8 Things You Won’t Want to Hear (But Need to Hear) During Divorce

I’m so sorry you’re hurting! Breaking up is painful for everyone and I’m going to tell you something that you might not want to hear…

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SUFFER

I know that lies, betrayal, abandonment are all real circumstances that can leave you feeling like crap. I know that you have a grieving process that could take years. I know that everyone is affected by your relationship failure.

and…

I know that the ending of a relationship can be the worst thing that ever happened to you or the best thing that ever happened to you. It all depends on the lens you view your breakup through. One of the spiritual laws I teach is that you can’t always control what happens, but you can always control how you respond.

Here are a few things you can do to alleviate suffering:

  • Refuse to blame yourself or others. Take responsibility for what you’ve co-created and let this situation evolve you, not devolve you. Devolution is usually a path people take because of the pain they’re in. The more conscious you are, the more you’ll move toward yourself.
  • Get support from someone who will hold you in your highest. It will be really easy for you to take a victim role, but what you really need is to get your power back. When you’re in the middle of a breakup it can be difficult to know how, so use all the tools you have including hiring me as your coach – your lifeline.
  • Get radical! In terms of self-love that is. Make a commitment to yourself to be kind and gentle to yourself.

SOME BASIC TRUTHS ABOUT DIVORCE YOU PROBABLY WON’T WANT TO HEAR

I read a recent article in the Huffington Post and was blown away by how common these suggestions are. The only problem is that you really might not be ready to hear them. Especially if you’re in the first year of your breakup. I’m going to translate the Huffington Post’s suggestions in terms of Spiritual Divorce ™, the program that I teach, and the study of Spiritual Divorce is a great first step.

  • It can only get better! Well, the truth is it will probably get worse before it gets better. There are so many things to navigate when you divorce, that it can bet difficult to find that sweet spot. Divorce is like an emotional rollercoaster that doesn’t have an off switch. The spiritual law of acceptance will help you move forward. Accepting what’s happening is the very first step in things getting better. The longer you resist and deny, the longer you will be in pain.
  • Time Heals all wounds! This is actually true, but HOW MUCH TIME? The average divorce takes 4-8 years to heal from. Do you really want it to take that long? A friend of mine says, in relation to his work as a probate attorney, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” You can jump right into your new life, but if you don’t address the issues that contributed to your breakup, then you’ll most likely end up in the same type of relationship over and over. The divorce rate is actually higher in second and third marriages, but not for my clients! In Spiritual Divorce ™ you learn a lot about yourself that will divorce-proof you!
  • Someday You’ll Appreciate This! On one hand, this is bullshit and on the other, it couldn’t be more true. I don’t think anyone appreciates the loss of a dream or the amount of pain that is caused by a divorce, but everyone who has a conscious divorce appreciates what they’ve learned and how they’ve evolved as a human being. In Spiritual Divorce ™ we will make sure you walk away with the goodies.
  • You’re Better Off! Again… In some ways, yes and in some ways, life can get a lot harder. The financial burden alone challenges this assumption, but if you are conscious of your choices then you can alleviate the suffering as you create more opportunities for yourself. A huge concern for people who have kids is the impact on them. Get Rosalind Sedacca’s book, How to Tell Your Kids About the Divorce and they will be better off!
  • You’ll be OKAY! This one I have complete confidence in. You will be okay. It’s a matter of time and a matter of choosing to take your power back. In Spiritual Divorce ™ we look at the spiritual law of choice and give you a buffet to choose from in regards to what you want to make your divorce mean about yourself. My specialty is helping you love yourself and know that you’re going to be okay!
  • There’s Light at the End of The Tunnel. Okay… but life doesn’t just have ONE tunnel! One of the concepts in Spiritual Divorce is that you can’t always choose your circumstances, but you can always choose how you respond to them. What qualities do you want to cultivate so you can move through the tunnels of your life?
  • I’m Here if you Need to Talk! This one is a no-brainer. People who go through a divorce will often wear out their family and friends. When you hire me to take you through the Spiritual Divorce process, I will be your lifeline. You can’t wear me out. You need to know there is someone on your side who cares deeply that you come out of the other side having healed your heart, regained your power, and created a new life for yourself.
  • I’m Sorry! Oh, brother… You might not actually need to hear this! When someone says, “I’m Sorry” what do you feel? Sorry comes from two places. The first is self-centered and means, I hope this never happens to me. The second is from empathy and is genuine support. Either way, you can choose to receive the “I’m Sorry”s in a way that empowers you. There is nothing to be sorry for. Divorce affects almost half the population, so it’s a common, normal, and predictable life transition. The only thing to be sorry for is if you don’t grow from the experience.

I’d love to help you make the best out of this painful situation. Schedule some time with me and let’s see if I can help you.

