The period of spiritual completion is a time of endings and new beginnings. These life-death-rebirth cycles aren’t just an act of finality, but one of transition and spiritual growth. Such cycles run together like watercolors on a white canvas, an ending merging with a new beginning.
I’ve been asked over the years, “What’s the difference between completion and closure?” Simply, completion is a spiritual process whereas closure is a physical one. Completion takes letting go of your past at the soul level. This means spiritually releasing anyone and anything that no longer supports your soul’s path.
When we spiritually complete a karmic pattern, life cycle, or a soul contract, we release it energetically. For instance, patterns and cycles are circular so we can visualize cosmic pinking scissors cutting the pattern, straightening it out like a path, and then walking off of it. This process cuts the energetic ties we have to this karmic pattern or person. It signals to the universe that we have energetically completed a certain life cycle or soul contract. This sense of completion frees us to open the door to new beginnings.
Before you can begin any new phase in your life, you have to complete the current cycle or experience you’re in. That’s because all of life’s experiences call for completion. Often, you don’t see the significance of a life event or lesson until you have experienced completion. We feel a sense of spiritual completion regarding any situation when we know in our heart of hearts, we have done our best.
Closure, on the other hand, is a physical process that helps you honor an ending. It gives you the opportunity to tie up or sever loose ends. It provides a peace of mind even when there are questions left unanswered, signifies the end of an experience, and acknowledges that a change has taken place. It also helps you clear any physical or emotional residue associated with an ending. You can do this by getting rid of emotionally charged possessions or gifts, closing bank accounts, changing titles on properties, or even letting go of your previous wedding rings.
For example, as I’m preparing to sell my home and move, I’m clearing everything out that isn’t in alignment with my soul anymore. This is the impetus for me to clean out closets, give away household items that I don’t love anymore, and let go of everything else that doesn’t resonate with me anymore.
Closure can help you let go of feelings of anger, resentment or grief regarding your past. It allows you honor your experience without judgment as a necessary step on your life’s path. Closure allows you to emotionally unburden your heart of feelings that may be weighing down your spirit. Through creating closure, you affirm that you have done what was needed, are transformed by your experience, and ready for whatever life wants to bring you next.
If you can’t physically find closure with someone or something, you can create it by participating in a ritual of release. Write a goodbye letter to that person and then burn your letter during a release ceremony. This ritual allows you to consciously bless what has taken place between you and release the experience so you can move forward.
When we seek completion, we gain a perspective on a soul level of what has happened and an opportunity to integrate what lessons we can from an experience. Yet, without closure, there is no physical resolution and we are left to grieve, relive old memories in emotional limbo, or remain attached to people from our past. Both completion and closure are necessary for us to grow through an experience and eventually move forward in our lives.
