Soul Contracts are agreements we come in with which can provide a spiritual guideline for our human experience, but may also carry Karmic baggage we are needing to heal and clear in this lifetime. Soul contracts can be made with other souls—we may have chosen to support each other in our paths, or we may have unresolved issues we need to work through.
These agreements can also be ones we’ve made for ourselves. For example, I have come to realize that I came in with a servant’s contract to use my life force energy in the service of helping others thrive. I accessed lives where I was a monk, soldier, servant, house wife, social outcast, and sharecropper. In this lifetime, when I first started my practice, rather than clients, I kept on attracting project where I used my skills to promote others life work. That changed when I cleared that contract. I also came in with a contract that I couldn’t heal until everyone else was healed, and that’s one I’ve been working on releasing.
Contracts may be linked to limiting beliefs, but are stronger, more deeply engrained, and more intractable. As long as the agreements are working for us, we don’t need to do anything about them. In this blog post, we’ll be exploring those that need updating or even releasing (if no part of them serve you).
Soul Contract Indicators
- There is a relationship with someone (it can be with a family member, a colleague, a friend, an intimate partner) that really gets under your skin. And you recognize that your reactions are probably disproportionate to the situation
- You are being guided to follow a certain path, but obstacles keep on coming up
- You keep repeating the same patterns over and over, and you’re not sure why
- You feel like you’ve done a lot of healing on a belief, but it’s not shifting
- It feels like every time things are going well you get knocked down by something unexpected
Common Soul Contracts
- My life is in service to others (this can be a general contract, or a specific one with one person’s soul)
- I need to earn/prove my right to exist
- Either/or contracts (i.e. I can have freedom or security, autonomy or connection, money or integrity, follow my dreams or have stability)
- Family loyalty contracts (to be accepted by the family, I need to …)
- Survival contracts (to survive I can’t be visible, make waves, speak my truth, stay in one place etc.)
- You have a pattern or belief that doesn’t seem to match this lifetime (true for past life and ancestral contracts)
- You have an unexplained fear or phobia
- You have nightmares that feel very real and feel like some other lifetime
Ancestral contracts are often ones that helped our ancestors survive tough times (like conforming to strict social norms, or sticking together as a family) and have been passed on from generation to generation even though the circumstances have changed. Conversely, they may be trying to compensate for an ancestor’s perceived mistake (like following their dreams and being destitute, flaunting social rules and being shunned/shamed, being rich and taking advantage of those around them).
Past life contracts are often developed to try to make sure a trauma that happened in that lifetime doesn’t happen again. Unfortunately, the contracts almost invariably end up keeping us trapped in the traumatic feelings, even though the situation isn’t happening now.
The following are tips for updating or releasing outdated soul contracts:
- Identify the Contract
There are different ways of identifying the gist of the contract (it’s fine if you have a general sense of it but don’t know all the details). These include: automatic writing, hypnotherapy/meditation, asking an inner guide, spiritual readings (oracle or Tarot cards, Psychic, Akashic, Psychic etc.), tracking a common theme to your patterns.
- Acknowledge the Intention
Once you’ve identified the contract, acknowledge its intention (for example protection, safety, avoiding judgment, a sense of belonging, getting validation etc.). Send gratitude to the contract for the ways it has served you.
- Heal the Wounding
Bring loving attention to the child part, ancestor, past life self, Karmic relationship and what they went through that le them to develop this contract. Let them know that when and if you release the contract, it won’t be dishonoring their experience and sacrifices. To the contrary, it’s your way of giving them what they couldn’t have back then.
- Release or Update the Contract
If you wish, feel free to light a candle, or set ritual space in whatever way you feel called to (this is optional). Imagine you are holding the contract in your hands (you can also write it down on a piece of paper). Nod to it, and express gratitude for how it served you. And then release it into energy and light. You can also tear up or burn (if you can do it safely) your piece of paper, or modify it as needed if it just needs an update.
The following video will also guide you in identifying and/or releasing your contract.
Copyright © 2022 by Jenny Brav. All rights reserved.