I went back to the old city where I lived before moving to London – New York. For me, New York is a funny place. It marks a very interesting period of my life. It really is the city where dreams are made because it is the city where anything is possible, where anything can happen.
New York is the city where I thought love would conquer all, where I started my career, where I doubled my salary in 2 years, where I traveled the world from, where I once kissed a model. You see, anything is possible in New York.
[blockquote_left] “It was a drunk phase of my life.” [/blockquote_left] There is a strange intoxication that happens when you live in a city where “anything is possible”. I can say that it was a drunk phase of my life.I went back to New York just before Christmas and it was a bit of a shock to my system. I was overwhelmed by my own past. I started to act all hyper and high like I used to when I lived there. I started having super emotional mood swings. I regressed.
One day it got so bad that I was practically crying for an hour and I felt I just couldn’t take another step. I had to sit down in a park bench and meditate for 20 minutes just to feel normal again. I literally “stopped, dropped and meditated” as Gabby Bernstein teaches.
Does going back to your old home make you feel awful?
Does it bring up unresolved issues and make you suffocate under their pressure? Does it make it regress into your old patterns and go back in to a state that you thought you had overgrown?
How to deal with regression triggered by visiting your old home
I can only teach you what I know and have practiced and what actually worked for me, which is meditation. When you are feeling awful because a place where you are such as an old town you lived in, your hometown even or an old neighbourhood that has memories attached to it try this.
- Stop, drop and meditate. Literally. Find the closest park bench you see (make sure it is safe to sit there for 15 minutes with your eyes closed), sit down with your back straight and close your eyes.
- Breathe. Take deliberate long breaths. Breath out for twice as long as you breathe in, so if you are breathing in for 4 counts, breathe out for 8. This is the start of your meditation.
- Talk it out. As you continue the breathing with each in breath say “I love” and with the out breath say “and accept myself.” Start every breath with “I love” and with every out breath say something nice to yourself. Even if you find yourself saying “It’s OK, it’s OK, it’s OK” because something in you just does not feel OK, keep saying it. Say whatever you need to say to soothe yourself.
- Chant this mantra. After 5 minutes of breathing in and out “I love”, start breathing this mantra: Prem Shanti. With each in breath say Prem. With each out breath that is twice as long as the in breath, say Shanti. Prem means Love. Shanti means Peace. Saying this Sanskrit mantra will have a deliberate affect on your brainwaves and will slowly switch you from frantic brain waves to a calmer wavelength. Do this for a minimum or 5 minutes and a maximum of 10 minutes. When you are done, slowly open your eyes, refocus the world and carry on.
If you want to learn to meditate using my favourite techniques that I have learnt over the last 2 years, then sign up for my online meditation class now.
Also, in the comments section, let me know if this has ever happened to you. Has a place ever triggered horrible feelings? How did you deal with it and what tips can you share?
Love,
Ritu
