Johanna Kern’s article “Facing the 7 Ghosts of our Past” was featured in February 2019 edition A of OMTimes Magazine.
OMTimes Magazine is one of the leading online content providers of positivity, wellness, and personal empowerment in every English-speaking country – with millions of readers.
Are we allowing the Ghosts of Our Past to keep us from the relationships we deserve?
The 7 Ghosts of Our Past that are Relationship Crashers
We all want happiness in life. No one on this planet would truthfully tell you that he/she wants to be unhappy.
The quest for happiness in life is a two-sided coin. On one hand, it requires us to let go of our expectations and appreciate life for what it is – a wonderful journey to becoming who we truly are. On the other side, we need to put some effort into arriving at the place where we can fully be the person we are meant to be.
A happy relationship, based on true Love, is built on the same principles.
Happiness in a relationship is present because of our ability to let go of what weighs us down, and at the same time – because of what we are willing to do for our relationship to thrive.
We want it to be a truly delightful feast, where the two of us can enjoy our time together, and celebrate what we have: Love.
But what if that feast we longed and planned for is interrupted by uninvited guests who appear at our beautifully set table with their own hidden, destructive agenda?
Visiting The Ghosts of Our Past
They are the relationship crashers. Just as the wedding crashers can come from either side: the bride’s or the groom’s – so do the relationship crashers. Often they can appear from both sides:
The Fear of Change
The Fear of Getting Emotionally Hurt
The Fear of Rejection
The Fear of Loss of Freedom
The Fear of Inadequacy
The Fear of Loneliness
The Fear of Failure
Every wound that we have developed becomes a weakness that we tend to hide in our subconscious, “brushing it under the rug” – so to speak. That wound, when not dealt with and not healed, becomes a base for developing a subconscious Shadow which guards our weak spots with, one might say, “its own body”. Such a Shadow becomes ruthless at the same time. A dark-natured bully who begins to control our behavior and feelings. The more unresolved past trauma we have, the more Shadows reside in our subconscious. The Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung was the first one to talk about dark energy as the building material for our Shadows, that is everything that we reject in ourselves and others.
Our subconscious Shadows take over to protect us from any possible harm.
Whether there is a real danger, or just some imagined possible threat, our Shadows come out and act on our behalf. As if someone pressed a button, we start behaving in a defensive way, like robots on automatic pilot. In short: we keep sabotaging our relationships, our happiness, our right to success, abundance, and our right to love and be loved.
When we are beginning a relationship based on true Love, we are agreeing to take equal responsibility for sharing our Love. When any problems occur, we can’t just point our finger and say: “It’s all your fault”, or “You know that I’m screwed up. I can’t help it.”
We can help it.
We can always help it if we want.
The Ghosts of Our Past let us know of their presence, sooner or later. Actually, each of us knows their Shadows well. We know how we may react; we know what we have done, and what we might do. So let us not pretend that we are surprised by our Shadows’ existence when they crash our relationship. And let us be equally aware that the person we love will have his or her own Shadows as well.
Now, it doesn’t mean that we need to run away from Love, or a chance to have a loving relationship when we are not yet healed. And let us not dismiss the possibility of loving and being with someone whose wounds might go very deep. Yes, it is best to take care of our own mess, before it becomes a deal breaker. But – the mere presence of the mess (the other person’s or ours) is not a problem that cannot be overcome. Unless it really is.
When we decide to love each other and grow together, we naturally take the risk of facing and dealing with our human nature.
Whether it’s us, our partner, or both of us who need to do some healing – we need to be equally patient, supportive, and wise enough to know that the healing process takes some time.
This is the most important thing to remember when the Ghosts of Our Past appear to divide us, and “put us in our place” – so that we won’t dwell in the darkness of our misery, so that we don’t lose sight of the loving light of our Love.
The above article is based on an excerpt from the book “Secrets of Love: What You Need to Know to Have an Amazing Relationship”, published by HOPE Assn.
STEPS TO DEALING WITH EACH OF THE SHADOWS: IN THIS BOOK (CHAPTER 8).
Read the original article here: PDF of the pages in OMTimes OR on their website
Johanna Kern
Johanna Kern, multiple award-winning author and transformational teacher, has extensive experience in counseling people on life and career paths, spirituality, health and emotional problems, relationships and family issues.
Drawing from her experience and knowledge from over 20 years as a successful professional and counselor, she has designed a special guide to unlocking the secrets of creating a deeply fulfilling, lasting, successful romantic relationship. Her award-winning book “Secrets Of Love: What You Need To Know To Have An Amazing Relationship” is written in an easy heartfelt style with charming graphic illustrations, and speaks to readers of all ages and relationship backgrounds.
Endorsement
Secrets of Love – Johanna Kern
“This delightful book covers so many dimensions that it is really a book that is all about ALL about love. It goes into more depth than similar books, and does so in a delightful, reader-friendly style, as Johanna Kern, the author, ranges from search for love, what to do when one finds it, how to nurture it, and what to do when it crashes – or survives! If someone has not found love when one reads this book, it will be a practical road map for the journey!”
– Stanley Krippner Ph.D. – Co-author of “Personal Mythology”; former President of the Association for Humanistic Psychology; a Charter Member of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation; a pioneer in the study of consciousness, having conducted research for over 50 years; recipient of the Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Development of Psychology and Professional Hypnosis
With these Secrets you can make your Love the best story of your life.
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Secrets of Love – Johanna Kern
