[TRIGGER WARNING] abuse, trauma and death references, mental health
Over the last few weeks, I have noticed a pattern in the work that I'm doing. Nearly everybody has been 'not in their body' energetically, instead remaining a bit detached, outside of their body.
For many this may be a strange concept, because they might think "what the heck is she talking about... there is only one of me?! And that 'me' is me here, the one thinking, inside my body right now!"
And I would say sure... I hear you. I agree that this is a strange concept :)
But for those who are sensitive to energy like myself, we can perceive when the spirit/soul/energy body of someone, is not quite fully connected to the physical body.
This is a little different to being ungrounded... but has very similiar symptoms.
Being 'out of your body' can cause you to feel:
- disconnected to your feelings, emotionally 'cold'
- disconnected or numb to physical pain
- despondent, depressed or anxious
- thoughts of disliking your body, either because of a perceived physical flaw, disability, physical disease, illness or ailment. As in "this body is useless, broken, not serving me, ugly" etc
- frustrated that you can not fully step into your power, so even though your mind wants to plan and move you forward in life, you 'can't quite get there', and feel as though something is holding you back
- sad and missing (grieving for) a physical place that you have been to sometime in the past. I.e. where your family/friends are in another country or city, or a beautiful natural spot that you used to visit in another country or city. And you can't access these people/places in the physical sense, right now
- and also grief for the planet and all beings on it, a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, like you don't want to be here (on this dense planet) and want to return 'home'.
Not all of the above symptoms indicate that you're definitely out of your body, but in my experience, many people have at least one of these symptoms when they are energetically out of their bodies.
Above image credit: https://allthatsinteresting.com/out-of-body-experiences
So... "how do I get back in and what are the benefits of being back in my body??"
Firstly, you need to WANT to be back in your body. Many of us have subconsciously chosen to leave our body, when we experienced something that was traumatic or scary. As in; any form of abuse, an accident, childbirth, painful breakup, a shocking or embarrassing incident, or loss of a loved one/pet.
And for empaths (someone who is highly sensitive to others emotions), even just being here on the planet and feeling the pain and trauma that occurs every day, is enough to make us not want to be here in our body.
We all have different ways of dealing with pain, and many of our 'go to' coping strategies have been to 'get the heck out of here!' So it is a self-defence mechanism. And it works quite well at the time, as in, we do FEEL less pain. It's like our mind wanders "I'm not really here.... I'd rather be anywhere but here... please take me away from here" etc.
The problem is, at some point, we need to come back!
Why?
Because we have all chosen to be in this beautiful home we call the physical body. And we need to be FULLY PRESENT here, engaged with all of our senses, in order to bring in all the goodness and wisdom that the universe has to offer.
Many of us 'spiritual types' have spent forever 'reaching for the stars'... meaning in meditations, or in my work with spirit, it tends to be using all the upper chakras, the Third Eye Chakra, Crown Chakra and the numerous ones above the head. We are continually opening and activating and bringing in new information from the cosmos. This is mainly done subconsciously, also activating the newer energy centres which are beginning to form and replace the chakra system.
We are also aware that we need to be grounded as heck, meaning, connected to the beautiful mother earth energy through having our bare feet on the ground, using earthing mats or doing visualisations.
But, what is just as important, is to be fully present and actively HERE, in the body. Feeling OURSELVES through our Heart Chakra/centre.
We have to come within, become fully engaged with ourselves and declare that "I AM HERE", before we can truly fully expand and access universal consciousness.
This is the same for anyone, but it shows up in different ways.
For example for myself, for the last few years I had been receiving alot of guidance from my spirit guides, giving me instructions on how to work with clients and how to grow my business. But from January 2019, they fell completely silent, and this happened to a number of Healers/Energy Practitioners that I spoke to around that time. This brought up a heap of emotions and doubts for us, such as "Have I lost my connection to Source/guides?!", "Where have all our clients gone...", "Am I not good enough...", "Why is [insert random practitioner] still really busy??", etc.
What we finally worked out is, the training wheels are off, the answers are no longer 'out there' but need to be found from within. Cliché I know, but yes, the answers to what we are seeking truly is inside of us!
