FREEING YOURSELF FROM
KARMIC BONDS AND SACRED CONTRACTS

"If you make a contract to someone in a past life, to reunite in another life, what will happen if you break that contract? Will you live a life longing to be with that person? Will you always feel like something is missing? What are the consequences of breaking a contract, especially if it is a deep contract, one at the cellular level?"

Life contracts are made for various reasons. Sometimes they are made from a place of undying love - a vow to be together forever. Past life contracts can also arise from karmic bonds, or karmic bondage, where one person owned another (slavery/prostitution) or possessed another (wife/child). Past life contracts can emerge from unfinished business (promises made, debts to be repaid, saving another's life and the pledge of eternal gratitude), or lessons that one desires to learn. There are many situations and incidents that can prompt a past life contract between two or more people - some may be positive, and others may be far from it. Because you have Free Will, you are almost always free to break these contracts in a number of ways.

If the sacred contract is to learn a particular lesson (which is often the case when a pattern/theme keeps repeating in your life), then breaking the contract means that you simply must learn that lesson in a different way, or in another lifetime, or it could be that the very process of breaking that contract gives you the lesson that you sought to learn in the first place. In order to break such a contract, you must thank that person/people for all that they came to teach you, you must feel gratitude toward them (and ideally, love, because it takes great love for one soul to teach another, and especially to hurt another in order to fulfill a sacred contract), and forgive them for all that they had to do in order for you to learn. Ask your higher Self to gently and clearly give you the teaching in a profound way, so that you are now wiser and no longer have to repeat this lesson/pattern, then release the people involved and bless them on their journey.

If the sacred contract is coming from unfinished business, then it is important that there be completion in one way or another. Such karmic bonds can arise from things as simple as unpaid debts or broken promises in a former life, or from things as severe as killing, torturing, or executing another, even on the countless battlefields of this Earth's history. Blame, vengeance, desire for justice and retribution, shame, judgment, hatred, prejudice are all grounds for creating such karmic bonds of bitterness that can bind souls to keep coming back together for eternity. Forgiveness is the key to releasing such bonds, which is why executioners often asked for forgiveness before performing their "job". In order to break a bond of unfinished business, you must state that you release all debts and promises, and that you forgive all those involved, including yourself, for all time.

Instances of past life ownership or possession create very strong karmic bonds which result in issues of serious power struggles, such as abuse, control, intimidation, rape, sexual abuse, battery, jealousy, stalking, etc. The history of the Earth has seen many people, particularly women and children, treated by the laws of the land as possessions of men. This is still true today in many countries around the world. Men, women and children from many nations and races were sold or born into slavery, forced labor or prostitution - and this also continues to occur today. These karmic bonds go very deep, and often create repeating patterns over many lifetimes where one person dominates another or others. The roles can change from lifetime to lifetime from master and slave, pimp and prostitute, husband and wife, father and child, but it is still the same karmic bond of control and abuse playing over and over again until the pattern is finally broken, once and for all.

The way to cut these types of bonds is to visualize that you hold in your hand a sword of light - the Sword of Truth. See yourself wielding this sword all around you, cutting all ties on all sides of you, including above and below you. In some cases, you may see some form of shackles binding you, so visualize yourself taking a golden key to unlock these bonds. Affirm that you are a sovereign being, that you enact your Free Will to free yourself for all time, and that you forgive and release all those involved (including yourself), and release them with love, light and blessings on their journey. Then surround yourself with a bubble of light, and encase them in a bubble of light of their own, and see them moving far away from you along their own path. Then stand tall in your own power, claiming your own truth and your right to be.

(If you are ever in a confrontation with someone who is very angry or potentially violent, focus all your energy on their heart and try to send them love and compassion to calm them down - do not remove your attention from their heart until they become peaceful. If someone has been extremely violent or abusive and you never want to encounter them again, you may bind their power and render them harmless. Only do this in extreme circumstances to prevent them from causing harm to others, and do this with the utmost love and integrity. Surround yourself with Golden White Light after cutting all ties to that person with the Sword of Truth. Envision that person in a pyramid of pink light (pink is the color of love), then see that pyramid shrinking with them inside it until it is barely a speck. Send that speck of pink light out into the stars until you cannot see it anymore at all.)

