By Jennifer McCartney
How many times have you wondered why, no matter how hard you try, you can’t keep a relationship? Or stay healthy, or make enough money? Or that you just can’t seem to find happiness?
Danielle MacKinnon, author of “Soul Contracts: Find Harmony and Unlock Your Brilliance,” intuitive, coach and animal communicator (who was named one of the country’s top 100 Astrologers and Psychics of 2014) shared with listeners of the “Living an Elevated Existence Mind, Body & Soul Summit Season 2,” how we can learn to recognize and release these hidden energetic barriers, or soul contracts, which block the way to true happiness and success.
“We form these [soul contracts] really young when we start believing negative things about ourselves,” MacKinnon explained to listeners. This complicated belief system still operates in us adults, and often leads to a lot of our problems, she says. As a coping mechanism, we create methods to “fix” the negative things we believe about ourselves, and begin to act certain ways in order to feel better about ourselves. These soul contracts will continue to negatively impact our lives until we discover them and release them.
Most people have no idea they’re being guided by these contracts but they are usually aware that they are stuck in some way. MacKinnon shared the example of a 45-year old woman being guided by her soul system, which consists of all these contracts we have made in the past.
“She needed to sacrifice for others to prove that she was worthy,” she said, explaining this was one of her soul contracts. “It had never occurred to her that sacrificing for love wasn’t the way to receive love.”
However, the things we do in order to alleviate the “blockages” caused by soul contracts are just a band-aid solution. A person who feels unworthy in life may constantly feel the need to prove their worth. But if someone feels they have to prove their worth in order to receive, “that giving is not coming from a place of ‘I have so much overflowing love,’” said MacKinnon. It’s coming from a place of ‘I need to prove something.’”
Identify & Release
So how can we begin uncovering and releasing our own soul contracts? “It’s not complicated work…but people need to know the steps,” said MacKinnon.
First, we need to identify where exactly we are stuck. What are the soul contracts that are holding you back? “A soul contract will show up as a block. Why do I work overtime and not get paid? Why do my relationships end in disaster? Why don’t a feel happy? It’s often not just in one area,” she said, explaining a soul contract can affect all areas of our lives, from health and relationships to money and career.
For example, if you don’t feel safe in the world, your may have a soul contract that prevents you from speaking up so that you can protect yourself. This can affect you at work and in relationships. You may have the awareness that this is an issue, but simply trying to change a behavior once we are aware doesn’t work in the long term.
“Instead of a behavior change, we work on a belief change,” she noted. “It’s about clearing the negative energy. Clear and release these contracts. Once you feel safe in the world, speaking up isn’t an issue.”
She advised working on awareness first because by simply becoming aware of our contracts, we can begin to shake up our energy — often enacting smaller changes before the final clearing. Some people may come to realize they have a large number of soul contracts, but having a lot of them isn’t a bad thing.
“When you identify one, you now know that it’s operating in many areas of your life—your health, your wealth, relationships,” she noted, explaining once you clear it all these areas will improve.
After identifying the contracts, it’s about releasing yourself from them, ad MacKinnon provided listeners with a way to do this at home, walking them through it on the call. Speaking in a powerful voice, after calling in our guides, angels and helpers on the other side, we can say the following:
“I now consciously release all energies that are no longer serving me as a result of my ‘aha’ moments today. This includes all that my soul knows I’m ready to let go of as well as [here you can talk to your guides about what’s on your mind]. Please release all resulting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual attachments, and call my akashic records, consciousness and unconsciousness, and assist me in aligning with my greatest and highest potential. As these energies release please gracefully open my crown chakra and infuse me with the energy of unconditional love. [Take a moment and feel the love]. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The block then feels less after a successful release, explained MacKinnon. “The success comes in increments—each small shift results in a new experience. The belief is shifted a little bit each time,” she noted.
Here are some tips to keep in mind as you work on releasing your soul contracts:
- Be sure to set your foundations before getting started—remain grounded and organized and don’t just dive in and try and do everything.
- Avoid trying to unblock too many contracts at once. You want things to shift in increments, otherwise it’s not sustainable. Shifting in bits is more natural.
- “The proof really has to be in the pudding,” says MacKinnon. If you feel contentment and excitement you’re doing something right.
For more from MacKinnon and the other 25 experts in mind, body and spirit topics, sign up FREE to Season 2 of the Living an Elevated Existence Summit.