How Does Your Past Impact Your Future

Photo by Benji Aird on Unsplash

By Candice Staniek

Have you ever wondered about how much IMPACT your past has on your future?

When you think of the word IMPACT, what are the first thoughts and images that come to mind?

Perhaps, it’s thoughts about how you recently treated someone. On the other hand, it could be decisions you make in your household to impact the environment. Whatever the case, we generally consider how we BE in consideration to how it affects others and our environments. That’s considered to be a forward-looking approach.

Now, I’d like to invite you to consider the past in a more expanded way than ever before. I want to briefly explore 4 main areas of the past that have a significant IMPACT on you.

The first area is your family lineage.

One of the ways we can reflect upon our family lineage and the impact it has on us is to acknowledge any beliefs, values and behaviours that we have consciously or unconsciously taken on in our own lives. For example, let's say there is a family with middle-class income and one child wants to move into the upper class. What would it take for that child to do so? In short, it would take an in-depth approach to uncover all of the families limiting beliefs around money that left ignored would keep them in the middle-class.

The second area is time you were in the womb.

This is a very impressionable time and it’s a time when many of the programs, just like a computer processor, are created. Why is this the case? By week 4 of the embryological development, the nervous system is created. As we know, the nervous system is responsible for secreting molecules, which impact our reactions and emotions. These chemicals are released so quickly that unless we are aware of what’s happening in most cases we’ve already reacted to what is going on unless we have made a conscious effort to stop before reacting.

The third area is your birth.

Did you have a normal vaginal birth or was there some type of trauma? Even though you cannot remember the specific details, the body remembers. If you’d like a more in-depth understanding of this concept, a book called “The Body Keeps Score”, by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. is a good reference.

The fourth time period is the first 9 months of life.

Similar to the previous two time periods, it is a time where many programs are imprinted. Consider all the activities your parents do with you, how they talk to each other, travel, living situation, etc. An infant is considered to have a brain state that is somewhat like hypnosis. As a result, the brain is like a sponge taking everything both positive and negative in.

What is the significance of all these factors in one's life? Great question! Well, they make up 75% of what a person deals with in terms of emotions, issues, live events, karmic events, situations for the rest of their life. The only way I know to rise above what we’ve been given in terms of programs is to practice the following:

Presence: be in the present moment

Awareness: be aware that your thoughts, actions and behaviours create your reality. The increased awareness brings choice. When we choose to act differently, we get to choose a different reality.

Meditation: sitting in silence allows for pure Light and consciousness to enter which also results in more choice as the neural networks begin to change. See Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work for more detail.

Practice: make a daily habit of writing out what you’d like to have and feel. This eventually trickles down to the subconscious, which is where all the programs were deposited in the first place.

Most importantly, remember when you choose yourself and choose to look at these things mentioned above, it gives everyone else around you the permission to choose themselves. Also, as we work to clean up our past, it affects seven generations forward and seven generations back.

Imagine the IMPACT one person can make!

Hugs, Candice

Health and wellness have always been a part of my life whether it was visits to the farm, whole food meals, playing sports and dancing in high school and university. Eventually, I was inspired to pursue a career in Naturopathic Medicine.

One of the most impactful statements in clinical training was, “Doctor Heal Thyself”. For me this meant being courageous and willing to work through my challenges and difficulties in order to be more empathic and helpful to my patients. Through my personal work, I’ve gained an understanding of the mind, ways we sabotage ourselves, and how to shift mindset.

I graduated from Bastyr University in Seattle, WA with an interest in depression, chronic fatigue and infections. I’m what you might call a ‘free-style’ Naturopathic Doctor. I integrate science and energy medicine leading the “health conscious” movement in proactive care.

Some of my joys in life include: nature, meditation, quality time with family, friends and cats or researching health topics.

I believe in the healing power of your body called the VIS. I also believe it’s your right to feel joyous and happy. Your health shouldn’t stand in the way of your overall wellness, your passion or your life.