It’s 1965 and my father and I are standing on the curb in front of our house in Detroit. We’ve raked the leaves into the gutter and my father has lit them. We watch them burn and I wave a stick through the smoke. I can hear Simon and Garfunkel singing about the Sounds of Silence from the car of the teenage boy who lives next door.
What pleasant smell takes you instantly back to your childhood? What song carries you back? For me it will always be burning leaves.
Negative scents also carry associations with them. They can create a flashback phenomenon. Whenever something awful happens, I make sure I don’t wear perfume for a while so that I don’t have the two forever linked. I’d hate for my Chanel to become unwearable.
Scents, sounds, and flavors etch our emotions.
And, we may not realize it, but emotions imprint themselves on our bodies.
The very thought of someone trying to pinkie swear with me gives me the heebie-jeebies. I don’t know what childhood trauma my subconscious mind associates with it but ask me to pinkie swear and you’ll see me shudder.
Our fascia, that band of connective tissue beneath our skin, holds onto old emotions.
If you hate to get a massage, especially from a stranger, you may have more stored in your fascia than you realize. Massage releases the fascia physically which brings up the emotions from the original trauma (or even mini-trauma).
I wrote last week about forgiveness. About how refusing to forgive has effects on our bodies that range from physical pain to increased blood pressure and cardiovascular issues. Forgiving, whether you reconcile with the other person or not, is good for your health.
But you will most likely still carry the emotions you originally felt in your body.
There are two ways to release those negative feelings. You can find someone who does body work such as myofascial release.
Or you can have your energy cleared (shameless plug).
An energy clearing allows the emotions you carry to be released without you having to process them. It’s gentle and effective. It can also be enlightening as you discover where and what is lurking in your tissues.