Every human on the planet has a deep yearning for love, connection and safety. When we’re faced with abuse or neglect as children, especially from those that we love, the need to escape arises. We need to psychologically distance ourselves to avoid becoming overwhelmed by our experiences. Desperately trying to maintain some attachment to our family, aspects of our self-esteem, we disconnect from that experience and we disown that part of our self. We strive instead to be “good”, to be acceptable and loveable. We yearn for safety and acknowledgement that we’re ok. Fisher (2017) puts it well when she states, “abused children capitalize on the human brain’s innate capacity to split or compartmentalize.” As good children we display sweet, mature and perfectionistic tendencies that become our gateway to acceptance. The rejected, disowned part of us however is kept locked up out of sight. Whilst it remains denied, disconnected and quite often beneath conscious awareness, on some level it lives on. The trauma is still very much alive. And when these parts can no longer remain hidden, they manifest in different forms. We manage to survive the neglect and abuse, but at the cost of disowning the most vulnerable part of our self.
A Part of Us Develops Normally Whilst Another Part Hides Away
Perhaps the most confusing aspect for many of us is that the “good” part within us develops somewhat “normally,” learning skills, going to schools, engaging in activities that we enjoy; and yet on some level, we have parts within us that hold the traumas that we have experienced. This can quite often be confusing for people because they can’t understand how part of them functions normally, and yet there are parts of them with which they struggle.
These Fragmented Parts are Called ECHOs
In matrix Re-imprinting, we call these fragmented parts of ourselves “ECHOs” (Energetic Conscious Holograms). The ECHO is the part of us that holds and replays the trauma within our subconscious. It holds all the information about what happened to us in the moment the trauma occurred; for example, a change in our breathing, what we were wearing, eating, and what was happening in our environment. Each of the factors recorded become our triggers, and each time we encounter them in the present moment, our body responds in a way to protect us, which can quite often be a fight, flight or a freeze response.
The key to healing our fragmented parts – our ECHOs, is to no longer deny or disconnect from them, but rather to gently nurture these parts of us and to work the trauma through to resolution. Every part of us is yearning to be heard, to be loved to be secure and to be connected, and Matrix Re-imprinting holds the key to resolution.
Sunita Pattani 