There’s been something that’s been brewing in me for a long time. It’s come up when I’ve spoken to friends, it’s made itself known in sessions and it’s visited me as I’ve read books or watched shows.

In particular, that show has been The Handmaid’s Tale, a ferocious dystopian saga that has riled up something in me that I didn’t even know I was feeling.

And it’s all to do with the suppression of the soul.

Bright, lively, wondrous people who are shackled to people or situations that consciously or unconsciously slowly extinguishes their fire.

Sometimes it’s parents, who don’t understand us and want to mould us into who they once yearned to be themselves or into roles they expect us to fulfil. Or it can also be family members, siblings, partners, husbands and wives.

The expectations of others, and society, can keep us in invisible cages where we’re held captive through fear of judgement, fear of being seen, fear of change and fear of the unknown.

It’s when we suppress our soul on this alter of fear that a disquieting tension builds up causing us to lose our sense of self and our wellbeing. For whenever there is an imbalance in our soul, there is an imbalance in our minds and there is also an imbalance in our body.

Untaming ourselves from expectations

I’ve been reading Glennon Doyle’s book ‘Untamed’, all about how women grow up in the cages of expectations, programming and societal conditioning.

But Glennon misses a trick. It’s not just women, it’s men too. Just because men have had the upper hand in the past, it doesn’t mean they aren’t also trapped in the cages of expectations, programming and societal conditioning just as much as women are.

I won’t punish and ignore the men of today for the mistakes of men in the past.

Like me, her job is also about listening to women and what she writes is “what many tell me is that they harbour an achy, heavy hunch that their lives, relationships and world were meant to be far more beautiful than they are” and I couldn’t agree more.

Life is indeed meant to be far more beautiful than we settle for. The problem is, the world tells us that what we have is what we’re supposed to want and shouldn’t we be lucky. We settle for default gratitude which is a far paler version of the real vibrancy of true gratitude.

Yet I witness so many people who are shackled; to work they feel no pleasure in doing that neglects to feed their soul, to partners who are incapable of really hearing, seeing and listening to them, or to family, who manipulate, twist and contort them, or to a way of living that represses them and keeps them feeling stuck, limited and trapped.

Glennon writes “emotions, intuition, imagination and courage are the keys to freedom” and that they are. The thing is, when we’re shackled, we numb these out. It’s a slow and steady suffering of emptiness.

Looking into the mirror of the world

Everyone we interact with reflects back to us our ideas of the world and truths about ourselves. Yet, so many of us don’t tune in and take each interaction with others as a messenger from God / Spirit / the Universe.

The world is my mirror and I take my time, and great pleasure, in really seeing what it is choosing to show me.

Through doing this it’s helped me realise my purpose in the work I do; to help people unshackle themselves and rise out of this suppression of their soul, to help them understand who they really are and how to access the freedom, unlimitedness, joy and expansion that is their birthright.

None of us need to be shackled to the expectations of others, whether it’s family or partners, or stuck in a way of living that dampens our spirit. It is deeply programmed within us to be selfless, ignore the whispers of our soul and follow the expectations of society and others, no matter what the cost to our happiness, wellbeing and sanity.

The ego controls us through fear and fear is the iron manacle that keep us trapped, unable to move, paralysed, stuck and incapable of making powerful decisions.

I am on a journey to unshackling myself from the expectations of others, lifelong programming and the illusions of the matrix which have all had 33 years to build a web that I am slowly hacking my way out of.

Reconnecting with your dreams

You don’t have to live that way, whatever that way is that you’ve been taught to live. You don’t have to follow the truth of others over listening to your own gut feelings.

We may have many incarnations on this earth, but we only have one life right now.

If this resonates with you, this feeling of being trapped, suppressed, caged in or limited, listen to that voice because it’s guiding you to another path, another way of being that is possible: one of authenticity, truth and freedom.

You don’t need to rush into making dramatic decisions or big changes, you just need to start listening to yourself. This is all it comes down to; tuning into your own frequency and seeing what comes through for you.

Our programming runs far deeper than we can imagine and it takes time to uproot so be patient. Start making time for yourself, write things down, start tuning into what gives you joy, and do those things that make you smile and feel more alive.

But more than anything, start to feel your emotions so they can begin to release. We cannot free the suppression of our soul without first wading through the river of emotions we’ve suppressed. But, once we do, it cleanses us, washing the old away and gently preparing us for the new.

You don’t have to live a shackled life. You have permission to make choices that free your soul from the suppression, and if you need support I’m here to help.

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Carry on exploring