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  • This Spiritual Law requires that you surrender to the circumstances of your life as they are. Ultimately, this is the “telling myself the truth” law. This is the way it is, now what? When you are able to surrender to what is, then you open yourself up to tons of possibilities that will change the experience you are having with your life. Surrendering is very different than giving up. When you “give up,” you feel victimized, but when you surrender you become empowered to take different actions than you have in the past. When you “give up,” you feel drained and empty, but when you surrender you are filled with inspiration and become open to a wider view of yourself and the world around you. When you resist what is, whatever you’re resisting consumes your attention and it becomes very difficult to be in the flow of your life. Surrendering opens us up to a greater reality than what we previously thought possible. Dan Millman talks about The Law of Surrender In the first half of this video, Millman teaches this law using some common circumstances we might find ourselves in. The Law of Surrender gives us new ways to be in the world. Millman also teaches an important concept that I work with in my coaching work: “Emotions are the weather patterns of the body.” During the second half of the video, Millman shares a simple way to stay in the present moment. via My Heart Heals With The Law of Surrender | My Heart Heals.

  • Protecting your heart is a normal & natural thing to do! But it won’t get you what you want. One of the first things to happen when you go through a breakup or divorce is: you hurt like a #($*%. The pain can cut through you like a hot knife leaving you gasping for air. The normal human reaction to pain is to protect yourself. But unconscious protecting of your heart will leave you feeling alone and miserable and at it’s worse, it will deaden your spirit and leave you disconnected from the very things you most want: love, partnership, connection, to not be alone. It’s very common to commit to never loving again because of how deeply you’ve been hurt. Here are 3 steps you can take to protect your heart and keep it open. Step 1 -Stop Pointing your Finger! Protections like anger, blame, and resentment, are a few of the walls we erect to protect our hearts. We think these protections keep us safe, but they don’t really work. We mistakingly think that someone has to be responsible for what went wrong and we either blame the other person or we beat ourselves up without mercy. What’s really happening if you’re blaming your ex for the pain you’re in is that you’re unconsciously directing responsibility for the breakup away from yourself. If he or she did something that was really awful, then it’s easy to point your finger and say, “It’s all your fault!” It’s no different than self-blame, except that you’re unconsciously taking all the responsibility. If you’re a self-blamer, then you’re saying things like, “If only I did _____ differently,” or “If only I was better at______.” Either way, the first step is to cease and desist all blame – inbound or outbound. What if it didn’t really matter whose fault it was? What if you could take responsibility for your part without blame? What if you didn’t take responsibility for the parts that aren’t yours-without pointing your finger? The result will be a conscious awareness of what you and your ex co-created – together! Your breakup wouldn’t be happening if only one of you was in the relationship. While it may still be painful to look at your breakup in this way, if you want to protect your heart and keep it open for future love, then you must take responsibility without blame. Learn more about Spiritual Divorce ™ and the Law of Responsibility. Step 2 – Be Ruthlessly Compassionate! You can’t keep your heart open and protect it without a huge dose of compassion as you look at yourself and your part of the breakup. You may be tempted to circle back to the blame. Instead, take a breath and tell yourself that you’re okay and you did the best you could at the time. Be firm with yourself and don’t go into beating yourself up. If you do have an over-powering inner-critic, send him or her away for a vacation – they need a break! You will need to be able to be gentle with yourself as you notice your relationship patterns. Step 3 – Identify Your Red Flags! The information you discover from taking responsibility without blame will likely illuminate the choices you made that led to your breakup. If you’re completely honest with yourself, you will likely notice that you avoided something that you shouldn’t have avoided by sweeping it under the carpet. Maybe you didn’t speak up or you ignored signs of cheating, maybe you weren’t really happy but stayed for the kids. Give yourself permission to find your red flags, because they are your gold mine. Your red flags are what you will use to keep your heart open and safe at the same time. By addressing red flags as they come up, you will build a trusting relationship with yourself that you can count on to make conscious relationship choices. Need Support and divorce care? Learn the 7 Spiritual Laws in an 8-week Study & Support Group If you just haven’t been able to get through your pain, then I’d like to invite you to join me in a study of Debbie Ford’s Spiritual Divorce and get divorce care and support in our interactive online group. Use the above link to get more information or email me to sign up for the 8-week support group starting soon. You’re going to be okay!

  • The Law of Divine Guidance says that you can trust the flow of your life. Whatever religion you practice will be honored and respected. I’ll support you in using whatever Divine Guidance you choose to help you find your own answers. Learning how to access your own inner wisdom will be key to integrating The Law of Divine Guidance. Your internal world is a safe place for your Divine Guidance to make itself known to you. In this process of healing your heart, I will guide you weekly into your internal world to access this wisdom. RESOURCE – Eckhart Tolle — A New Earth Maybe you watched the Oprah webcasts. I found the series very powerful and resonating. Give it a try. Meditation is a powerful tool to use to connect with your inner wisdom. Share with me how you connect with your inner wisdom. In this short video, Deepak Chopra talks about how to meditate. This is a tool I like to use to connect with my Divine Guidance. via My Heart Heals With The Law of Divine Guidance | My Heart Heals.

