How to Heal the Past and Anchor Joy in the Present

How Emotional Memories Are Stored in the Body

Every time we have an experience, our brain doesn’t just record what happened—it also logs how we felt about it. The hippocampus stores the facts, while the amygdala attaches the emotional charge.

But what’s truly fascinating is how the body remembers, too.

Our nervous system reacts to these imprints like muscle memory for the soul. That’s why when we recall a traumatic event, our heart races, our stomach tightens, or tears come without warning. And when we recall joy? The chest opens, shoulders relax, and the breath deepens.

For intuitive people, this emotional imprinting is even stronger. It’s not just a memory—it’s a reactivation. That’s why healing and joy practices must involve both the mind and the body. When we intentionally rewire our responses, we teach our entire system what safety and happiness truly feel like.

Rewriting Memory

Our memories are more than mental recordings—they are emotional imprints etched into the body and the psyche. For those of us who feel deeply, who live life through a lens of intuition and empathy, these memories are not just stories we tell.

We live them.

When we are traumatized, our intuitive gift can become a painful echo chamber. We see, feel, and are the wound again and again.

But here’s the empowering truth: once we begin to heal, that same sensitivity becomes our superpower. We can consciously choose to recall and relive joy just as vividly as we once replayed pain.

Let’s explore how to revisit old memories for healing—and how to infuse our lives with the memory of joy, grounding ourselves in the energy of lightness, love, and connection.

🌀 Step One: Revisiting the Memory in a Safe Space

Before diving into the wound, we create a safe internal sanctuary. This is a meditative space where your nervous system can relax, where your heart feels protected, and your inner child feels held.

🌿 Visualization Script: Healing an Old Memory

1. Create Your Safe Space

   Close your eyes. Take a few deep cleansing breaths, 4 seconds into the tummy, 6 seconds out of the tummy. Picture a space—real or imagined—where you feel safe and held. It could be a forest, a room filled with soft light, or even floating in warm water. Breathe here for a moment. Let your body settle.

   
   

2. Invite the Memory In

   Gently call forth a memory that still brings some pain. It might be recent or old. Observe it as if watching a movie screen in your sacred space. Don’t rush—allow your body to notice how it feels.

   
   

3. Hold and Heal the Wound

   Imagine your present-day self stepping into the memory. See yourself approach the younger version of you with tenderness, you are a visitor to the memory. Say what needs to be said: “You did the best you could.” “I’m here now, and I’ve got you. We will fond our way through.”

   
   

   Picture a gentle light (perhaps golden, blue, or pink—whatever feels healing) surrounding the scene. Let that light move through the painful parts, dissolving guilt, shame, grief, or fear.

   
   

4. Try to Observe other Factors

   Get curious about the other facets of this memory. Allow your attention to notice any other factors that may have been involved in this memory: people, environment, animals. Try to develop some insight for how the situation might have impacted others, then refocus back to how it truly impacted you. Be open to receiving pieces of the puzzle that you had not noticed before.

   
   

5. Disconnect with Grace

   When you're ready, thank the memory for what it showed you. Imagine cutting any energetic cords with the past version of you—softly, with love. Feel your body lighten. Affirm to yourself: “I am no longer bound by this memory. I carry only the wisdom.”

   
   

6. Return Gently

   Bring your awareness back to your breath. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Return to the present moment.

   
   

🌈 Step Two: Reinstating Joy Through Memory

Once the wound has space to breathe, we can fill it with joy. Just as you felt into your trauma, now feel into joy. Let your body remember what it feels like to be in a moment of pure connection.

Visualization Script: Anchoring a Joyful Memory

1. Recall the Joy

   Call forth a moment of happiness from your past. One that fills your heart. A time when you felt truly seen, loved, or at peace.

2. Relive It Fully

   Use all your senses. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Feel in your body? Allow the emotion to rise and ripple through you. Smile if it feels natural.

3. Amplify and Anchor

   Imagine this memory as a glowing orb in your chest—your heart center. Let it expand. Let it teach your body: This is what joy feels like. Anchor it in your breath, your spine, your skin.

4. Store It in Your Heart

   Tell yourself: “I can return to this anytime. Joy is within me.” Imagine this memory stored in your heart like a warm ember you can return to whenever needed.

   
   

My Own Memory: A Park Bench in Hanoi

When I was a younger woman traveling through Vietnam, I didn’t know the language and very few people around me spoke English. I learned to experience the gift of energy, without the safety net of shared words. It was uncomfortable at first. But I learned to find stillness in the unknown, and eventually, comfort.

One afternoon in Hanoi, I sat on a park bench—quiet, observing life around me, journal in hand. A local woman approached and sat right next to me. Not near me—next to me. Our bodies touched, side by side. She smiled, giggled, and said something I didn’t understand. I said something back, equally incomprehensible. And yet, our hearts conversed.

She touched my arm, and I felt the purest affection pour from her being. It wasn’t romantic or obligatory. It was a human-to-human moment of shared warmth. We didn’t need a shared language; we were fluent in presence.

Even now, 25 years later, I can pull up that memory and feel my heart expand as it did back then. That moment taught me how joy can exist beyond comprehension—how we can be understood without understanding.

Final Thought

Healing is not about forgetting. It's about transforming. With practice, we can redirect our vivid, intuitive minds to dwell in the places that feed our spirit, not drain it. We can revisit the past to reclaim the parts of us still trapped there, then walk forward with joy as our compass.

Let yourself remember—and relive—your joy. It lives in you, just as vividly as any wound ever did.

Prompt for Reflection:

• What is one joyful memory you can return to today?

• How does your body feel when you fully feel that memory?

• Can you make a habit of revisiting that joy when you need strength?