“Love conquers any obstacle of the heart. When your valley of doubt seems so deep your legs will become too weary to cross it, let hope be your strength’s saving grace. If your mountain of pain is so steep you can no longer scale it, let faith carry your spirit higher than any mountain top can ever reach.”—Robert Clancy
There’s a masked area of the soul I call the black box…I have one and so do you. This dark place is where you store all those things that seem too painful to deal with in your life. The black box can contain your deepest fears, your doubts, regrets, the unspoken things you may not want others to know about you. Is this because you feel you’d be judged or possibly rejected by those around you if they knew this about you? Do you feel there is something holding you back from moving forward in life? Do you have bouts of fear or doubt when it comes to the image of yourself and how others see you?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could have a black box lying dormant in your soul. Your black box could even contain something you didn’t even know was in there. This could be a life issue you simply repressed in order to move on, but ultimately this blockage could be holding you back.
It important to know you are all flawed as a human. Even a flawed diamonds shine in its inherent brilliance when it seeks the light. Opening your black box exposes it to this light and this is how you will shine again. Trust that in the end, it will be okay. Listen with your heart to the lessons of this journey and believe in the truth discovered in your purpose.
So, how do you begin?
Step 1: Reflect
The first step is to take it slow. Releasing everything from your black box all at once can be overwhelming. The best place to start is with inner reflection and meditation. Find a comfortable darkened place to sit quietly. I often light a candle and play a soothing new age music in the room where I meditate. Close your eyes and focus on your natural breathing. It’s good practice to select a word or mantra that you repeat silently in your mind for a short while at the beginning of the meditation. I find that great words to use for a mantra are love, hope, peace, inner beauty, kindness, abundance or healing. When I begin a meditation, I often visualize a gentle light coming down upon my head that flows down through my body, through my feet and into the earth. As this light slowly flows through me, I relax each part of my body that I visualize it touching. Then, try to clear your mind of all thought and distractions. Each time your mind begins to wander, try to gently steer your thoughts back to either your mantra.
I found the daily mediations to beneficial in many ways. Outside of the reduction of stress, mediation brings a centering to one’s life. Think about how many times you bounce out of bed and run through your day. Just taking that extra few minutes in the morning to put a smile on your face by experiencing gratitude for your own existence can set you up for a much better day. There are so many stressors facing our life—especially young people. Just think about the frequency with which we are bombarded with negative news. Learning to know your soul through inner peace helps contribute to a satisfied life.
When you’ve completed your meditation, listen to your soul for the message it brings you. Identifying the true nature of your black box item is a huge part of the healing process. This is the time to ask why does this affect you so much and identify what areas of your life it impacts.
Step 2: Release
Find someone close to you whom you trust. It’s important that this person is someone who you believe won’t change their perception of you or worse pity you. This person should be a trusted caring confidant in your life. Find a quiet space to simply talk with them. Let them know you trust them and ask them if they are willing to help you by just listening to you without judgment. Be honest and completely open in your discussions with this person. Speak truth to release your heart gracefully. Know that this truth you speak is for your precious heart and this is forever held in that beautiful grace. Trust that you are simply releasing your burdens. Take solace in knowing love weighs nothing, yet it weighs in on everything in your life.
Step 3: Renew
It’s time to heal. You will have an open wound exposed to the light. Just like any wound, it takes time, loving care and attention to properly heal. This is a key time to not waste any energy worrying about tomorrow or wondering about what you could’ve or should’ve changed in the past. This is time to spend with yourself. It’s completely natural to be withdrawn from life for a while. Just like your eyes need a little time to adjust to the darkness before you’ll see any light, your heart will also need time with healing sorrow before it will see happiness again. This is the beauty of life. Stay positive during this time! Your thoughts dictate your words and actions and those actions are the embodiment of your soul. This is a critical time to give gratitude for everything you do have in life. Attitude truly is everything, especially when that outlook on your life comes from deep within your soul. Whatever you’ve released from your black box is gone forever. You can and will heal from this pain if you believe in the divine light within your heart.
All in Love and Light,
Robert Clancy
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