  • On Self-growth.com, Amanda Butler discusses this universal law in detail. The most powerful reason to forgive is for your own freedom. I’ve often heard Debbie Ford say, “forgiveness takes place in your heart, not your mind,” and it’s so true. This Spiritual Law often takes a little extra time to integrate, especially when deep betrayal is involved. It is empowering to know that once you have fully integrated the Law of Forgiveness, you will be free from the past and ready to move completely into a future that you create for yourself. Forgiving can be difficult, but it’s necessary to forgive so you can live your life. Here’s an extreme example: I was touched very deeply by Azim Khamiza, who practices The Law of Forgiveness every day. In 1995, his son Tariq Khamiza lost his life to a gang-related murder. Azim shares how holding resentment takes up precious space in our minds. This is true for all situations. If we are holding onto resentment, the person we hurt the most is ourselves. In forgiving, Azim has been able to create a foundation that educates and empowers. What will you be able to create through your forgiveness? What could you do with all that resentment that you hold for someone you once loved? or for someone who has hurt you? Here’s some more… In this short video, you see how forgiveness can benefit all of humanity. You might have to look a little, or should I say–open your heart, to see the possibilities resulting from your forgiveness. It may not be this dramatic, but your forgiveness will change your world. via My Heart Heals With The Law of Forgiveness | My Heart Heals.

  • Difficult Emotions when you move on after divorce Who hasn’t gone through a breakup and felt angry, marginalized, or powerless? Divorce can often act as a catalyst for regaining lost power, but difficult and confusion emotions can complicate the process. As conscious as we want to consider ourselves, it is actually quite common to fall into the trap of trying to regain our power through manipulation and control. You need to know where you stand, in yourself, to be able to wield your anger in constructive and empowered ways. The First Step is Knowing the Difference between resentment and righteous anger! When your anger is a result of resentment, then you can be sure that you feel unsettled inside, but when your anger is the result of taking a stand, then you will experience a sense of calm – even when you might not get what you want! Here are some ways to recognize the difference: RESENTMENT Resentment is a result of not taking care of yourself, and expecting others to give you what you want even though you haven’t directly asked for it. Feelings of resentment are common in a breakup because they build over time. In the beginning, you might have an expectation that your partner will say or do something and when they don’t live up to your expectation, then you feel let down or a little angry. Burying the little feeling is like planting a seed that eventually turns into a garden of resentment. Over time, you will discover little ‘volunteer’ plants of resentment where you didn’t expect them.When you feel resentment, you will have an experience of wanting to get back at your partner (or ex), to hurt them in some way, or “make them pay” for what they’ve done (or not done). Once you’ve made it to the point of divorce, it’s much more difficult to pull the weeds of resentment, but you can do it. I’m not here to say it’s an easy task, but I guarantee you that the work you do around releasing your resentment will help you regain your power and leave you feeling the peace of mind you so desperately want to experience. RIGHTEOUS ANGER Righteous anger is different than the anger that comes from resentment, because you’re putting your stake in the ground and letting others know what your boundary is. The way to express righteous anger is to know yourself deeply and know where you stand, so you recognize when a boundary has been crossed. Regaining your power after divorce or breakup is sacred work and in the process you will discover that many of the choices you made did not serve you. In this recognition you can stop blaming your ex and start giving yourself what you need. You’re not always going to get what you want. You may have to fight for your rights, and as you stand up for yourself from an empowered, matter-of-fact knowing, then you will be able to release your resentments gradually and naturally. It’s not about “Right” and “Wrong” We tend to look at things from our own perspectives, so don’t get caught up in believing that your righteous anger is about you being right and your partner being wrong. There is no right and wrong thinking that will bring you peace. EVER! In the knowing of who you are, you can make decisions that are ‘right’ for you and you may take other people into consideration when making your choices. What you must know is the difference between the actions you take that are from resentment or righteous anger so you don’t make a bigger mess of things, because divorce and breakups are messy. Some suggestions: As you move on after divorce or breakup, it is important to own your feelings! Know yourself and the pain you’re in and take responsibility for your part of the co-creation of your current circumstances. Don’t blame anyone else for not getting what you want. Instead vision the life you want and make choices that lead you toward peace and happiness. Set and maintain clear boundaries with yourself and others, and above all else: Take care of yourself as if you were one of the top 3 most important people in your life. COMMENTS Please! (I’ll respond!) Leave your comments below, by answering one of the following inquiries: What are your top resentments are and your struggles for releasing them as you move on after divorce or breakup? Describe what you’re doing to hold on to or let go of your resentments. What stand do you need to take? How will you commit to taking really good care of yourself this week?

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