This is a time for TRUE EMPOWERMENT. Standing on our own two feet and truly owning what we do.
So I had to sit with that, work through my feelings and try and figure out what really lights me up. What inspires me. What is my passion and where do I want to focus for this next phase in my life and career. I found my way back through connecting with my heart and then received confirmation from the universe (via chance meetings, supportive friends etc) that I'm on track. The main thing that I learnt from this process is that "I" have to "DO". Not just sit back and wait for an instruction/guidance like I used to! If you do, you might be waiting for a very long time ;)
And then for other people, once they make that decision to fully come back into their body, it means that they can finally transmute pain and trauma, they can let go of the things that have been holding them back (resistance is futile!) and finally start to connect with their Higher Self (the wise part of their soul) and heart to create a more fulfilling life full of joy, happiness and abundance!
Because now they can finally FEEL, and have connection to the wisest part of themselves, guiding them with every day and big picture decisions.
There is nothing more powerful than that!
Being in your body will help you have a better understanding of yourself, improved relationships with your loved ones, a healthier body, increased job satisfaction, plus many more benefits that are too numerous to list! To me it is a 'necessary step' that one needs to take, on their spiritual journey in life. As it is the catalyst, the springboard in which all future steps can be taken from.
A bit like servicing your car... sure you don't 'HAVE' to do it, but it sure makes the car run alot smoother and safer!!
If you're ready to take the step of coming back into your body... here is what I suggest:
1. Enter a state of light meditation, by putting on some relaxing music or being out in nature.
2. Close your eyes and commence a gratitude process, where you start mentally scanning your body and giving thanks to every body part, both inside and outside of your body, for all the things that it is doing for you. For example "thank you hair for providing me with protection, warmth and beauty, thank you eyes for allowing me to see, thank you ears for allowing me to hear" etc. Don't worry if you're not great with anatomy, just hold the intent to offer your thanks and gratitude to every part of you.
3. If you are grieving for a place/person, then take a moment to acknowledge that place/person, by saying "thank you for all that you have given me, and I am now ready to call all parts of myself back home". You may need to do the 'Ho'oponopono' Hawaiian prayer here, by saying "Thank you, I love you, I'm sorry, please forgive me" to that person.
4. Ask yourself "am I ready to come back into my body?" If yes, proceed as per below. If no, see if you can connect with the feeling. It is usually fear. See if you can ask your guides/Source to provide you with some additional support to help you feel safe. If you get stuck here, please consider seeking support from a Healer like myself to help with the process, or continue doing your own self work to release the fear/blockage.
5. Imagine yourself floating just outside of your physical body, like a see-through spirit version of yourself. Maybe you are 10cm above your body, or a whole metre, it doesn't matter.
6. Gently guide yourself back into your body, slowly coming back down to integrate fully into the physical body.
7. Imagine white or blue light, weaving in and out of you, knitting together your energetic body and your physical body.
8. Take a few moments to take a few final deep breaths, and when you are ready you can come out of the meditation.
Congratulations, you are now back in your body!
Now... you still have the ability to 'leave your body' again at any time, so if you are in a situation where you can feel yourself getting anxious, tight in the chest or thinking thoughts like 'I don't want to be in this place anymore', then see if you can self-soothe, by taking yourself away from the situation (going into a toilet/bathroom is perfect), placing your hand on your chest and repeating to yourself "I am here, I am safe, I am OK!". This will calm you down and prevent you leaving your body again.
Above image credit: http://www.higherjourneys.com/self-initiated-out-of-body-experience/
If you'd like to download a set of intuitively guided affirmations, that will help support you in getting back into or remaining in your body, please click here.
Read the whole page of affirmations aloud every night for nine nights (longer if you wish!).
And I wish you all the very best of luck and enjoyment being back in your beautiful body! A place from which you can create anything!
With love and hugs,
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Renee Cusworth is a Holistic Coach & Consultant specialising in helping single people attract (and keep!) a loving partner. Based in Perth, Western Australia, she offers In Person sessions at her Mount Hawthorn clinic aswell as Online to clients around the world.
Click here to read more about her services and to book a session online.