Peace with radical severance

I had a rough thing happen in my life this week. A friend I’ve had for 28 years radically, and unexpectedly, severed our relationship. It’s been a couple of days since it went down, and I’ve had some terrific insights since then which I want to share with you.

First, I felt the severance in my solar plexus. I felt like I’d been stabbed. And I knew what I wanted to create in the situation was peace.

Second, my own anger at the unfairness of the action arose. And I knew what I wanted to create in the situation was peace.

Third, the sadness hit me broadside. Sadness about my friend. Sadness about the loss of him. And I knew what I wanted to create in the situation was peace.

The next day, I was reading Catherine Shainberg’s marvelous book, Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming: Awakening the Visionary Life. I came upon an exercise that opened the entire experience of radical severance to my understanding and to my heart. It’s called The Rainbow.

Her instructions read: "Breathe out three times. Imagine that you are climbing the great arc of a rainbow. Jump and play in each of the different colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Feel how each produces a different sensation in your body and a different feeling. Can you give these feelings names? Breathe out once. Walk all the way to the end of the rainbow to find the treasure buried at the foot of it."

So I breathed out three times. Then I rose into the prismatic light of the rainbow allowing myself to take from each color what I needed to heal the radical severance that had touched my life. I know that this wasn’t her purpose in the exercise, but it felt right to me so I just did it!

From red, I received: You will be well without your friend, and so will he without you. From orange, I received: You have not been joyous about this relationship for many years. From yellow, I received: You have participated by not telling him the truth. From green, I received: Both your hearts will be more whole now. From blue, I received: Let your anger die from neglect. From indigo, I received: You knew this was coming. From violet, I received: Bless him until you return to complete peace.

As I pictured myself sliding down, her walking instruction seemed to fall away, the other side of the rainbow, I paused in blessing him till I felt that recognizable inner peace return.

Then! I jumped into the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and received the entire blessing of the experience.

Radical severance, appearing in a life, dear one, means not only ending, but new beginning. Begin in peace, keep close to peace, allow peace to be a living presence in your life, and all is well.

I’m still blessing my angry friend, and there’s a tinge of sadness left, but I got the gift in the experience by holding to peace.

There’s a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow, too.

Visit Susan Corso’s spiritual blog or subscribe to Seeds at www.susancorso.com.