So today,
I'm going to talk a little bit about the idea of unattached burdens in IFS,
But Robert Falconer,
Bob Falconer,
Talks about diving into deep mental states in his book,
The Others Within Us,
And he looks at unattached burdens and guides,
Which are newer.
Some would even say new ideas that therapists and practitioners are starting to pay attention to.
And if I'm honest,
I'm still learning a lot and there are parts of me that are curious and parts of me that may still be a little resistant.
So accept those parts of you that you're noticing and let those parts have a voice if they have some questions or if they're excited.
But Falconer discusses how different sides of our personality affect what we think,
Do,
And how we connect with others.
And he uses ideas from psychology,
Philosophy,
And his own stories from his experience.
But today,
Let's get curious a bit together on this topic.
And as those of you who have been around this podcast for a bit know,
An IFS burdens are the emotional and psychological weights that parts carry.
They can stem from past experiences,
Traumas,
Or inherited patterns.
Often these burdens become attached to specific parts,
Shaping their behavior and influencing our overall well-being and our internal system.
However,
There are instances where burdens exist in our internal system without being firmly attached to any specific part.
And these unattached burdens can manifest as vague feelings of unease,
Unresolved emotions,
Or persistent thoughts that seem to linger without a clear origin.
So what exactly are unattached burdens and how do they impact our internal landscape?
And to explore this further,
Let's take a closer look at the dynamics within our internal family.
As we've done before,
It may be helpful to imagine your internal system as a bustling community with each part representing a distinct member of your family or of the community.
And now picture those unattached burdens as lost baggage,
Wandering through the streets of this community,
Seeking a home among the various parts.
And these unattached burdens may stem from past traumas or unresolved emotions that have not been fully processed.
Without a designated part to carry them,
They roam freely with our internal system and they influence the behaviors and emotions of other parts.
For example,
You may find yourself experiencing bouts of anxiety without a clear trigger or feeling unwarranted anger towards loved ones.
These emotions could be signals of unattached burdens seeking resolution within your internal family.
So how do we address these unattached burdens and bring about healing within our internal system?
Internal family systems offers a framework for identifying and allowing these burdens,
Just like those attached to parts,
To unburden.
And what is different with unattached burdens?
Because I've had some people say,
How do I know if it's an unattached burden or how is this different from a burden that's attached to one of my younger parts?
And my answer to that and in my own work is to say,
First of all,
A burden,
Whether it's attached or not,
Is a burden.
And it may be who we think we are,
But it doesn't help balance our system.
And we want to be careful and delicate with these burdens that are attached with parts to make sure,
Yeah,
We're not shaming the part,
We're not calling the part bad,
But the burden is simply that,
A burden that doesn't belong and can be unburdened.
And what I have found is with these unattached burdens,
First of all,
Is they don't belong in the city or community and in our internal system.
And if we specifically know that they're not attached to a part,
Sometimes we have to be a little more forceful with them.
But I've found,
Because I've experienced this in my own personal work with a practitioner,
That if we stay curious,
Trust the process,
It generally becomes clear if a burden is unattached and we can help it usher out of our system so that we can continue to heal and to be whole.
And by cultivating self-awareness and fostering a compassionate relationship with our internal parts,
We can create a safe space to identify and interact with unattached burdens and ask,
Or maybe even sometimes tell them to leave our system.
And as we journey through the landscape of our psyche,
It's essential to remember that healing is a gradual process.
And I'm not going to talk a lot about this today,
But I've also found that there are guides on our journey.
And for me,
It's usually something to the attune of my Christ consciousness from a Christian background.
I'm not saying that has to be the same for you,
But there are also guides that may not be attached to a specific part,
Like Holy Spirit or something like that,
That I have found that can help me lead to healing too.
They do belong within my system.
They may not be attached to a part,
But they lead me to healing and to light that I may not have normally found on my own.
So keep that in mind too,
When you're looking inside and stay curious and on the lookout for unattached burdens,
But also those guides that are for our greater good.
And I know that's kind of a short episode again,
As I normally try to keep them,
But full.
And I hope that it's been helpful for you to get curious about the potential of unattached burdens in your system.
Continue to be gentle with yourself and yeah,
Know that that healing takes time and patience.
And often when we move slower,
As ironic as it sounds,
And have that patience and grace,
We can move faster when it's appropriate and when we need to,
But we can't push the process.
