Blessings from Obstacles
By Nancy Canning

Don’t we all wish some aspects of our childhood had been different?  If only!  If only my father had not been alcoholic.  If only my mother had been emotionally present for me.  If only I had felt as though I belonged and fit in.  If only we hadn’t moved just when I found a best friend.  If only I had not been abused.  If only I had been smarter or prettier or popular.  The list goes on but it ends in the same place.  If only that hadn’t happened, then my life would have been different and now I would be happier and more successful.

Rather than looking at our deep childhood wounds and the limiting beliefs that resulted as obstacles to our growth and development, I have come to learn that they are actually the stepping stones to our soul’s fulfillment.  Let me explain.

Beginning in the womb and throughout our early years, we are learning how to survive in this world.  How do we stay safe and loved?  As we experience life, we are creating subconscious belief systems.  This is how it works.  An event happens that has emotional impact.  Let’s say you’re 6 years old, proud to be in first grade, and you raise your hand to give an answer.  Your answer is wrong and the kids laugh.  In that moment of humiliation you shut down inside and form a belief, or many beliefs, about yourself and your place in the world.  You may decide you can’t trust your own knowing.  You thought you were right but you were wrong.  Instantaneously, a belief system is formed that consists of four elements: (1) the thought “I can’t trust what I think I know”; (2) the age 6; (3) the emotion of shutting down in humiliation; and (4) the event of being laughed at.  Those four elements fuse together and this belief system is programmed into your subconscious mind as though it is the truth about you.

Until this belief changes at the subconscious level, it acts as a reliable program.  Each time it is activated in life, it pulls you right back into that forgotten experience and you feel that same depth of humiliation and fear of trusting yourself. As an adult, you doubt your own knowing, not trusting yourself for fear of making a mistake and being humiliated. This belief filters your thinking and you make poor choices. It’s a powerful belief that feels very real.  You look at your life and see where it has proven out time and again.  You trust your knowing and you’re wrong.  The belief plays out in your life as true, so therefore it must be true. 

What’s actually true is that you have a belief system. You subconsciously believe you can’t trust your knowing, and so you can’t. You feel paralyzed when you consider action based on your gut instincts and then you make wrong choices. The belief itself is not true even though it feels real within you.

The truth is that the belief system is just an energized thought.  It’s words, actually; words that are charged with energy and emotion.  It’s just a thought and it never was true.  At age six you gave a wrong answer in class and the kids laughed. That is no reason to distrust your inner knowing for the rest of your life! Yet in that small incident you formed a belief that has had enormous influence over your ability to trust yourself.

Distrusting yourself may feel like a nemesis in your life. If only you trusted yourself, your life would be better.  You could be the person you were meant to be except that belief is in your way.

From a soul’s perspective, this limiting belief system is a blessing in your life.  It is your soul’s path to learn to trust yourself this lifetime.  By moving through the enormous fear and actually taking action based on your inner knowing, you are learning an important lesson your soul has come to experience.  From our soul’s higher perspective, our limiting beliefs are not our obstacles but rather our pathway to growth.  It is by moving through our limiting beliefs and fears that we blossom into a far greater version of ourselves.

I invite you to begin the practice of seeing your greatest obstacles and limiting beliefs as your greatest blessings.  It’s not easy, but this practice can guide you on your path of living your soul’s calling.

Nancy Canning, M.A, certified clinical hypnotherapist, has 28 years experience helping clients transform their limiting belief systems, journey into past lives and into the spirit world to learn their life purpose. Her book, Your Soul’s Calling, is nearing completion.  www.TransformBeliefs.com  www.SpiritualRegression.com  508-743-9545 Cape Cod, MA

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