Always remember that forgiveness is the key to freedom for your soul (we can discuss the steps to forgiveness and reclaiming your power from the past in another column), and lack of forgiveness is what often creates karmic bonds. When you break a contract with another, do it with love and with forgiveness for yourself and for the other.

Sacred contracts that are made from love can be beautiful, and can create a true soul mate type of relationship, provided that both parties are willing to honor that contract. Free Will allows free choice, so both parties are free to choose their own path. Also, it can be that the vow of eternal love was made a long time ago, and in the meantime, one or both souls have changed as a result of their soul's journey through various lifetimes. This can result in one soul having outgrown the other or not needing the life lessons of being with that other again. It can also mean that one of the souls has chosen to go down dark paths that may be an impediment to love and light. You cannot save another soul, you can only save your own. You can only help those who are truly willing to be helped, but you must be careful not to let them drag you down (a drowning person will often try to drown the person trying to rescue them out of their own fear, panic and desperation). Most importantly, you cannot change another or choose for another, you can only change yourself and choose for yourself, so choose well.

You make your choices in this lifetime, and they influence your choices and experiences for other lifetimes. You must always choose love first, but love for yourself first. There are consequences for making another soul more important than yourself, because ultimately, it is your soul's journey that you are responsible for. You are responsible for your choices, and for the consequences of those choices that reverberate for lifetimes. You must make your choices out of self-love, which is ultimately the most loving thing you can do for another, because we are all connected. The best way to help another heal is to heal yourself, the best way to forgive another is to forgive yourself, the best way to love another is to love yourself.

The most loving thing that you can do is to free yourself, and set that other free. Love should not be bound by any contract, including marriage. Love is a choice that both parties make every day, either to grow together or to grow apart. If you set yourself and the other person free from the contract that binds you, then you are both free to choose. If it is the truth for you to be together, then that is what you both will choose from a place of love, peace, and joy - not from a place of obligation, guilt, fear, jealousy, possession, or a desire to save/change/heal another.

Don't be afraid to let go. Many people hold onto a relationship that is not working for them simply because they don't know anything else, and they are afraid that if they let go, there may not be anything else in the future. As long as you are holding on to someone, there is no room for someone else to come into your life. Holding on is not love, possession is not love, jealousy is not love - these are all based on fear, insecurity and need. Need is not love, in fact, it drains the life and love from a relationship. Neediness is emptiness desiring for another to fill you and fulfill you, but you can never be fulfilled by another, you can only fulfill yourself.

You don't need someone else to complete you. True love comes when one whole healthy being joins with another whole healthy being to create a partnership in life based on mutual love, admiration, respect and support. When you are whole and fulfilled in your own life, you will not need or long for another; you will never be alone because you will always have yourself. Like attracts like, so the more you love yourself, and the more whole, healthy and fulfilled you are, the more you will attract this in a mate.

Free Will is God's great gift to humanity - it does not exist in all places in the Universe. Free Will allows you to choose your own path, both before you enter this lifetime in the form of sacred contracts, and then every step of the way during this lifetime. Every moment of every day, you have choice, not only about what you do, but also about how you choose to respond to your choices, actions and experiences. You are free to choose to be with someone who chooses to be with you, or to choose to set yourself and that other person free. You are free to choose whether you regret your past decisions and experiences, whether you long for another, or whether you accept your truth and choose again to make choices that truly fulfill you. You are free to choose to hold on, or to let go. And you are free to choose to honor and love yourself by making the most loving choices for yourself based on your own truth.

There are positive and negative consequences to every choice in life. The best you can do is make your choices based on self-love, which will always lead you to your own truth. The best way to make your choices is to "try them on for size" to make sure they fit you: imagine yourself choosing a certain path (imagine the reality of it, not the fantasy) and how it is likely to actually unfold. Many people think they can change a person, or a relationship, but you must accept it as it is, accepting that you may not be able to change it. Imagine it as it is, then see how you feel in your heart: if you feel joy, peace, calm or comfort, then it is your truth; if you feel fear, anxiety, guilt, or discomfort, then it is not your truth. Let joy be your guide to what is true for you and what is not. This is the gift of true self-love. Like attracts like, so the more you allow yourself to give yourself love and joy, the more you will attract that in your life and in your relationships.

Copyright ?2005 Grace & Grace Associates Consulting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

"Responsibility is power. You have the power of choice.
You are always responsible for the choices you make and the actions you take."