by Amia Phillips, MA, P-LPC, Reiki
Nam yo ho re ki ke yooooo.....am I doing this right?....okay let me try this again...Nam yo ho re ki ke yooooo....hello is this thing on???? Forget this meditation man!
A lot of the time, like in this scenario, it can feel very frustrating to get to your higher self and heal the things that you want to. You want it fast and quick.But where do you even begin when you want to start healing yourself right? I know, it might feel like looking at a blank canvas, and you're struggling to figure out what colors to start with. However, I think that in recognizing that you want to start healing and unlearning the things that you have learned from different environments, you've already begun the work love.
Healing can be the most exhilarating and beautiful thing ever but at the same time, it can slap you silly and throw you around like a rag doll. Trust me, I know. You might’ve heard of this here and there on social media: that your journey is not linear; it can be up and down and have loops in it, like a rollercoaster. And we love rollercoasters, right? But not when it's pertaining to reaching our highest self and healing the things that are damaging us.
When I began my self healing and spiritual journey, I didn't know where to start, so I followed others and THOUGHT that was just what self healing looked like. As I continued on following that path, I felt even more lost than ever. Somehow, I realized that I wasn't being true to myself; I began on this journey to be truly myself and I wasn't. I had to differentiate myself from everybody else and REALLY look within and LISTEN. When I did that and figured out what I wanted my healing to look like, you couldn't hold me back.
So I ask you, what does self healing look like for you? Does that mean honoring your ancestors more? Meditating more? Taking up art or pottery? Doing shadow work to heal your inner shadows? Or is it simply dancing in the kitchen to express yourself and your inner child? Perhaps going away to figure out where your journey will take you? Whatever it is, decide for yourself what that looks like.
This is the beginning of your journey where you learn to break down negative cycles in your life, and create the healthy patterns that can lead you to your self healing and empowerment. It's the process of shedding years of layers, and ultimately, as we shed, we transform into a colorful and wonderful butterfly.
On this journey of self healing, wounds might open up that you are not ready to open, or perhaps thought was closed off forever. When these wounds pop up, be the mother, the guide, the protector, and the healer of them; honor them and listen. As I stated before, this process can be frightening, however going through these scary times can lead to new beginnings. If any feelings or emotions happen to arise while rediscovering yourself, let them come and be open to it. Ignoring things that have had a hold on us or caused trauma, can leave an emotional imprint onto us. Every reaction that we have kept within us and locked away is a different extension of ourselves that we haven't faced. This is their way of telling you what needs attention and what needs to be healed. And we’re definitely here to love and heal with them.
By tapping into your self healing journey, you can start with these exercises and journal prompts:
Creating playful hobbies for yourself
Self affirming mantras and affirmations
Creating a morning and night routine that helps you on your journey to empowerment
Shadow work/inner child work
Journaling
Go on solo dates
Reading spiritual and self empowering books
Journal prompts:
1. When is a time where you felt influenced by the opinions of others to the point that it quieted your own inner voice? 2. What are 3 ways that I can grow? What are 3 things that I love about myself? 3. Do you have any limiting beliefs that keep you from achieving what you want? Where does this come from? 4. What steps can I take to trust myself more, also, to get more intune with my intuition? 5. What makes you feel confident and proud of yourself? Why do you think it makes you feel this way?
If you're going on this journey, know that you'll have to be a warrior brave enough to go through the storms that you have kept inside. But remember when the storms pass, there will be a beautiful rainbow to be seen. You'll not only see this rainbow yourself, but everyone around you will see the beautiful effects that you will show. You're healing light will shine on everyone.
So, warriors, I have one question for you: are you ready to heal?