Hello beautiful human.
Welcome back.
You are so welcome to be here and I'm happy that you're here for part five of Longing and Sorrow as a practice.
And this week we are going to be thinking about and reflecting on letting go in a ceremonious way.
And sometimes it's appropriate for us to feel our emotions and all of our emotions,
The so-called good ones,
The ones that are more challenging and that's fine and we're really been working on that over the last few weeks.
And other times it is more appropriate and more helpful to us to relinquish and to let go.
And so the tree is a really beautiful metaphor in this relinquishing,
In this letting go.
And when autumn comes and there's so many beautiful colors everywhere and really these colors are a reminder of the tree's ability to relinquish and to let go.
And they're also a sign of impermanence.
Everything is changing.
Everything is in a state of flux.
And when I was walking in the woods one time just by my work and I saw these trees and they were literally falling right in front of me because there were big gusts of wind.
And I thought it's like the tree is crying.
And I found this to really give me a lot of strength and a lot of solace.
And I understand that sometimes we're not ready to let go and it's not the right time to do so.
But some things we can't hold on to.
And we want to but it's not helpful for us to.
And it might be that there is an object that symbolizes the thing that you want to let go of.
Maybe it's a letter that you wrote to someone but you were unable to send.
Or maybe it's a little trinket or keepsake that was gifted to you by someone and and they're not here anymore.
Or maybe you've just been really deep in the trenches of your your grief or your sorrow or your longing.
As we all are,
You know,
We are all in the trenches from time to time but we don't want to live there.
And so it might be that you are thinking it is appropriate for you to to let go symbolically.
And there are different ways of course that we can do this.
And we spoke about the candle and the lighting the candle for that which is too heavy to carry.
And a bigger version of the candle is a real fire.
And if you've got access to one,
Burning stuff,
You know,
Writing things down,
Burning them,
Letting them go can be a really powerful act.
I would also say if that isn't accessible to you because it isn't for everybody and it is a lot of effort,
You could bury something as well.
So if you have things,
Objects,
Inanimate objects that you've been carrying around that symbolize to you a period of loss or a longing for something that has not yet materialized,
You might literally give it and gift it back to the earth.
And this is a really powerful practice too.
Another thing that you could do is you could let this go by talking about it.
In talking therapy is a great place to to start to relinquish and let go or encircle.
So if you have a group of peers that you gather with,
And you have the opportunity to share,
It might be that by sharing this,
This thing that you want to let go of,
You're more able to do so.
Yeah,
So some ideas.
Another idea is a grief circle,
Or a sorrow circle,
Where we gather intentionally to to make space to honor the things that make us sad and make us sorrowful.
And this can be a really powerful thing as well.
And it's quite different if we're holding a circle for grief and for sorrow and for longing,
Because then everybody in the circle has agency and whether they participate or not.
And I think that's really important too,
Because some of the things that we are in the process of relinquishing and letting go of might be things that other people also experience,
They will be things that other people experience.
And often we don't know where the other person is at.
So the other person having an opportunity to consent to opt in or to opt out can be,
Yeah,
Really kind and really compassionate and necessary.
So some ideas on how you can let go.
And I will leave you to ponder those ideas.
And there might be some that resonate with you and there might be some that do not feel appropriate,
And that's okay.
And we'll do a short somatic practice.
So encouraging you to find a place where you can be comfortable.
And for some friends that will be seated.
And for other friends that might be lying down,
Taking your time to get as comfortable as you can.
And again,
If you feel comfortable and safe enough to close your eyes,
You might do that.
And then the invitation again,
Is to allow space in your body to feel.
And we're not trying to force ourselves into thinking or feeling something that's really difficult.
But we want there to be space for whatever is there to be there with a little bit more ease.
And so invitation to notice the breath that's already here.
And you don't need to change it.
And if you can breathe in and out through the nose,
Doing so.
And letting the breath become a little bit deeper without exaggerating it or forcing it.
And letting that rhythm of the breath carry you through your practice.
And then the next time that you take a breath in,
Silently repeating,
Let.
And as you exhale,
Silently repeating,
Go.
Let go.
Let go.
Let it go.
Let go.
And then the next time that you exhale,
Go.
Let go of let go.
And the invitation is to bring a hand onto your heart and a hand onto your belly,
If that feels appropriate for you.
And then taking a deep breath in,
Visualising,
Receiving what you need to receive in this moment through that hand that rests on the heart or imagined hand on the heart,
Holding what you need in the heart.
And the next time that you take a breath out,
Visualise relinquishing that which no longer serves you through the hand that rests on your belly.
Visualise yourself giving it back through the palm of the hand,
The tissues of the body,
And eventually back to the earth.
The earth will know what to do with it.
They will transmute it into something beautiful,
Or useful,
Or necessary.
And then letting go of the practice and coming back to your body,
To the earth and the layers of the earth that are supporting you.
Twinkling the fingers or toes,
Perhaps taking a stretch,
Blinking the eyes open,
Or taking deep rest.
Thank you so much,
Beautiful human,
For joining me.
It's such a privilege and an honour to share this time with you,
Wherever you are,
Whoever you are.
And I look forward to welcoming you back next week for our final practice.
With gratitude.
