Writing has always been a way for me to transfer overwhelming emotions. In addition to journaling, I've found that writing poetry, blog posts, and books have helped me to process intense experiences and transitions throughout my life. This practice was taken to a new level when I attended a healing retreat in Bali. At the end of our time together, our teacher had us write what we wanted to release on small pieces of paper and burn them in a bowl. The experience was so powerful that I was instantly inspired to incorporate a variation of it into my coaching practice.
This gave birth to my group coaching session that I call Journ and Burn. I facilitated it last week as a part of my Coaching at the Cochrane series that I lead to make this type of transformative personal development work accessible to my community. After having led this session several times now for groups and individuals, I continue to be amazed at the breakthroughs and healing that takes place.
As you begin the healing work of releasing the thoughts, habits, behaviors, or beliefs that no longer serve you, here are some strategies to support you on your journey.
Release and Replace.Unresolved emotional issues take up space and energy in our subconscious. When we engage in an intentional practice of addressing the issues and allowing ourselves to fully feel and then release the emotions, it frees up space. This gives us room to invite what we want into our lives. This may look like writing what I call aspirational affirmations. These are statements that represent how you want to feel even if they are the farthest thing from what you are feeling at the moment. For example, if you have released anxiety, your affirmation could be, “I am calm.”
What will you release, and what will you replace it with now that you’ve made space?
Surrender Statements. Often what needs to be released is our resistance or non-acceptance of what is. We try to change other people, circumstances, and the things that we don’t love about ourselves, instead of accepting them as they are. This leads to our ongoing pain and suffering. Acceptance or surrender does not mean that you should tolerate harm or mistreatment. It means freeing yourself from the persistent struggle of trying to change things that are outside of your control. A surrender statement that I found particularly liberating was, “I release my expectation for my father to be what society
has conditioned me to believe a father should be. I love and accept him as he is right now.”
What is your surrender statement?
Belief Boomerang. Recently I found myself feeling anxious and second guessing my ability in a situation where I would normally feel very confident. After some deep reflection, I realized that I was picking up emotions that were not my own. I theorized that I was feeling pressure from someone who was feeling pressure from someone else, and that person was feeling pressure from yet another. It really boiled down to everyone’s underlying desire
for things to go well, which can easily cause us to forget to trust the process and our experience or expertise. My lesson here was that just because someone is putting something down, it doesn’t mean I have to pick it up. It is not my burden to carry, so like a boomerang, I sent it right back and returned to remembering who I am.
What feeling or belief has attached itself to you that is not yours to carry?
This week I challenge you to write and release the things that are no longer serving your greater good. Make space for the delightful things, relationships, and emotions that you want to invite into your life.
Manifestation Affirmations
I am releasing that which is no longer serving me and inviting that which delights me.
I am surrendering to ease and flow.
I am remembering who I am.