How Healing Is Like An Onion. It Has Layers

Healing Emotional Wounds: Remember, Reclaim, and Retrieve Your True Self

Healing is like an onion. It has layers! 

Peeling Back the Layers of Healing

Imagine healing as the gradual peeling of an onion, each layer unveiling a deeper understanding of oneself.

In this blog post, we will delve into:

The Profound Journey of Healing

• Exploring its meaning

• Misconceptions surrounding it

• Why I liken healing to an onion, occurring in layers

  
  

Defining Healing - What Does Healing Mean?

The word "healing" originates from the Old English word "hælan," meaning

"to make whole." 

Across cultures, the essence remains consistent: healing is about restoring wellness.

But how do we truly make ourselves whole?

 Can we ever be fully healed?

What does it mean to be fully healed?

Am I referring to physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual wholeness?

 I am talking about all of it, the whole person—holistic healing.

However, I will specifically address the healing of the wounded aspects of the self—the emotional, mental, and spiritual trauma that, if left untreated, can manifest as physical ailments.

This is my perspective as a shamanic energy healer.

Soul Retrieval and Wholeness - Reclaiming Lost Parts of Ourselves

We can return to wholeness through various methods.

 I will discuss what I'm most familiar with

 The concept of "Parts Work," which I think shares similarities with the shamanic technique of "Soul Retrieval."

Both methods guide you through a process of Remembering, Retrieving and Reclaiming the parts of your soul trapped in a cycle of past trauma.

"Doing the work" can involve the assistance of a skilled practitioner or self-guidance to remember, retrieve, and reclaim these trapped parts of the soul, bringing them into the present moment for a holistic restoration.

"to make whole." 

This journey consists of:

1. Remembrance - recalling the parts of yourself trapped in the cycle of trauma.

2. Reclamation - reclaiming these fragmented parts of your soul.

3. Retrieval - bringing these soul fragments back to the now, to your heart.

This is a story of one of my first powerful ‘Remembrances’

I was being guided through an energetic shielding technique with my mentor. The concept is that you create a shield, a bubble around your whole body. The first bubble is only for me and my partner. The second bubble is for close family and friends. The third bubble is for distant family and colleagues. The fourth bubble is for other colleagues and random people.My mentor asked me where my mom was I replied, “In the third bubble.” She then instructed me to invite her into the first bubble. I hesitated and re-actively blurted out, “NO!” I almost broke down in hysterics, but I stopped myself.

So, this event marked the beginning of my journey of remembering, reclaiming, and retrieving the parts of my soul that were hurt by my mother's actions. 

Now, I have such an amazing and loving relationship with my mother.

But it's important to understand that it happened in ‘layers.’ 

First, the remembrance of the lost parts of my soul, then the slow process over many years of reclaiming and retrieving each part of my soul.

If you are in the holistic healing space, I'm sure you've heard someone, or even said it yourself: 

“I thought I healed that.” 

It's a phrase that means an old wound or trauma has resurfaced that the individual thought they had already healed.

This is often followed by disappointment and a blow to the spiritual ego.

In my perspective, the reason you may reencounter a past wound or trauma is that you now possess the capacity to heal at a deeper level.

When you embark on the path of healing, growth, and evolution, it's natural to revisit your trauma on a deeper layer.

Our journey of growth and evolution is not a linear one; it follows a multidimensional path.

In healing, we peel back the layers, but in growth, we expand in layers ~ Cyrus Henry

The philosophy here is that as you evolve multidimensionally, you may revisit your wounds and traumas, but this time as the new, evolved version of yourself.

So, instead of feeling disappointed when an old wound resurfaces, feel proud that you have the opportunity to heal this part of yourself at an even deeper level because you now possess the capacity to do so.

This is a story of when I learned of this

I've worked extensively on this particular trauma, one that I had only shared with a few. It occurred during my childhood but gained more awareness as I transitioned into adolescence and young adulthood. I had written numerous letters to myself, conducted burning and full moon ceremonies, and forgiven myself for what had transpired. I believed I had achieved peace with it.

However, during a 40-day food fast, on the 10th day (I only reached day 14), I consumed a small dose of mushrooms with my ceremonial cacao. This unexpectedly led to a deep trauma processing journey related to that very trauma. The fasting of food (our first programming) process had de-conditioned me from time and food constructs, allowing me to access even deeper layers of my trauma.

Experiencing my trauma again, thinking I had already healed it, suggests personal growth and multidimensional evolution. 

This growth allowed me to revisit my trauma at a deeper layer. Just as an onion has multiple layers, healing is multi-layered.

In my experience, I was able to remember, reclaim, and retrieve another part of that same soul fragment.

I am fully aware that not everyone finds it easy to process their own trauma, and it's essential to recognize that not everyone wants or needs to revisit their old wounds and traumas. Each person's healing journey is deeply personal and unique.

For some, revisiting past trauma may not be the right path, and that's completely okay. Healing takes various forms, and it's essential to respect individual choices and boundaries when it comes to addressing emotional wounds. Some may find healing through therapy, self-reflection, or seeking support from loved ones, while others may choose different paths.

The key is to honor and acknowledge that healing is a personal journey, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It's about finding what works best for you and what brings you a sense of peace and growth, whether that involves revisiting old wounds or pursuing alternative methods of healing.

As a result of Remembering, Reclaiming, and Retrieving parts of your soul, you begin to create your inner tribe, your inner circle.

Your Inner Tribe, Your Inner Community 

Meditation:

Imagine in your mind's eye, imagination, you are sitting in a circle around the campfire. The fire represents the energy of your spirit, your heart. Sitting around the fire are many different parts of your inner child, inner teenager, and inner young adult/ Those many parts of yourself you've Remembered, Reclaimed, and Retrieved. They sit in a circle around the inner fire, content, loved and safe. They are with you in the present moment, walking forward in life with you because you’ve done the good work of healing-”to make whole”

The idea of the inner tribe, the inner community, holds incredible power. It means walking through life in constant dialogue with the various parts of your soul, knowing that you can connect with and communicate with these parts of yourself whenever you need them.

Personally, I make it a daily practice to check in with my inner tribe, and my inner community. It's like having an ongoing conversation with the different aspects of myself, a source of strength and guidance that's always available whenever I seek it.

In conclusion, the journey of healing is a profound and multi-layered process, much like peeling back the layers of an onion. Healing, at its core, is about making ourselves whole—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It involves the remembrance, reclamation, and retrieval of parts of our soul that may have been trapped in the cycle of past trauma.

As we embark on this healing journey, it's important to remember that healing is not a linear path; it's a multidimensional one. Old wounds and traumas may resurface, not as a setback, but as an opportunity for deeper healing and personal growth. Each layer we peel back reveals a new, evolved version of ourselves.

In the process of Remembering, Reclaiming, and Retrieving parts of ourselves, we build our inner tribe, our inner community—a circle of healed and integrated aspects of our inner child, inner teenager, and inner young adult. These parts sit around the campfire of our spirit, content, loved, and safe, walking forward in life with us as we become whole.

So, let us embrace the onion-like layers of healing, knowing that with each layer, we move closer to our true, whole selves. Let us honor and respect the diversity of healing journeys, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Ultimately, healing is about creating a more complete and authentic version of ourselves, one layer at a time.

So…

Remember, Reclaim, Retrieve 

“Healing is Feeling & Feeling is Healing”