Liberate Yourself from Past Trauma: 3 Keys to Powerfully Free Your Soul
The essence of spirituality is a deep connection with something bigger than ourselves. So many of us long for meaning in our lives. But we struggle with past traumas that live in our bodies, and in our minds in the form of shame, often due to others’ indiscretions. We distance ourselves from connection to something higher by constantly seeking out others’ approval, instead of tuning into the whispers of our own intuitive guidance.
I personally spent years searching for validation from spiritual teachers who turned out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Instead of going into victim mode following the abuse that they (and others) inflicted, I deepened my spiritual practice of transcendence of trauma. I feel grateful for the wisdom I gained from 13 years of devoted study of the Vedic spiritual traditions of Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta’s universal spirituality from oral lineages, even though I got betrayed by some of my teachers along with way.
In the ancient Indian goddess tradition I studied, there is an avatar of the warrior mother Goddess Durga, Kalaratri, who symbolizes the power of Truth to transcend life’s traumas. She is fierce and ferocious in every way. Despite this, I find her to be the most loving form of Goddess Durga, because she takes away all that is not eternal and true: the illusions and lies we have unconsciously subscribed to.
When we are free from illusions, we can liberate ourselves in every way.
Research from The Journal of Positive Psychology in 2008 shared how self-transcendent emotions like compassion, inspiration, appreciation, and elevation are connected with increased spirituality.
Here are powerful keys that have unlocked my own powerful soul liberation through the power of transcendence. I encourage you to try them to begin to free yourself from any baggage that may be holding you down.
1. Understand what emotional desire(s) may have led you to experience trauma, and begin to liberate yourself by seeing through the illusions in your desires.
We humans are creatures of habit. Unless we become awake to our own patterns, we will inevitably keep re-creating situations, relationships, and dynamics that make us feel powerless. I experienced this in my life. I could clearly see patterns from my childhood that I unconsciously recreated in my relationships with some of my spiritual teachers. I needed to recognize my desire for maternal love that was at the root of this, and the illusion that this love was something I needed to find outside myself. Recognizing this led me to deepen my practice of embodying the power of the mother goddesses I learned about within my own being.
Many people have strong desires for romantic love that leads them into abusive relationships. Once you can recognize that the love you seek from another lives within you, it empowers you to stop chasing someone else for love, and instead, through self-compassion, become the love you seek.
2. Acquire greater spiritual knowledge systematically to practice knowing and remembering the power of your own eternal soul.
The key to becoming the love you seek is to get continually inspired by learning more about the nature of your own soul. Knowledge unlocks powerful soul liberation by helping us free ourselves from the grip of negative, passing emotions, and hold onto only that which is eternal and changeless.
The more you listen to spiritual knowledge, in a systematic way, the more you get elevated and allow yourself to build a foundation of new thoughts, understandings and ways to engage with negativity within and around you. This ensures that you can emerge victorious from any and all obstacles life throws at you.
3. Engage in strength training to awaken the spiritual warrior within you.
We store trauma in our physical body, so it’s essential to move your body to move your emotions, instead of allowing them to get stuck. For abuse survivors, it helps to engage with your body in a powerful way, with strength training exercises, martial arts, and/or assertiveness training to feel grounded and strong in the present moment, and thereby better able to protect yourself from future threats.
The journey of powerful soul liberation is the most challenging and rewarding one. It gifts you blessings of an eternal nature that no one can ever take from you.
About Ananta
Ananta Ripa Ajmera is a spiritual teacher, 10-time international award-winning, best-selling author of The Way of the Goddess, founder of SoulWisdom Press & PR, and co-founder of The Ancient Way, an organization offering Powerful Soul Liberation programs, rooted in Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta's universal spirituality. She’s been featured in Forbes, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. She’s taught at Endeavor, Stanford, and UNICEF.