The Secret to finding Inner Freedom: Don’t eat or sleep too much, pray lots, love much.
by: Lorraine Flaherty
Transformational Therapist, Author, Trainer
So I just finished watching the movie ‘eat pray love’ again. Funny how before I watched it I almost didn’t want to like it as having Julia Roberts cast as the lead seemed all wrong, I didn’t want ‘Liz’ who I had first met when I read the book, to be some Hollywood star that I recognised, I wanted her to be a real woman with real fears and insecurities like the rest of us…and yet as I watched it was so real and I could feel her pain. I knew then that just because she is a star, and gets to act her way through these stories, her pain is no different to any other woman that ever lived- her ability to feel the terror at leaving or loving another person was so tangible because we have all felt it at some time in our lives. And you knew that the tears she cried were drawn up from the well of her own pain, her own suffering, the wounding that had occurred within her own heart.
Actors in film and on the stage are representatives of the whole, up there for all eyes to see, mirroring our joys and our passions, our wounds and our fears….playing out a story. In the same way we do when we move through our everyday lives; playing out the story we chose before we got here - which we create for ourselves with every thought, every decision and every action that we take. It is an actor’s ability to get us to feel our emotions that makes their roles so important and is one of the reasons why they get paid so much; it is relative to the number of people whose lives they affect by what they do. Same goes for the sportspeople, the musicians, entertainers and people who reach large numbers of people with their work. The more people they reach the more value they provide. And how wonderful it is that, in and amongst all the violence and destruction we see in everyday in our world, there are some messages being presented that are based on hope and love; particularly unconditional love.
As I watched the film I was acutely aware of the message that ran through it; that so often we are judged by whether or not we have a partner or a spouse……by how much we are loved……not by how much we love ourselves. And yet there is the irony because unless we love ourselves we can never be fully loved by another. It reminds me of the scene in the Wizard of Oz when the Wizard tells the Tin man that he is not judged by how much he can love but by how much he is loved by others……..but to be loved by others he had to learn to love and value himself first.
On his journey along the yellow brick road he did learn to value himself…he learnt that he was worth having around- and he learnt that when you believe in yourself others do too. To remind him of the heart that was responsible for his newly discovered feelings of love he was presented with a ticking, red, heart shaped clock which was clear for all to see. But how many of us, as we journey through life, keep our hearts hidden, locked away, protected, away from the gaze of the world for fear that it might get trampled on or broken…..how many are afraid to bring it out of the shadows and into the light….how many times have we turned away from another just in case we are rejected, or in case we are not good enough or just unlovable?
Too many times.
I feel very blessed that in my work I get to help people find the cause of their inner wounds; the unfinished and unresolved issues that have been buried deeply away; memories of past and current life traumas and challenges which prevent them from being able to open their hearts fully. I help them travel down their own yellow brick road to find the freedom to love again. One of my clients came to see me because he was afraid that he would never be able to get married. He had been experiencing severe panic attacks, usually brought on by the demands of his partners who wanted him to move their relationship to the next level. He did want to get married but the thought of making that commitment terrified him beyond belief and he had no idea why. He was two years into a relationship with a woman that he loved deeply and she was threatening to leave him if he didn’t take the next step. He wasn’t sure if he believed in the idea of ‘soulmates’ but thought that if they did exist- she was probably his. He did not want to lose her so he was ready to try anything.
We decided to explore the root cause of his fear and in the session he found himself in a past life; something that he had not expected at all. He found himself in a cave wearing nothing but animal skins. His family and tribe were inside the cave but he was standing at the mouth of it with a spear anxiously guarding the entrance. Outside in the cold a bear and some wolves were hungrily waiting for an opportunity to attack. Eventually the bear did attack and he was pushed backwards into the fire. The wolves joined in and he was killed. His last thoughts were that he failed his family, that he was unworthy and a terrible mate. His last feelings were of failure and remorse. This powerful belief that he had failed had remained in his soul’s energy field and was the reason for his fear of having a family in his current life.
In the transformational part of the session he met with the woman who had been his mate, and the children they had produced, and they told him they had been very proud of him and that he had been an amazing father and mate. They reminded him that he was the one, even though he was much smaller than many of the other men in the tribe, who volunteered night after night to stand guard at the entrance of the cave to keep them safe. He had been prepared to fight to the very end to protect them and that’s exactly what he had done. He was amazed when he discovered that the woman was his current girlfriend. She told him that even though their lives had been cut short, in that lifetime, he had passed the test to see how brave he was. It meant that he no longer needed to be tested for that anymore. He was then able to give himself permission to enjoy his role as a husband and father this time round. The children embraced him and thanked him for his love in that life, which he had given freely and completely, and he shed a tear. The message from them all was clear ‘You are worthy, you are more than good enough, we were so proud of you and given the chance we would choose you again and again and again’.
With the past life issue resolved, he then travelled into his future to see what life would be like if he didn’t change things. He saw himself in five years time, alone, stressed, being harassed by yet another long time girlfriend who wanted to get married with him finding all kinds of reasons why he couldn’t; he was miserable and tired. He then viewed his highest potential future and he saw himself living in a beautiful home, being greeted by his wife and his two young sons, who jumped up at him joyfully and lovingly when he arrived home from work. Once again there were tears in his eyes as he saw how amazing it was to finally open his heart and allow love to come in. He saw that he had nothing to fear except missing out on having this incredible joy in his life.
His story and many others have been woven into the pages of my new book, Healing with Past Life Therapy, which also uses the Wizard of Oz as a Metaphor for the Soul’s journey. It is published by Findhorn Books and contains real life stories from real life people whose lives really have been transformed as a result of delving deeply into the unconscious space within their minds; so that they can discover more about who they really are, why they are here and, as a result, live up to the highest potential of who they are destined to be. It is my hope that the book, and the accompanying CDs, will provide a catalyst for change that will enable people to find a place within themselves of understanding, forgiveness and gratitude; a place where unconditional love is not only possible but the only way to live.
About: Lorraine Flaherty is a Transformational therapist and trainer. She is the pioneer of Inner Freedom Therapy; designed to help people reach their full potential. Her specialty is guiding people into the subconscious part of their mind so that they can explore their current life memories, their past and future lives and the space between lives to learn more about who they really are and how they can heal.
She has a busy private practice in Covent Garden, Central London. She runs corporate training sessions on Communications, Influencing and Presentation skills and teaches Accelerated Learning and Clinical Hypnosis to midwives and student doctors in UK Universities, which include Oxford, Cambridge and UCL.
She runs a variety of workshops, alone and in collaboration with some of the best in the mind body and spirit field. She offers retreats on Finding Inner Freedom in the UK and abroad; current locations being Egypt and the Dominican Republic.
Her first book Healing with Past Life Therapy: Transformational Journeys through Time and Space is out now with Findhorn Press and in the Spring next year she will be offering two CDs which will support the book called Inner Freedom 1 and Inner Freedom 2. She is a director of the Past and Future Life Society and is very passionate about helping people to change their lives for the better.
Website: www.lorraineflaherty.com Youtube
Available at: Amazon Barnes and Noble
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