WHAT IS INTEGRATION?

One concept of healing that often confuses people is integration (although, Authentic Self would be a close tie!) Here’s the definition from Merriam-Webster: “Coordination of mental processes into a normal effective personality or with the environment.”  Four words in this definition are problematic.

         The first word is mental. Why? From a soul-based perspective, our souls and bodies are linked to an original blueprint created by Divine/Source. Trauma and not living aligned with our true purpose can disconnect us from this blueprint. Healing reconnects us to the blueprint. There is a mental side to the blueprint—the stories we tell ourselves, beliefs about ourselves, and our cosmology. Yet, being human is more than just mental. We can often trace mental energy to our bodies, emotions, and memories (what I’ve called Energy Body). Integration is acknowledging all aspects of ourselves.

         The second word that concerns me is “normal.” Normal is a social construction. Are mathematicians going around gathering data on the minutiae of our lives to consider what is average and what is not? Are not the people who take a stand, who lead despite the crowd’s reactions, who make beautiful art, not visionaries, brave, authentic, and not normal? Integration is being open to accepting a new normal based on one’s own values, identity, and Soul.

         The third problematic word is “effective” that implies utilitarian uses of personality traits that elicit acceptable behavior based on society’s standards. Once again, a social construction. It could also mean that the mental process and/or behavior work for the individual. Either way, “effective” implies a mechanistic viewpoint. Would you consider your emotions effective? Perhaps. Your Soul? That doesn’t feel like an effective word.

         The last word is “or.” Coordination of mental processes into a normal effective personality OR with the environment.” Does that mean you can only have one or the other? Coordinated internally or coordinated externally? From my standpoint, integrating means coordinating ALL components of self AND forces outside oneself.

         My definition of integration: “The feelings, thoughts, and embodiment of being in alignment with one’s True Soul Self.” People feel better when they feel whole. I see this time and time again. They show up differently in the world. They are more likely to live their true purpose because they know their true purpose. It is more than a thought. It is a presence and way of being. It is claiming one’s right to be here and take up space. Integration means getting to know oneself in the deepest possible way. In ways most people haven’t been taught.

         Trauma results in some form of fragmentation or misalignment with the True Soul Self. In these cases, Soul restoration and/or Energy Body Clearing can re-unite and re-align the whole. The secret is that the whole is within every fragment. Always. In each moment. It’s like lighting two flames joining together to make one. The alignment may be frayed, but Essence is always there. Integration is reconnecting your True Soul Self with this misaligned part, openly hearing what they have to express, giving them what they didn’t get at the time, and allowing and embodying this energetic reunification. People often say this feels weird. That’s a sign that it’s working. You’re creating a new normal.

         As you become whole, you make new choices. You show up differently to yourself. The first step is to create a different internal relationship. Embody, understand, and love your True Soul Self, even if that’s at a 0.0001% capacity. And honor any aspect of yourself who has been hurt, harmed, or marginalized. Contact is a prerequisite for coherence which is a prerequisite for emergence. Lack of contact leads us vulnerable to trespass. Integration is reclaiming all parts of yourself so you become who you truly are and take your rightful place in this world.