Spiritual Strongholds: The Deepest Form of Bondage
Spiritual blocks are sometimes packaged as spiritual strongholds. These strongholds are forged from two or more beliefs or at least one feeling and a belief that relate to our divine nature—or rather, a false judgment about our innate purity. Most common are strongholds that leave us feeling disconnected from the Divine or from our own innate spirit.
Spiritual beliefs are mental in nature, but they affect every part of our being. The feelings connected with spiritual misperceptions might seem “normal,” but they impact us much more severely when bonded with a spiritual misperception rather the more everyday, garden variety. As with all misinformed beliefs, spiritual inaccuracies reduce to the assumption that we are separate: separate from the Divine, from our essence, from other people, or from the world. They leave us feeling worthless, undeserving, powerless, devalued, bad, or unlovable. They go a step further, however, in that they strike at our core self, reducing us to believing not only that we act badly or feel bad (or worthless or undeserving), but that we actually are the epitome of these negative beliefs. Essentially, spiritual strongholds produce shame, the sense of being wrong.
Most of us think that shame is a feeling; it isn’t. In the energetic world, it’s an energy that appears like a gray blob. It fills our cells, organs, systems, chakras, and all other energetic structures with a thick, viscous liquid that stops the flow of mana or life energy. It surrounds us with an impenetrable goop that locks us into being solitary. The more shame in or around us the more alone and lonely we feel. The more isolated we perceive ourselves, the worse we feel about ourselves.
Ritual abuse survivors exemplify the bondage resulting from spiritual strongholds and shame. Ritual abuse involves treatment that destroys our sense of divinity or the belief that we are connected to the Divine. I’ve worked with many people who have lived through—and nearly been destroyed by—ritual abuse. Many were exposed to Satanic cults. Some viewed the sacrifice of animals, babies, and loved ones at the altar of the dark. Others were themselves cut or castrated so that their blood would provide power for the abusers. These crippling experiences were inevitably accompanied by messages that left the abused feeling like they were evil, rather than the victims of evil.
Ceremonial abuse is only one form of spiritual abuse, however. Any fanatical set of beliefs can be used to hurt or injure our innate sense of worthiness. I’ve worked with many clients who were exposed to ‘born again” Christianity—the type that insists that anyone who doesn’t perform a certain way is evil, a spawn of the Devil, and going to go to hell. This type of spiritual pressure is a form of shaming and leaves the victim unable to access or call forth his or her unique spiritual essence or gifts. Likewise, any religion, institution, or school that professes to be the “only way” can lead to spiritual bondage and strongholds that leave the victim hating oneself and even the Divine.
A spiritual stronghold can be extraordinarily hard to heal, as by the time most people realize they are suffering from this, they have successfully convinced themselves that if there is a God, a Creator, an Almighty—that being cannot love them. I have found that the only way to really recover from a spiritual stronghold is to release the shame, perceived as a real and solid energy, to the Divine Source, and to then feel the feelings that underlie the events constituting the abuse. Feeling our feelings frees us to reexamine our ideas and to correct the ones that aren’t right.
All content copyright Cyndi Dale
