I used to think of my challenges as gifts, specially wrapped just for me to deliver the tools I need, to accomplish what I came to this lifetime to accomplish. Now, I realize that my challenges are even more important than that. They’re not just gifts designed to benefit me. Each challenge, even the ones that elicit anxiety, pain, fear, loss, guilt, anger, despair, loneliness, or any other emotion I momentarily experience as negative, represents a sacred mission, that once fulfilled, will not only heal my own life, but humanity and the planet as well. This is the process of soul mending.
As humans, we share common needs and values.
We long for place and purpose, a sense of belonging.
We long for authenticity, and permission to be the truest version of ourselves.
We long to be seen, to be accepted, to be loved.
Soul mending isn’t about fixing what’s been broken. It’s about slowly awakening to truths we’ve forgotten.
• We are meant to live in joy.
• We are meant to bring joy to others.
• By acting boldly, we inspire courage in our fellow man.
• We are worthy of becoming exactly who we want to become.
• Our desires are sacred love letters from our souls, tattooed on our hearts.
• Life’s sheer beauty is meant to elicit tears of gratitude
These truths, and many others, are the gifts received in soul mending. Soul mending is a treasure hunt; a game to reclaim pieces that are inherently ours. Often, these missing pieces are our most authentic parts, the parts that reveal our most profound truths and are connected to our deepest intrinsic desires.
Last year, I participated in an ayahuasca ceremony. In the ceremony, I had a clear vision that when one of us heals, we heal on behalf of the collective. In subsequent conversations with Andean priests and shamans, I learned that this belief plays a central role in the indigenous Incan tradition. In fact, the Incans have a prophecy that the earth will not be healed until the people from the north are healed.
Many well-intentioned people are weary of directing energy into activities that steal their power. We get distracted with “doing” rather than “being”. After all, in the doing, there is always more to be done. This needless suffering creates little tears in the psyche. If ignored, those little tears result in anxiety, depression, and a sense of purposelessness.
Because our culture values doing over being, these tears affect our collective consciousness.
Rather than focusing on doing, soul-mending focuses on becoming:
Becoming wide open to love, which is our most authentic form of expression
Becoming certain that we are indeed worthy of our deepest and most passionate desires.
Becoming aware of our exquisite perfection.
Nothing is more important than this journey of becoming. In fact, once we put our journey of becoming ahead of everything else, every other aspect of our lives will easily and effortlessly fall into place.
Soul mending reorients our perspectives, refines our narratives, and restores our sense of place.
Soul mending helps to identify our hidden wounds, shining light into the dark places where pain, loneliness, and misalignment are hiding.
We are given the opportunity to see and be seen, in a community of belonging, acceptance, and shared experience.
We are reminded of the unequivocal, unconditional love of nature that is our intrinsic birthright.
In soul mending, we stop looking to others to meet our unmet needs. Rather than needing a “better half” we view ourselves as complete and whole. We recognize that our partner simply holds a mirror, reflecting exactly what we need to see in order to heal ourselves and others. In soul mending, we settle for nothing less than our most authentic selves, as we stand unwavering, unyielding, and steadfast in our truth. Soul mending isn’t just about healing ourselves. We hold space for others as they heal because no one is alone in their healing journey. Our paths are connected in ways we cannot even begin to fathom.
Anne’s community is a fabulous place for soul mending, as her precious channeled messages provide a conduit for living Spirit. Thank you for sharing this profound healing journey with me. I’m so proud of each and every one of you!
Warmly, Christy
Christy Rounds’s book, “Escape Bound: How Losing a Home Helped Me Find My Heart”, is a personal memoir about her 18,000-mile road trip in the wake of a “surprise” divorce. Her newest book, “How To Rock When You’re On A Roll: 21 Soul Mending Practices to Look Younger, Live Larger, and Love More Deeply” will be released later this year.