Are you in touch with your true Soul Essence?
Do you feel bogged down by cultural and social expectations?
Does it feel like you are going through the motions and not being your authentic self?
Do you feel out of touch with the spirit you know is inside of you?
Underneath all the limiting beliefs, roles, physical limitations, and worldly commitments lie your true self, spirit, soul. But so often, we forget about our true selves under all these layers and burdens.
Yet, there comes a time when something shifts. You begin to realize that there is more to life than just putting your head down and going with the flow. When this happens, it is your soul calling out wanting to be rediscovered and to reconnect with you.
How is it possible to lose touch with your true self and forget the immense power to create that lies within you? The answer is Limiting beliefs emanating from cultural conditioning and family upbringing.
The good news is that you can free yourself from faulty conditioning. You can rise above limiting beliefs, repossess your power, realize your authentic self, and rediscover your Soul Essence.
In this article, you will learn about conditioning and limiting beliefs. You’ll learn why they hold you back from living in the highest expression of your Soul Essence. We’ll also see what you can do to get in touch with your soul essence.
Soul Essence: How Limiting Beliefs Work to Shape Your Life
Indeed, we all have a belief system. This invisible force influences our thinking process, behavior, personality. It dictates how we make sense of the world.
Each of us develops their own unique belief system from childhood experiences. For many of us, the beliefs we acquired from our upbringing remain deeply engrained in our psyche. They continue to be part of us even as adults. In other words, as kids, we are conditioned to think and make sense of the world in a certain way. We just carry this conditioning to adulthood.
A belief system is not inherently a bad thing. Individuals, families, and societies form belief systems for their own survival. In many ways, our beliefs are a matter of life and death!
That being said, many belief systems do not serve us. This is where the term ‘limiting beliefs’ derives from. A limited belief is one that holds you back from living the life you want. It stops you achieving your goals, and manifesting your desires.
A limited belief is a falsehood in legitimate-sounding rationalizations.
Growing up, you might have heard these statements:
‘Money is the root cause of all evil’
‘You must work hard to earn money’
‘Life is hard’
‘Women only want men with money’ etc.
All these statements sound legitimate but are they true? If you believe them to be, then you will surely move through life creating experiences to support your beliefs. In the end, you will see that these beliefs hold you back and keep you from accessing your truest self.
What Is the Soul Essence?
Your Soul Essence is your Higher Self, the all-knowing, whole, and unconditionally loving Spirit that dwells in the ether.
The you that is living on earth is an embodiment of your Higher Self. Even though you are always connected, ego, fear, and limiting beliefs can repress and block your connection to your truest, highest self.
When you rise above your beliefs and limitations, you can rediscover your Higher Self and live an authentic life. As you begin to break through the layers of years of conditioning to discover your true self you will:
- Be less anxious and more receptive to life
- Rediscover your intuition and other spiritual gifts
- Experience greater inspiration and creativity in all areas of your life
- Become more empathetic toward others
- Develop unconditional love for yourself and others
Wondering how to break free from limiting beliefs and conditioning to discover your Soul Essence? Here are a few powerful tips to guide you in your journey:
1. Question Your Beliefs
The first step to reconnecting with your Higher Self is becoming aware of the beliefs you picked up from your parents, teachers, and other cultural influences and questioning them.
A limiting belief is a thought keeping you from achieving your desires. Whenever there is a disconnect between what you say and what you do, chances are good that limiting beliefs are at work.
If you do not know what your limiting beliefs are, ask yourself this question: What areas of my life have I tried to improve but no matter what I do, things do not seem to get better?
Any area where you are struggling or are not producing the desired results, you can identify beliefs that are not serving you.
Byron Katie, an author and spiritual teacher presents a powerful method of unearthing and questioning your beliefs. Known as The Work,this method prompts you to ask these fundamental questions:
- How true is that thought?
- What happens when you believe that thought?
- What would you be without that thought?
Observing your thoughts and feelings and questioning them in this way will help you to identify beliefs that serve and empower you and to gradually untangle yourself from conditioning that is wrapped up in falsehood so you can live more authentically.
2. Transcend Old Conditioning with Meditation
Meditation quietens the mind and silence is the portal through which we can access our divine nature, free of all the conditioning, beliefs, and untruths.
Through regular meditation, you can begin to not only silence the chatter in your head but to also become an observer of your thoughts and feelings. As mentioned earlier, awareness is the first step to freeing yourself from limitations that disconnect you from your true self.
In silence, you can channel your past experiences and observe how these are affecting your present life. The more you illuminate your past and present with awareness, the more you continue to lift the veil of faulty conditioning.
Meditation also allows you to ask for guidance and to receive answers from your Higher Self. This is you reconnecting with the authentic, uncontaminated self. When you do this, you will begin to see the changes in every aspect of your life.
