Shortly after my father passed away, my siblings and I were sorting through his belongings. Stuck to a bulletin board in his office was a note that read “Charles, Declare your independence!” It was dated July 4, 1977. Then a note on the same page dated 6 weeks later “Forget about it!”
My father was a lovely man but like most of us he had some demons that he wrestled with. It saddened me to think that he could see that he needed independence from “something” but clearly could not find a way though it and he in utter defeat declared “forget about it!”
Our “demons” or core story and beliefs are like an operating system on a computer. It runs the show until we are able and willing to change the operating system.
These days we have many more avenues as well a more open minded view for helping to change the operating system that bind us and declaring our independence from our stories, our wounding and trauma, our core beliefs and our amazing gifts that we might hold too close to our chest.
Meditation, self-inquiry, trauma work (such as Somatic Experiencing), bodywork (such as Visionary Craniosacral Work®, counseling, and creative arts are just some of the avenues available to help someone navigate this unfamiliar path.
I have found the simple act of “being willing” to see and let go of a core story allows it to begin to reveal itself and unwind for its liberation. Often we push the “demon” away because we don’t like how it feels or we judge it for being there, perhaps seeing it as part of our deficiency or weakness. But inviting it, welcoming it to be seen can be a profound healing moment. We are embracing a part of us that has been shunned. When we turn toward it instead of away, it can lose the power that it has had over us – no longer a demon but something that wants to be brought to wholeness – to liberation.
What is it in you that needs to be liberated? Your creativity, your voice, your deficiency story?
Your story of “I am not _____ “. (fill in the blank: enough, worthy, smart, pretty, handsome, etc).