As a healer, people often come to me to heal their past. They want to know about their past lives that have affected who they are in the present. They feel that by healing the memories of the past, they will be happier in the present. The past is often seen as something to be fixed in the present in order to have a happier future.
There is absolutely no doubt that our past affects the way we act and react in life at a deep subconscious level. Our past patterns and memories run so deep at times, that it takes a significant amount of inner work before we even become aware of certain belief systems. And only after becoming aware of these thought patterns which form the basis of our illusions, are we able to integrate or dissolve them so that we can learn to Respond to the same situations instead of reacting without thinking.
However, the subject I would like to discuss here is not about what we are here to heal, but what we are here to Claim. For every single belief system in our psyche that doesn't serve our well being, there are manifold virtues and strengths we possess waiting to be discovered and claimed. Naturally, not every single experience in our past is something we need to heal or let go of. There have been countless fun, joyful, happy, useful and beneficial experiences that have also brought us here today. And with all such experiences, we have gained many skills, talents and virtues - all of which can be very fulfilling if we give ourselves permission to claim them for ourselves.
A great Master I know once said, claim a single strength or virtue that you excel at, and others that you are not aware of will come together with it. Its a package deal. Its like a 3 legged stool. If you pull it by one leg, the other two come with it as they are joint together! When I choose to focus on a strength or virtue I possess with complete self honesty and conviction, it leads me to discover other strengths. Let's take an example. If I decide to focus on practicing the single virtue of kindness, it is not possible for me to be kind in the long term without being cheerful, loving, caring, affectionate, gentle and generous! This one single virtue incorporates 6 others (and more) in its application, when applied properly. What's even better, is that being kind means being kind to myself as well as towards others. Being kind to myself includes practicing all the other mentioned qualities towards myself - cheerful, loving, caring, affectionate, gentle and generous. This automatically makes me feel good about myself and who I am, thus inspiring and motivating me to practice it towards others as well.
Another benefit to claiming our strengths and virtues, is that our weaknesses and vices automatically drop off. When we focus on what makes us happy within ourselves, we shift our focus away from what makes us unhappy about ourselves, and those very same issues which we felt made us less cease to exist. Because when we choose to be in our joy, it brings out the best in us. We learn to appreciate who we are and stand in our Light.
Exercise
Here is a simple and effective way to begin claiming your strengths and virtues.
Get yourself a pen and paper, preferably a small diary you can journal in. Keep it close to you.
Sit down on a chair in a straight posture with your back, neck and head in a straight line, and both feet on the ground. Close your eyes for a moment and take 3 deep gentle breaths. Ask yourself to let go of anything else that you have been thinking about, and imagine yourself surrounded by a blue bubble which is protecting your entire Being on all levels.
Then ask your Higher Self and your Spiritual guides (doesn't matter if you don't know any specific guide - just know someone is always there to support and guide you) to assist you as you sit down to write down all your strengths and virtues, talents and skills - now and during the rest of the week. Once you have set the intent, bring your awareness back to your surroundings, and open your eyes.
Then take that paper or diary, and create 2 sections - one for your Skills and Talents, and one for your Nature, and start writing. Examples of Skills and Talents would be something like - baking, analytical, intuitive. Examples of Nature would be - affectionate, generous, helpful. Write down everything you can think of that occurs to you, even what you are not sure you possess. Know that if you think of it, you have it.
Once you have finished, keep that paper or diary close to you throughout the rest of the week, because as you have set the intent, your Higher Self will show you more skills and virtues during the week that you had forgotten about or are not consciously aware of. And you will need your diary around to write it all down !
Review what you have written at the end of the week, and you will be amazed what you find :-)
The next step is to think about how you can apply all these wonderful skills, talents and virtues to make you happy.
Haresh Manglani is a Mentor and Energy Healer. He works together with his clients to build their self-acceptance and confidence in the areas of Self, Value, Relationships and Purpose. Visit www.hareshmanglani.com to learn more.