I find emotional healing the key to fulfillment and harmony, and I applaud anyone’s intention to tackle going into the “basement” of the Self armed with only a small flashlight. It takes courage to look into those dark corners. Journaling and meditation are great tools; however, the most powerful practice of which I know is tuning into your Higher Self - there is incredible support and solace there, more so than you could ever find in another human. If you are not already in communication with your Higher Self, I recommend these practices:

1. Giving intent to communicate.

2. Give yourself permission to communicate for you can; we all can. You are absolute deserving to reunite with a part of you that has been dormant to you consciousness for years.

3. You can trying a writing exercise in which you "assume" that your HS is writing through you (it is not automatic writing however) by beginning a sentence with:

"[your name], you are loved beyond your comprehension and..."

Just put down whatever comes to you without evaluation or judgment. If this technique works for you, it can be expanded to be more specific, e.g.:

"[your name], you are loved beyond your comprehension, and about [whatever subject you want to explore]..."

4. For non-written communication, trying "tuning" your internal listening like an old analog radio dial where you search back and forth over the frequency to find the strongest signal. Again, give intent before doing so. "I give intent to communicate with my Higher Self."

5. Clear your mind and then let whatever comes forth to come forth. Your beliefs about what you can hear will govern how you hear and so, words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs. I began by thinking that I could only hear one or two words and that belief limited me to just that. Later, I asked if I could hear whole sentences, etc., and the answer was "sure," and I could!

6. If you ask a question and do not receive a reply don't be discouraged. There could be many reasons why. The most frequent ones are you don't need the information (like winning lottery numbers), it is not time to receive the information, and perhaps you are not focused enough at that time to "hear."

7. The absolute best question to ask is: "What do I need to know now that is in my best and highest interest?" Take whatever comes, for you may not expect the answer that you get.

8. You may receive information from other than your Higher Self (your ego for example) or even other spiritual entities that are floating around out there.

9. You can gauge what you are told by asking these questions: Was the information lovingly given? Does the information allow for freedom of choice, i.e., you are not told that you have to do whatever is said? Does the information not suggest trying to control someone else or a situation? If the answers are all Yes, then the information is coming from your HS. Remember to always, always use your power of discernment especially in the realm of interpretation. Information from your Higher Self is usually very literal so try not to read more into it than is there.