For many of us, punishment is so interwoven into our own energy that we are not fully aware we’re handling such energy on a daily basis. This is especially true if you were raised in a culture that used punishment heavily as a means of controlling you. Many religions use the threat of punishment to create fear and therefore control its followers. Likewise, many schools and parenting styles use punishment to manage behaviors. Justice systems employ punishment to steer us away from committing crimes. There are certainly consequences to our choices, and sometimes those consequences involve punishment. Punishment often comes with a heavy dose of shaming and invalidation, but more on those another time.
I believe we need to be careful with punishment. I believe it’s more important now than ever to wield punishment with as much awareness as possible. It can be very destructive. What are we trying to accomplish when we’re hurling punishment at another? Are we really intending to break each other down and tear each other apart? What about when we’re punishing ourselves? We need to be aware of the consequences of using punishment so that we’re clear about the choices we’re making around this energy.
The place to start is within our own lives. Within our own energy fields.
I share the following in the hope that it will illustrate how you might find, and clear the punishment in your own life.
Many years ago, on a beautiful spring afternoon, I had just finished recording my first CD and was feeling elated, full of joy, as I headed home. In this lovely state, I was driving through a residential neighborhood and was suddenly pulled over by the police and issued a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. I tried to explain that I was navigating around a UPS truck, but gave up quickly as it was clear I was getting a ticket, nevermind my excuses. My elated, joyful bubble burst instantly like a soap bubble touched ever so lightly. Poof!
I drove away feeling so unfairly punished and so wildly angry and hurt. And this was familiar to me. This was about more than the citation from the police. I realized I’d been handling this punishment for quite some time since my divorce. Years, in fact. I felt that I was being punished for my marriage failing. I realized I’d been allowing this punishment energy and actually agreeing with it to a great extent. I became keenly aware of punishment energy in those moments. I realized too that I was attracting punishment energy. In those sudden moments of clarity, I could see that I had been allowing this punishment because I thought I deserved it. Furthermore, I was letting it take up space and significantly limit how much joy I could have. Once I became aware of this, it began to clear immediately and effortlessly.
Punishment energy is NOT your energy.
Are you handling punishment? Are you punishing yourself because you were programmed and taught to do so? Is someone else punishing you for something? When have you noticed punishment in your life? What are you being punished for? Are you berating yourself about something? When I’m reading for my clients this energy can even appear as them being beaten over the head with a hammer… or finger wagging. Sometimes it’s simply dark, heavy colors.
I invite you to meditate on this. If you become aware of punishment energy in your space, face it. See it and acknowledge it. Odds are this energy is not serving you anymore. And as you are finished with it, release it into the Earth. Let it slide off of you and slip down into the ground. Bring in gold energy of forgiveness. Invite gold energy to cleanse and heal those places where punishment was taking up space in your life. Release the punishment and bring in forgiveness in its place.
This may not be a one and done matter. Be on the lookout for punishment. Be alert to it so that you can clear it more quickly and not live with it for years. And so that you don’t inadvertently direct it at someone else.
Clearing punishment may involve some programming you’ve had since childhood. Be gentle with yourself. If you need support, please reach out.
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