Practices for Learning to Let Go

When we have carried a belief, habit or fear around for a long enough time, it begins to feel as if it is part of who we are. It becomes a part of our identity.  Just the idea of letting go of something that has become our blanket of security, or our 'go to' comfort, increases our anxiety.  Anxiety further shrinks our ability to see the potential for our life.  For many people this becomes an ever deepening rut of  repeat limiting, self-destructive behaviors.

Here are two practices which can help us become willing, able and ready to let go of what keeps us from creating our dreams:

The first practice I call the 'god-box' practice. Write what it is you wish to release on a small piece of paper, fold it up so that the writing is folded inward.  An example:  "I ask for guidance and direction to let go of ___________________. "

If you have a personal altar you can place this request on your altar. I have a 'god-box' on my altar and use that to hold my requests and intentions. If you don't have an altar, to choose a small, special container to hold your requests and place it where you will see it regularly. There is nothing more you need do, except to keep your ears, your eyes and your heart alert for the guidance and direction you will begin to see as you move through your days.

This is not to say your letting go will be instantaneous or easy, though sometimes it is.  Often, our guidance comes in unexpected ways-someone shows up in our life who is able to guide us through an arduous letting go process.  Sometimes letting go comes in stages, by bits and pieces.  Sometimes, we find letting go just happens. Awareness and asking are the key ingredients to letting go over time. Letting go is an intentional request.  The willingness is ours to choose, the timing of when it actually happens, however, is not in our control.

The second practice for when you are not sure if you are yet willing or able to let go:
Write a prayer for the willingness to pray for the willingness to let go. An example:  "Creator, I pray for the willingness to become willing to ask for guidance and direction and inspiration to let go ________________.

Self Reflection: I read this prayer everyday, upon waking and before sleep.  Soon I find myself writing my request for guidance and direction.  Now, I am ready for the gifts of the 'god box'.

The Pain of Not Letting Go

The pain of not letting go...as human beings we tend to respond to life by either holding on no matter the cost, or stopping just short of the goal. In the animal world, only domesticated animals mimic this behavior.  Creatures in the wild could not survive if they behaved this way.  We human beings may survive, but we certainly don't thrive, and the life we create by living this way is painful, for us and for those around us.

Spider, as a totem so obviously does not hold on! Think about spider spinning and weaving her web. From her being comes the fiber and material for creation of the web. From her essence comes the knowing of its' form, its' creation.

Self Reflection: What does the web of my life represent for me? What is the cost of my holding on? What is the cost of my stopping too soon?

Our Desire to Serve Truth and the Myth of 'Not Enough'

Our desire to Serve Truth supports our conscious intention and active practice.

Our intention to Serve Truth strengthens as we let go of our baggage of fears, misperceptions and limited beliefs, including our misperceptions of enough. 

With each letting go, we live more in the present moment. We realize we are enough, there is enough.

Our energy for life, for healing, for creating flows more powerfully in our body.

It can take a while to get used to this energy flowing through our being.

Our emotions are larger, deeper, more intensely felt (and often sweeter and very loving)

We find our mind thinking faster, in new ways; we might find ourselves tongue-tied.  We can't quite get our thoughts organized. 

Our bodies may need more sleep. We may have more energy than we feel we can handle. Old illness's may recur for a brief time, as if our bodies are clearing out space and making way for the energy to flow more freely.

Some people feel as if their heart is opening to hidden longings.

With all this, we are more able to live our life's purpose, our spirit's calling.

As we open to our own calling, we also add to the collective Spirit of all life on this earth plane-this is what has been called the 'library of knowing', the collective conscious, the wisdom of the body of God. 

Self Reflection: As I let go of my illusions of 'not enough', I become more  able to draw on the 'library of knowing'. I come to trust I am enough, there is enough.  From this place of Truth, I can Serve Truth.  I will be gentle with the changes in my being that come with this 'letting go' and this new awareness of Truth.