gestures that the body understands. Some examples would be writing issues out on paper that you crumple up and and throw away or burn in a fire. You can also tell the story to a stick, a stone or another piece of nature, then throw it into the water or a fire. These are simple actions but they have powerful symbolic and energetic meaning to the body and soul. Depending on the severity of the issue, you may repeat the process a number of times. All of these actions lighten our burdens and the needless weight we carry.
A simple action of shedding materials happened for me when we built our home on Pender island. It took several years to build our home and many of our things remained in boxes all that time. When it was time to move into the house, I had forgotten what was in a number of the boxes and I never missed any of it. I placed the boxes in the trunk of my car and took them to a fundraising garage sale, donating all of them without looking back. The action was meaningful and definitely carried weight and I was happy to shed what I certainly didn’t need.
The type of issue that takes more work to release is a deep imprint or label from childhood that is repeatedly reinforced, such as “you are stupid” or “you’ll always be fat”. No matter what people do to change that perception, they still believe the imprint is true. The result may cause actions such as anorexia or bulimia because the belief is so ingrained. These types of imprints need to be dealt with in layers, as you acknowledge and work with the issue each time it arises. When the emotion makes you feel bad, stop right then and pay attention to what pictures, thoughts and senses surface for you. Play at reversing the picture or picking yourself out of the picture. This is also called ‘shape shifting’ and it has been used historically by medicine men to remove evil spirits and disease at a symbolic level. As you play with the changing picture of your perception, you are re-writing the story of who you are. You may need assistance from other practitioners from time to time.
Under this topic of ‘releasing and shedding’ I have given examples from simple to very difficult. Most other things fit somewhere in between, but the theory of using symbology helps the body and soul understand that you want to make a change. The time needed to shed and change will vary with each individual imprint. Trust that ‘you matter’, that your life has meaning and that you have the right to be true to you and you alone. It’s journey of love for yourself and those who follow you.