You’ve finally done that big thing: You ended that toxic relationship, quit your soul-sucking job, distanced yourself from an unsupportive friend. So, why is it that you still feel a pit deep in your stomach? A pesky, heavy, awful feeling that things just aren’t right? According to my favorite positive vibes guru and #1 New York Times bestselling author Gabby Bernstein, you won’t be able to truly move into the light until you cut off those invisible ties to the people who negatively affect you. She's got a powerful, simple and effective meditation to help us to do just that.

Whenever we kick off a new project, set new goals, or incorporate a positive new habit in our lives, we need energy and emotional space to make room for these good things. Whatever goals you may have for yourself right now, you will have a much easier time achieving them by releasing all of the things that don't serve you. This includes your negative energetic attachments to others (people, things, habits...the list goes on).

We all have energetic cords weighing us down and sometimes we have cord connections to people we don’t even know. When you have a relationship with someone, your energy becomes connected, especially when a strong emotional event occurs between you. Energy cords can also be created when we make a contract or promise to someone, whether it’s a business deal or a marriage or something less formal.

Even when that relationship ends, the energy cord can still be intact. Your judgment creates a cord that ties you to them whether you like it or not (don't worry...we can fix this together).

Even when you think a relationship is over, you will still feel residual pain and drama. The cords of energy keep the drama going even when you’re apart, and those strong energetic ties can really weigh you down. That’s why it can be so hard to stop thinking about an ex or stop obsessing about a business relationship that went south.

When you have a cord attachment to someone you’ve judged, you’re stuck in a low-frequency relationship, playing out the drama over and over again. That negativity lowers your overall vibration, which only attracts more negativity and drama into your life.

This week you are going to clear your spiritual connections, heal your cord attachments, and raise your vibration so that you have the energy to achieve new goals and focus on the positive. The way to cut these energetic cords is with a powerful visualization meditation that I Gabby talks about in her book, Judgment Detox. Each day, practice this visualization meditation. It sends a powerful message to the Universe that you’re ready to let go of the pattern of judgment.

Practice this exercise to help release you from the negativity that’s been holding you back.

The Cord-Cutting Meditation

Sit comfortably cross-legged on the floor or in a chair.
Gently roll your shoulders back.

Take a deep breath in your nose and breathe out your mouth.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

With each breath you’ll begin to relax more and more.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Continue to focus on this cycle of breath.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Allow your thoughts to still and feel a sense of calm radiate through you as you prepare for deeper healing.

Invite the person whom you’ve been judging into your meditation now.

See them in your mind’s eye, standing before you.

Allow yourself to feel any feelings of anger or resentment.
Be present with your feelings as you breathe.

Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe into the discomfort that arises from seeing this person standing before you.
And breathe out.
Breathe in the feeling and release it.

See the thick, dark cord between you both.
Where is this cord attached? At your chest, your throat, your stomach?
Trust whatever image comes to your mind.

See the cord clearly and prepare to cut it.
Prepare to detach yourself from the negative energy of imbalance.
You’re ready to cut the cord.

In your dominant hand you hold a bright golden sword.
This sword represents your desire to be free and your commitment to peace.

When you’re ready, lower the sword and swiftly cut the cord.

The sword effortlessly slices through the cord and you watch the cord fall onto the ground.

Take a deep breath in, and on the exhale send out a powerful sigh of relief.

The cord now begins to dissolve into the ground. As it disappears all remnants of its energy lift off you.

You see this person standing before you.
See them in their innocence.
See them in their light.
Release them.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

When you’re ready, open your eyes to the room.

You may want to have a notebook handy so you can take a few minutes to free-write whatever thoughts and feelings came up for you during this meditation.

Following your meditation you may want to ground yourself. Shake your limbs, stomp your feet, or just rest for one to two minutes.

Order Gabby Bernstein’s new book, Judgment Detox, to follow her six-step method for clearing judgment and releasing the beliefs that hold you back from living a better life. When you order the book you’ll get Gabby’s 2-hour manifesting workshop as a free gift. Gabby Bernstein is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Universe Has Your Back, and her other best-sellers include Miracles Now, May Cause Miracles, Add More ~ing to Your Life, and Spirit Junkie. She is the founder of the Spirit Junkie Masterclass training and the Miracle Membership. Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday named her a “next-generation thought leader,” and The New York Times called her “a new role model.” She appears regularly on The Dr. Oz Show and Today. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.