Clients often flash back into archetypal experiences that we can’t explain during the Budden Process. We don’t attempt to explain them... we honor them. And if possible, while diving in, we use that time to complete whatever is incomplete.
'Past life' Memories
As I touched a client's collarbone, he remembered almost drowning. His body struggled and fought. His face turned ashen. I advised him to let himself drown. As he did, his whole body relaxed, and a tangible layer of armor fell away. There was a flood of tears, and this body that had been spending so much energy resisting drowning, was now free to create a life; to walk on the land and out into the water without fear. He writes me regularly to let me know that, since that fateful hour, his life has completely changed. He is now engaged with a host of kindred spirits, doing the work he loves, and living his purpose.
As I touched a client's rib, a memory arose that she could not understand. She flashed back to the ‘old west’, where she had just been shot. Her lung was filling up with blood. There was an intense feeling of betrayal and confusion, as she grimaced and fell back into the dust.
As she struggled and writhed, aching for vengeance, I suggested she let herself die. As she did, she softened into the experience. A serene look came over her face, and she died there, facing the blue sky.
She didn’t die, of course. The pattern found resolution. Something that was not her died. A lot of future-oriented suffering died. She was reborn, and her entire life changed; her job, her partner, her career, her location. She didn't use willpower; she automatically shifted as her body and mind fell into harmony.
During a Vipassana meditation retreat, I kept feeling a deep wound around my solar plexus. As I looked down, I saw a plume of yellow feathers, and when I followed a lance like shape to the end, there was a tribal warrior baring his teeth as he plunged the spear into my torso. As soon as I saw that image, a layer of the pain vanished, and my posture changed. It had been laborious to sit up in meditation before, and then it became easier.
Completing what is incomplete in your system often involves leaning into a frightening or inexplicable experience. Lean in. There is often profound peace on the other side, waiting for you, right where you never left it.
People are tempted to label these experiences 'past life memories,' and move on. I call them 'archetypal experiences' because, for me, it leaves more space for a direct experience, free of labels.
One thing is for certain, they become as real as any visceral experience, and they remain unexplained. And this is a beautiful space to work from. Beliefs can limit experience, because you can only see what fits into your belief structure.
Leave your beliefs at the door, please, with your shoes.
In truth,
Steven Budden
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PS. I keep case studies anonymous and often change the gender and other details to hide the identity of the client. These case studies are for educational and marketing purposes.