As a therapist specializing in guiding people into their past to discover their Soul Purpose, I’ve heard many reasons some are reluctant to explore what might be loitering there. Scary stuff, so I'm told! Or, they proclaim loudly, the past has no effect on me! Occasionally there are concerns about stirring up what’s taken years to “cope” with (Read: Deny). I’m just fine, they argue, right?
“Let the past be in the past;” “Live for the moment;” “Life is not meant to be lived backwards” are just a few clichés I’ve heard bantered about, trying to justify letting “Sleeping dogs lie.”
Although we may not consciously realize it, as another saying goes, trying to ignore our past is like trying to avoid looking at the elephant in the room. It takes a ton of denial to ignore that two ton creature, ultimately making its influence that much stronger. Especially when it makes those thunderous trumpeting sounds!
The work I do with clients has shown that, not only is examining our past interesting, it can be quite fruitful.
How?
By getting in touch with significant memories tucked away in our subconscious, we can release their hold on our present life. I compare it to pressing the ctrl-alt-delete button on a computer: Programming from long ago taking up space on our hard drive gets dumped as useless garbage.
Another reward is discovering what may've been forgotten about why we are here, the unique gifts we are meant to bring to the world. Our Soul Purpose. By clearing out the past that’s been hampering our present, we get empowered to be who we really are, confidently sharing our aliveness.
Although various techniques such as "acting as if," stating positive affirmations or doing creative visualization have some power, they are temporary fixes, powerless to conquer what’s trying to bubble up from our past. As another wise saying goes: Whatever we resist persists.
Here are some important reasons to explore the mysteries contained in our past. Notice I specifically chose the word explore, emphasizing the difference between exploring versus dwelling.
1) Discovering past lives, the between lives realm, or just looking deeper at events from your current life can help resolve their subconscious influence, opening doors to (re)discover your unique Soul Purpose.
We arrive here fully cognizant of why we are here, our unique, divinely guided, Soul Purpose. But, as life goes on, that knowledge gets suppressed and ultimately forgotten. Why? The influence of significant, past, unresolved events.
Some examples are: “Belief Systems” we bought into from family or society at a young age; programmed fears that were concluded as real; the judgments and invalidations we accepted as true from others. This just scratches the surface.
We develop tactics trying to tuck away the influence of our past, hoping denial can alleviate its negative effects. Sadly, our hopes, dreams and Soul Purpose go astray in the process.
2) We can get in touch with things we’ve forgotten we've done and are still punishing ourselves for so we can clean them up and forgive.
We may not realize it, but we walk around with buckets of subconscious, unresolved guilt about things we’ve done in the past. The Universe is designed to have us attract negative situations as a way to remember, clean up and balance out those things (AKA karma). By remembering those suppressed events, we can feel compassion and forgiveness toward ourselves, understand our lessons, and ultimately get our power and Purposefulness back.
3) Going on a treasure hunt into our past is a fascinating and enlightening history lesson.
Have you ever read an amazing book that awakened you in some way? Changed the way you look at things? Inspired you to shift life direction?
The same thing can happen when you explore your past. It can help you re-discover what used to excite you, feel re-energized toward what you once knew was your Purpose and somehow lost along the way.
This inner work helps turn re-read pages of your history, reminding you of the true essence of your life. You may find keys to doors your Higher Intelligence has been trying to open for years. Or decades. Or lifetimes.
4) You are a gift the world needs now.
During this compelling time in history, it’s more important than ever to activate your Highest Calling, live your Biggest Possibility and realize your Greatest Reason for being. As the planet experiences accelerated change, we can no longer live in the slow lane: It’s time to fast forward ourselves.
It's safe to say that many of us are here to do extraordinary things, because only extraordinary beings would choose to be here during these challenging times.
You’ve spent 1000’s of years developing into who you are. It’s time to get out a shovel and do some soul excavation, unearthing fascinating mysteries about yourself. It’s time to discover your Higher Wisdom, connect with your Soul Purpose, and resurrect this your life.