Teachings and Wisdom Stories
December 8, 2011 Old Souls and Karma, which sometimes looks a lot like trauma....
by Nancy Kern on 12/08/11
Many times I
see clients who have had traumatic childhoods. Their stories are
heartbreaking. They rarely feel sorry for themselves. They have
persevered through so many hardships, for such a long time, that what
they feel is dogged determination. They have handled their troubles
alone, starting at such a young age, that it doesn't occur to them to
ask for help.
They
may think that spiritual healing is for the enlightened or highly
evolved soul. They may think they are not pure enough, because they
carry shame. Shame is like those blackout spots on police news videos,
where you can't see the person's eyes because the screen shimmers. Shame
stops you from processing your trauma. Shame is like crazy glue in your
neural synapses. Where you carry shame, you lose interest in learning. Makes sense,
if every time you try something, you bump into a wall of
shame.
What I actually find in readings for people who have been traumatized, is that many, if not most of these folks are old souls.
Why
would an old soul incarnate with so many challenges? It seems like an
old soul would choose a cushy life: loving parents, easy money, adoring
spouse, fufilling career....and of course, physical beauty & fantastic
health.
But
what I see repeatedly is old souls who've had serious trauma in their
lives: emotional, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, illness, loss....
Many
old souls have matured to the point of getting serious about becoming
wise and compassionate. To do this, we have to have suffered. We have to
fully identify with the best and the worst of the human experience, and
know that we have the capacity to suffer horror and to perpetrate
horror. Knowing that about ourselves, we learn to experience our
divinity in an unconditional way. We find self worth and learn to
fully love ourselves, respect ourselves, believe in ourselves, and
trust ourselves - unconditionally, the way Spirit does!
That
is why trauma is bodhi - a Buddhist term for an instrument of our
awakening. When my clients experience the truth of this in a reading, Light courses through them. Heaviness departs; years fall away as they
sense the opening of new possibilities. It is a great happiness to see a
client looking ten years younger at the end of their reading!
A spiritual perspective is your greatest ally, no matter where you are in your recovery, and no matter what pain you've carried. Let it be lighter.
