In my most recent poem, I examined my natural attractions and repulsions to people, things and situations. It's a starting point when learning to identify patterns in a person's life, especially with regards to past life trauma and the quest to meet the life challenges presented this time around.
It's often noted in present-life therapy that people repeat negative patterns as a subconscious means of trying to deal with underlying issues. Once the 'student' is ready, a 'teacher' will come. For example, a child from an alcoholic home will often grow into adulthood choosing romantic partners that mirror the alcoholic parent. Once the adult version of that wounded child is ready, a situation will present itself - most often painfully - to allow that person to make a new choice. This choice represents the giant internal shift for that former child to rewrite his or her story into a positive outcome at long last.
These breakthroughs are never easy. The path to the breakthrough can sometimes leave collateral damage. So why is this inner knowledge so hard to find?
In my view, the greater the value and significance of the ah-ha moment, the higher the price tag.
No pain, no gain.
And there's no escaping it, either. The longer a person tries to put off learning an important soul message/lesson, the more curve balls life will throw at you. Repetitive curve balls, ones that will hopefully become obvious after awhile.
I keep my eyes and heart open to recognize the negative patterns in my own life. When I realize what's going on, I make a real effort to understand why the pattern is there, what I'm supposed to learn from it, and then to transcend my previous pattern.
I've been actively doing this for the past twenty years. Is my life in perfect harmony? No.
But I have made a lot of progress in several key areas. When dealing with trauma from a single life, it's hard enough. When dealing with past life trauma, that's baggage I've been carrying around for a lo-o-o-ong, long time. So I give myself a break and realize that any progress made is hitting the spiritual jackpot.
It's taken me two years to reveal my belief in reincarnation here on my blog. Is my fear of revealing this tied to a problem I had as an earlier version of myself? Absolutely.
Now where does Hugh Jackman come into all of this?
As a film-lover, it's easy to notice patterns emerge in the film choices made by actors and actresses. I've often thought that these repeating patterns are likely an attempt by the Universe to get the attention of the actor or actress. I presume that the issue behind these patterns is likely the dominant life challenge brought into this life by that person.
I'm going to start another feature here at A Piece of My Mind. It won't be an every-week kind of post, but will return on a regular basis.
For Identifying Life Patterns, I'll highlight the pattern I've noticed in the performances of actors and actresses. I invite readers to guess what the life challenge is for that person, based upon the issue we can observe.
Why do this? Well, I find that fiction is a safe sounding board for painful truth. It's easier to weep over a movie than it is to face things inside oneself. But fiction can also be a key that unlocks answers to questions we can't verbalize to ourselves. Recognizing patterns in films helps me to identify my own patterns when they crop up in real life.
So let's Identify Life Patterns - the Hugh Jackman Way.
Here are stills from five of his films. What is going on in these scenes? What is the dominant problem reoccurring again and again? And how would a person go about releasing this pattern once it was recognized?
Films: Van Helsing, X-Men3: The Last Stand, The Fountain, The Prestige and X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Bobbi says Wow, Julia, this is a deep topic. You've certainly given me food for thought this beautiful Saturday morning. I look forward to more of these posts!
Apprentice Writer says I hear you on the 'sometimes easier to deal with/work through hard emotions in fiction' thing.
Thomma Lyn says Some people catch the curve balls, others miss them, and yet others pretend they don't see the curve balls at all, even when they're being pitched at their heads!
Wow, Julia, this is a deep topic, but you've done a great job with beginning the discussion.
ReplyDeleteI feel like my life is still in a holding pattern, 4 years after my sister's death. At first it was overwhelming grief that made me withdraw from the world. But now I'm wondering if I'm using this as a crutch to keep from moving on with my life.
You've certainly given me food for thought this beautiful Saturday morning. I look forward to more of these posts!
Bobbi - I remember you mentioning the loss of your sister. It's no wonder you feel like you're in a holding pattern.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at these scenes from Hugh Jackman's films, I see a physically powerful man, a brilliant man, a brave man - whose strengths were unable to hold back the hand of death from taking his beloved.
Grief is an incredible force. It's as strong as the love whose loss fuels its hold over us. The only way to lessen the crushing weight of grief is to accept the loss that occurred. And if that were easy to do, there wouldn't be these five scenes from Hugh Jackman's films, brimming with raw pain.
Thanks for your comment, Bobbi.
apparently, a lot of casting directors think hugh does grief well.
ReplyDeletei hear you on the 'sometimes easier to deal with/work through hard emotions in fiction' thing. my life has been touched by suicide on different levels, and my book club just chose 'a long way down' by nick hornby (premise is: four londoners meet on new years eve on the roof of a buidling famous as suicide instrument). it's made for unexpectedly profound reading.
M - (LOL on the casting thing!)
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for mentioning your book club's choice nudging you into examining profound subject matter for you, personally. I always pay attention when things allign and I'm forced to give attention to something I may not have wanted to see. I hope reading and discussing the book gives some release to you, M.
I, too, hear you on how sometimes it's easier to work through problems in fiction, whether reading or by writing -- it's amazing what we writers can do, how situations can be transmuted from reality into something completely different in a story, but the emotions are still there, and in writing them, we are able to examine them in a new context.
ReplyDeleteYou've presented much good food for thought in this post. I, too, think a lot about life patterns. I love what you said about how we tend to repeat negative patterns but then are presented, sometimes repeatedly, with situations which allow us to rewrite our stories -- or at least to revise them considerably. I've found that to be so true, not only in my life but in the lives of several of my loved ones. Some people catch the curve balls, others miss them, and yet others pretend they don't see the curve balls at all, even when they're being pitched at their heads! It's a dynamic I like to explore, in many ways, in my fiction, and I look forward to more posts from you exploring the topic. :)
Thomma Lyn - I love your curve balls comment!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interest in my new feature. I'm already working on the next one.