Chapter 61: Retracing and Metaphysical Malpractice
It is time once again to Stew on this! The good news is that retracing is a factor in my own growth and evolution!
Clients have been asking me “why” questions lately. As in “Why does this keep happening to me?” or “Why did this come up again when I thought I had dealt with it?” or “Why did I create this in my life?” or “What is the universe trying to show me?” (that last one is perhaps more enlightened, but still a “why” question in disguise).
I suggest to them that better questions might include: “What do I do with this right now?” or “How can I respond to this in an authentic, congruent way?” or “How can I use this instead of letting it use me?”
Generally, “How can I remain FREE in the face of this?”
Speaking of free, July 4th will be the US’ 250th birthday. The holiday is called “Independence Day.” Independence is defined as, “free from external control and constraint; autonomous, not controlled by outside forces.”
This definition describes precisely how I choose to live in my own consciousness.
Long ago I renamed the holiday “In-Dependence Day.” A day to recommit to my intention to be more dependent on the “in.” To base my state of consciousness and my attitude on an inner choice based on my wholeness, my inner guidance and resources, and my core values and principles; a choice to respond based on my heart rather than react to outer circumstances the way I always have.
I still find it important (and needed!) to continue that tradition this year.
I am proud to say that I am long past blaming others or outside circumstances for my state of consciousness. That being said, sometimes I still hop off the train before I take things all the way to my heart and my wholeness. I still make brief stops at blame or shame or asking why or playing victim.
I find that when I ask why I am generally really asking why I suck or what I am doing wrong. It is just a form of blame, and as I mentioned in a recent chapter, blame is using the past to disempower myself in this moment.
I almost always feel worse for the asking, and it makes it even harder to be in-dependent. It makes it harder to take responsibility in that moment, which would allow me to make a different choice or to create something different.
I know, of course, that I have a big impact on the things that happen to me through my thoughts, feelings, words, choices and actions. But taking blame (or credit) for everything that happens is committing metaphysical malpractice on myself.
I still believe things happen for a reason, but through the years I have become increasingly unclear what the reason is. At this point, I think they happen for multitude of complicated reasons.
We are all co-creating reality, not just me.
In fact, one of my favorite answers to a why question now is, “because of everything that has ever happened on every level of existence up to now.”
I get in way over my head when I try to assign the cause of events to one thing, especially to my own head! This is why the answers to why questions can never be the whole truth and are generally unhelpful.
On the other hand, one of the most empowering and truest answers to the question, “Why does this keep coming up/why is it happening again?” can be found in chiropractic philosophy: the concept of retracing.
Retracing is a normal and natural phase of the healing process in which the body revisits and resolves old symptoms, injuries, imbalances or illnesses that were previously suppressed or unresolved. It is not a sign of things getting worse; it is an “unwinding” of the process as the body works to restore ease.
When we adjust folks, it enables their body to finally address the root causes of past dis-ease. The body “retraces” its steps back through layers of stress, toxins, and trauma that contributed to the original situation.
It happens now because it is safer to happen now. Space has been created. The nerve system can shift from survival into safe mode, and old stress patterns can be reprocessed.
The good news is that retracing is also a factor in my own growth and evolution! Again, it is often the truest answer to “why is this coming up AGAIN!!?”
Sometimes, old schmootz comes up BECAUSE I AM DOING THE WORK AND DOING THINGS RIGHT, NOT BECAUSE I AM BEING NEGLIGENT OR DOING ANYTHING WRONG!
As I do what it takes to make my own consciousness a safer place, my own nerve system shifts and old emotional patterns come to light to be reprocessed. And stuff comes up.
Retracing also explains the “test” that invariably comes every single time I set new intentions and directions!
I DO NOT do my blissipline practices to prevent schmootz from happening in my life. I do them to make my consciousness a more fertile ground for new seeds of intention to take root. I do them to make my consciousness a safer place so my highest healing can occur and so I can respond to life in-dependently.
As always, I choose not to wait for schmootz to actually hit the fan before I begin. That is when it is especially challenging. I intend to start right now.
Even before the fireworks start going off on July 4th.
Stew on that, and I shall see you next time.
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