Anything that keeps you from being a shining star is either a lie or a memory. What is limiting you? What is keeping you from the life you want to live?
When I was a little girl someone tried to break into our house on a frequent basis. Looking back, I can now see that it was likely a neighborhood boy getting a kick out of frightening a house full of girls. But at the time it was completely terrifying to me. My sisters and I had a ritual of running upstairs to our Mom’s bedroom, someone called the police and we hid in various closets. When the police arrived we would all grab a “weapon”, a coat hanger, bottle of hair spray and an old wooden club that my oldest sister brought back from her travels, and walk downstairs together to let the police in. I can remember it all clearly. Whoever was trying to get in never succeeded, even though there was a window in the door that could have easily been broken for a serious intruder. But the person did succeed in changing the way I viewed my life.
Most of me can see the truth now, but there is still a part of me that reacts to being home alone. That memory becomes present when the conditions are similar in my life now. That fear that I feel now is a memory. The belief that I’m not safe now is an example of a lie.
These lies and memories feel like they are true now. Bringing them to awareness and connecting to the root of them helps to begin to free us from their grip and allows us to see the truth of the present. Most of the time these memories and lies are just an unspoken part of our “operating system”, silently coloring the way we view the present moment.
These memories and lies come in many variations. The fear of speaking in groups, believing that we aren’t good enough, fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, fear of being unlovable and anything else that keeps us small, are all lies and likely a message we received in a past memory.
I am a trainer and I travel all over the country to teach EMDR Therapy. EMDR is a way to get to the root of any current disturbance or limitation and find the memory and lie that is operating. With the help of a trained therapist, the client can then access the root of the disturbance or limitation and process it, letting go. EMDR done correctly, actually changes the way that memory is stored in the brain. But more importantly, EMDR therapy changes the way the client reacts to the present moment. The physical reactions, the thoughts, emotions and beliefs are changed. Freedom from past memories and lies means more choices in life. What do you want in life? What memories and lies are keeping you from living the life of your dreams?