Take at least ten minutes every day to meditate, preferably in your soul place. A soul place is any special location that conjures deep, intimate emotions and a sense of well-being and belonging. In your soul place, you can transcend your five senses and truly access your Soul Essence.
Your soul place does not have to be an exotic, dreamy location. It can be in a park, place of worship, a specific room in your house, anywhere that makes you feel empowered and connected to all there is.
At this time, take in the beauty of all that surrounds you. Or, you can sit in silent contemplation as you focus on your breathing. Watch your thoughts come and let them go without judgment.
Furthermore, this exercise will help you to identify and let go of beliefs that no longer serve you and to create space for deep wisdom and connection with the Divine.
3. Recondition Your Mind with Affirmations
Between aged two and five, the brain is at a highly programmable stage. During this time, we absorb a lot of information from our immediate family and society about who we are and how the world works (or is supposed to work).
This information, good or bad, truth or falsehood, is stored in the subconscious mind and is cemented deeper and deeper in our psyche as time goes by.
Uninstalling this information, which is in the form of beliefs, ideas, and concepts, is no easy feat. Just as it took time to condition your mind from childhood, reconditioning the mind also takes time.
Reciting positive, empowering affirmations is one of the most effective ways to flip your belief system on its head and recondition your mind with a new set of beliefs that serve you better.
Done consistently, intentionally, and long enough, affirmations can permeate your subconscious mind and fill it with new information, allowing you to reconnect with your true self, beyond the limiting beliefs that you might have acquired in the past.
An empowering affirmation is in opposition to a limiting belief. Therefore, if you identify one of your limiting beliefs as “I do not deserve (fill in the blank) because I am not smart enough,” you could construct a positive statement that counters this thought, for example, you could say, “I deserve all good things and I am supported at all times. I take advantage of the many learning opportunities life offers. I am capable of improving my performance.”
Here is another powerful affirmation for overcoming faulty conditioning:
“Even though society and my family imposed their beliefs on me, I am in control of my beliefs as an adult. I am free of limiting beliefs. I choose empowering and uplifting beliefs only.”
It is common to experience resistance the first time you attempt to recondition your mind with positive affirmations. But do not stop. Continue with the positive affirmations, reciting them several times a day until they effortlessly become your natural way of thinking.
The truth is, your Soul Essence is whole, smart, loveable, capable, and complete contrary to all the limiting beliefs society and your parents might have impressed on you. Affirmations help you to sift through these limitations and access your true nature.
4. Tap on Your Limiting Beliefs Using the Emotional Freedom Technique
The Universe has gifted us with tools we can use to reconnect with our Higher Self. The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one such tool you can use to unearth and release limiting beliefs.
EFT, commonly known as tapping, is premised on the concept that there are energy points found throughout the body and that applying pressure to these points can alleviate symptoms brought on by negative emotions or experiences.
If you are new to meridian tapping, there is a lot to learn about the technique but in summary, the process entails tapping on each of the eight meridian points starting from the top of the head down to your underarm while addressing a specific problem and then following this up with an uplifting affirmation.
For example, the process usually starts with tapping along the edge of your hand opposite to the thumb. As you do this, you could say, “Even though I worry about my finances, I choose to love and accept myself.” Repeat this process for each of the meridian points.
The reason why EFT is so powerful is that it helps you access the subconscious mind, which is where all conditioning happens. Tapping on specific energy points while repeating positive affirmations is believed to release underlying negative energy and replaces this with the new energy (positive affirmations) you are imprinting on the subconscious mind.
Choosing to love and accept yourself, regardless of your outside circumstances is a powerful way to reconnect with your true self, which is loveable and acceptable at all times.
5. Learn to Listen to Your Body
As we go through life navigating our busy schedules, we can easily lose touch of how our bodies feel or even normalize low-level feelings and chalk them up to stress or fatigue.
However, your physical body is a reincarnation of your Soul Essence and therefore, it is the medium through which the Divine speaks to you. Years of cultural conditioning can be difficult to discern at the mental level but your body is the best medium for discovering your truest self.
When you learn how to listen to your body, you will know when things are out of balance and when you are in alignment with your Soul Essence. How your body feels at any given time will tell you whether limiting beliefs are at play.
Techniques such as meditation, affirmation, and EFT all work effectively when you can access the wisdom of your body.
Soul Essence Summary
Past conditioning impressed upon you by family and society can cause you to forget your true self. However, regardless of what you were told, your Soul Essence, your truest and highest self is infinitely loving, wholesome, capable, and abundant. By making use of the tools that the Universe has gifted you, you can rediscover your divine essence and live an authentic life.