Letting Go Without Losing Yourself

Discover how to release what no longer serves you and embrace change with greater ease. Through personal reflection and spiritual insight, Brenda Carey guides listeners to find balance, plant new intentions, and trust the healing power of letting go during life’s natural transitions.

Transcript

I'll be honest, Letting go can feel terrifying at times, And oftentimes what I let go comes back again and again. It almost feels as if I'm losing a part of myself, Even though I know that's not actually true. But what if letting go is actually how we find our true selves? Blessings, This is Brenda Cary, And allow this time to be a sanctuary for you, Where you can awaken your sensitivity, You can soften, Heal, And reconnect to your own inner wisdom. I am so grateful that you are here with me today. As of this recording, We are at the fall equinox. And whenever you listen to this episode, Deep down within you, Somewhere, There is a personal season of knowing that there is a transition coming. And this has been so true for me, Especially over this past year. Any equinox or solstice invites us to pause. And equinoxes specifically, From a spiritual significance, Not so much a scientific, But I'm coming from the spiritual side, Allows us time to self-reflect and look at where is the light and the dark, Meaning the lightness and darkness within us present. And it gives us an opportunity to see if we need to cultivate more harmony or equilibrium in our life. And specifically, The fall equinox is a time of letting go. We're going to be transitioning into a darker, More introverted season. If you're coming from the southern hemisphere, It's going to be a little bit opposite, But there's still a releasing and letting go energy. No matter when you listen to this podcast, I think it is the perfect timing for you. There's something within you that knows change is coming. It's on the brink. Or maybe you're already in it and you're a little confused as to like, What do I do now? I'd love to share with you over this past year, So last September on my 50th birthday, It was a full moon lunar eclipse, No less. So a lot of powerful releasing energy. I had known even a month or two up to that point that significant change was coming. I just had this inner knowing. And I'll be honest with you, It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time, Kind of a mix. And what came up for me over those months and in my quiet times in the morning is that I really wanted to bring writing back to center stage of my life. For so long, I have focused my work on teaching and coaching and sound healing and all things that I genuinely love. Like my business isn't just something where I sell trinkets, Like it is a part of my personal growth and who I am. It's work that I love. But during this time, I knew that writing was meant to come to the forefront more. And so I did, I think, What a lot of people do when we have this inkling. We set new intentions. We set an intention of what we want to create. We manifest, Right, What we want to bring forth. And so I was doing that. I would come up with simple, Powerful affirmations of I am the author of my own story. I courageously write my story, Things like that. And even though I was saying these affirmations and they felt really good, The truth is in my day to day life, I wasn't actually writing as much. I had my morning journaling time that was very short that I would squeeze in before rushing the kids off to school. But it really wasn't a prominent place in my day to day routine. So even with new intentions, Which we often set, We also need to clear the space for those new intentions to grow. Oftentimes you'll hear how new intentions are like new seeds planted in the ground. This is very common for new moon season. We just recently had a new moon. And yes, It's very important to plant that new seed of intention. However, We forget to look at the soil around the seed. And I'm using this as a metaphor because oftentimes our soil is a little cluttered. Maybe there's a lot of debris or stones or just weeds that need to be cleared in order to make that soil really fertile so that the seed can really root and sprout in a healthy way. And so this is what I needed to do. So over this past year, I knew I needed to clear the space, Clear, Yes, My calendar, Also clear my body because intentions aren't just mental. I've learned over the years that my intentions need to be embodied. And I'll be honest with you, As I let go, I can't say that immediately there was a lightness. It was actually a little bit terrifying. Because I realized I wasn't just letting go of things that I do. I was letting go of an old identity where I had associated myself with the teachings that I do. And the people around me were a little confused because they would ask me, Are you frustrated? Are you burnt out? And the truthful answer was no, I have been burnt out and frustrated in the past, But this didn't feel like that. There was no feeling of disgust when I released it. It was just really a sense of grief, Of feeling the loss of that identity. And yet knowing that I was following my soul's path. So friend, Consider what is it that you feel has been something that you have either been putting on the back burner, Haven't given space for. Maybe it's something you've really wanted to put more time into or wanted to try, But haven't created the space for. Because there is this lingering fear of losing who you think you are. That was the case for me anyway, So just something to sit with. I also started clearing space in my body, Going on nature walks, Moving my body, Saying those affirmations of I courageously write and creating space for my body to feel that and now that I had had more space in my calendar for writing, My body was more open to receive that. The tiredness that I had originally felt because I kept thinking about creating more space to write slowly went away. I started to clear the mental space as well. I signed up for a fearless writing course. I started that earlier this year and that really helped shift my mental state of lovingly releasing an old identity as teacher, Healer, Coach. Not saying that my writing isn't going to be informed by that. It definitely is. But stepping into this new season on all levels, Space in my calendar, Feeling it in my body, The mental space, The information that I need, And also letting go of the overconsumption of information that I no longer needed, That was no longer in alignment. So I'm asking you, Friend, What do you need to clear on all levels, Environmental space in your calendar, Your body, Your mind, In order to plant that new seed of intention into really rich, Fertile soil? Now, Finally, I do think that there is also a spiritual cleansing or releasing as well. And this past weekend, I had the honor of teaching my final earth medicine yoga class, At least for a while. But I sat by this beautiful creek with a small group of women and we did a water releasing ceremony. This is a shamanic practice that I've done for years. And we each gathered a river stone from the shore of this creek. And we took that stone and placed in it our struggle or density, The heaviness in our lives that we wanted to release to the healing waters because the element of water is so powerful. She is so compassionate and cleansing. And so as we sat by the creek with our stone symbolizing what is weighing us down, We took a lot of deep breaths and listened to her water song. And then in our own, In our own sweet time, We tossed that stone into the water. And that is such a powerful spiritual release. Now, Not to say that I may need to do that water releasing ceremony again and again, Because we are human. This is our experience. We often resort to what we know, What is familiar, Not always what is new, But it is a powerful way to connect back into nature. And we are nature. There is no separation. We are mostly water as it is. And so to use her medicine as a way to help us release and let go during what can be a scary but powerful transition in our lives. I'm so grateful that you are on this journey with me and as always, Blessings on your healing journey.