| What You Will Need for This Exercise | | | | eyes. Imagine a bright white light above you. Allow |
| - Your Journal | | | | its warmth to surround you and fill you, starting |
| - A Pen | | | | at the top of your head. |
| - A warm cup of tea or other soothing beverage | | | | See and feel it searching out all of the tense |
| to keep you company during this journal | | | | places you identified earlier, transforming each |
| experience. | | | | place of tension or stress into warmth and |
| Brief Meditation | | | | relaxation. Imagine that each each stressful feeling |
| After taking a couple of slow, deep breaths, I | | | | is being released from the bottom of your feet |
| want you to remember the people who most | | | | into the earth and take as much time to allow |
| often drive you crazy, push your buttons, | | | | that as you need. |
| frustrate you and upset you. Usually, they will be | | | | Once you are complete with this part of the |
| family members but not always. | | | | process, open your eyes. |
| Bring them to mind and take a few moments to | | | | Back to the Journal for Finding What Needs to |
| see them in their element, saying or doing | | | | Heal |
| whatever it is that bothers you so much. Notice | | | | Choose the person or situation with the highest |
| what happens to you physically as you remember | | | | rating and journal your answers to the following |
| because wherever you notice a physical reaction | | | | questions. |
| (like your stomach churning, for example) is one | | | | 1) As you think about what this person says or |
| of the places where the memories are stored. | | | | does, how do you interpret it? What does that |
| Journal Prompt | | | | mean to you? |
| Take a few minutes to write down the following... | | | | 2) Does it indicate a lack of respect or seem to |
| - Their names | | | | mean that you are being cared for or valued or |
| - One sentence about what they do that bothers | | | | heard in that moment? |
| you | | | | 3) Is there a fear about what might happen if the |
| - A rating on a scale of 1-10 about how strong | | | | words or behavior don't stop? |
| the charge is around what they do, "ten" meaning | | | | 4) Does this situation remind you of anything |
| it bothers you intensely and "one" meaning you | | | | from your childhood? A time when you |
| hardly notice | | | | experienced something similar or had similar |
| - Some indication of how often it happens and | | | | thoughts and feelings? |
| when the last time was that they said or did it | | | | The memories, beliefs, thoughts and feelings you |
| Releasing the Energy | | | | uncover during this exercise are the things that |
| Once you have written those things down, go | | | | need to heal. Once you heal them, you are likely |
| back to slow and deep breathing and close your | | | | to find that they don't bother you as much. |