Integrate or Repeat: On the Sacred Art of Integration
How to navigate the space in between and becoming whole again
Oftentimes, we find ourselves in the space in between.
You left that job that was draining you. You left that relationship that no longer serves you. You went no contact with your family. You moved to a new city. Or you finally just had enough of a situationship and decided to take that leap of faith and move on to something better.
Now what?
Right now, I’m speaking to the brave ones. The ones who had the courage to choose themselves over and over again, and move towards a life that is more in alignment with your joy, peace and greater purpose.
The fact that you had the courage to choose differently for yourself is huge. Honestly, most people are cowards, and aren’t brave enough to do so. Congratulations, I’m so proud of you beloved. And now you’re in the in between space, where you left what was, but you have yet to arrive at your next chapter.
Integration
I’ve worked with hundreds of clients over the years, and even on my own healing journey, I’ve noticed that those of us who have found ourselves in the in between often skip over this very important step—integration.
We skip integration, because we become impatient, and even excited about our new found wisdom, awareness and power. So much so, that we fill the empty void as quickly as possible. And as a result, we, oftentimes unconsciously, end up recreating the same cycle or situation that we thought we left behind.
The fact is, without integrating what was lost, without grieving what was, without processing heavy emotions, we are unable to put the pieces of our lives back together, and embody the wisdom of our past lessons. And ultimately, move on with our lives.
Honestly, without integration, we haven’t really learned anything at all.
We move forward scattered. Being pulled into multiple directions, disintegrated and feeling confused.
Many of us living under late stage capitalism, have been conditioned to rush and move fast, especially in a society that values efficiency and productivity over rest and well-being when it comes to healing. When you’re in the in between it is so important to take your time with your lessons.
This is when healing becomes practical.
Integration and navigating the space in between is a very sensitive phase of the healing journey. It requires you to take an honest look within.
It is during this phase that we are tested to see if we learned the lesson and integrated the wisdom so that we don’t repeat the cycle, or risk going back to square one, reliving and relearning the same lesson again, and often in a more painful way.
Below is a powerful example from my own healing journey on how I’ve navigated integration in real life, and the beautiful results and fruits of this level of healing. I also provide a few objective tools near the end of this article to support you.