Letting Go

In our busy lives, we often layer on control in order to accomplish everything that we need to. In this practice I invite you to slowly release that, allowing yourself to experience the inherent freedom that comes with a lessened need to control everything. By loosening your grip, you will feel free and at peace. Together, we will explore the notion that only by loosening your grip, do other things begin to make themselves known to you.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this practice.

Before we begin today I'd like to touch on why this practice is called simply letting go.

Let's just briefly think back over a day.

What happened today or yesterday?

You know you probably woke up,

Had some breakfast,

Maybe went to work or school,

Continued about your day and eventually went to bed.

But in there how many small things happened?

How many small things did you feel you had to control or for that matter how many big things did you feel you had to control in order for them to go properly or go at all?

And now just pause for a second and ask yourself how many of those things that you tried to control were actually beyond your control all along?

My guess is that if you can be honest with yourself and introspective enough you probably have come to the conclusion that most things that happened in the last day or today were beyond your control and for that matter most of the things you worried about didn't matter half as much as you thought they did at the time.

And so then now for at least the duration of this practice let's try just letting go.

Just letting go of that control,

That incessant need to control everything.

The incessant worry about so many things.

Let's just let them go.

Let's just let the practice take us.

Let's let unfold what is going to unfold and let's accept it as it does unfold.

And maybe as we do this we'll notice the inherent peace and freedom that come with a lack of control almost as if there was no point in us trying to control it in the first place.

And so with that go ahead and find a comfortable seat where your pelvis can land naturally in the surface beneath it supporting your spine in a nice erect position so that your back is straight up but relaxed.

Take a moment to consciously place the hands somewhere and when you're ready let the eyes grow heavy and close.

Feeling yourself sink into your seat and become settled.

We'll take just a moment to reaffirm the intention of this practice.

The intention of this practice today will be one of letting go.

Letting go of control.

Letting go of worry.

Letting go of attachment.

Just letting go.

And during this practice if you become distracted that's okay it's perfectly natural and rather than fight this natural process that occurs in your brain just accept it.

Follow it.

Observe it.

Note where it takes you.

You know ah thinking or ah itching.

And then gently re-centering the attention.

As well today as we work our way through this practice try and allow the sensations of whatever your focus is at the time to come to you rather than seeking them out.

Let go of that need to seek them out.

Just let them come.

And with that we'll begin this practice by taking three deep cleansing easy breaths together.

Starting with a big inhale and a slow exhale.

Deep inhale.

Slow exhale.

Feeling the body relax.

And the mind settle.

Last one deep inhale.

Slow exhale.

Starting to let go.

We'll take just a moment in this relaxed state to really come into our seat feeling the earth rising up to support you.

And taking a moment to feel your energy sinking down.

All of the excess energy and the negative energy returning to the earth through your body as you become grounded and steady.

Feeling the energy flow downwards.

Feeling grounded.

And with everything nice and steady now allow the sounds and the smells of the space around you to rise to your attention.

Noting any sound or smell that rises to your attention and then letting it go.

And allowing these sounds and smells to remain in your awareness.

Now allowing the sensations of your feet or legs on the surface beneath them to come to your attention.

Gently scanning up the legs and noticing the points of contact between the legs and with the floor.

And noticing your seat on the surface beneath it.

And noticing the hands wherever you've chosen to place them.

And allowing these physical sensations to remain in your awareness.

Now allowing the sensations of the breath to come to your attention.

The sensations as the breath comes in through the nose and down to the belly and then back up and out through the nose.

Continuing to observe the rising and falling sensations of the breath as it moves through the body.

Maybe it's a sensation of the air rushing in through the nose or the belly inflating or maybe it's a sensation of the shoulders dropping in the air rushing out through the nose.

Just continuing to allow the sensations to rise and fall.

And very gently now allowing the sensations of the breath from the place in your body where you notice it the most to come to your attention.

Observing the rising sensations of the inhale and the falling sensations of the exhale.

The rising sensations of the inhale and the falling sensations of the exhale almost like waves to a shoreline that you're sitting just out of reach from.

Watching them come and watching them go.

Completely at peace.

And if it helps you,

You can begin to count the breaths.

Breathing in for one,

Breathing out for two,

Breathing in for three,

Breathing out for four,

And so on up to ten before starting over.

And if distractions come,

Resisting the urge to fight them and feed into the conflict.

Just accepting them,

Observing them,

Noting them,

Letting them go,

And gently re-centering the attention on the breath.

Letting go of any control over the breath.

Just allowing those waves of the breath to rise and fall like waves to and from a shoreline.

And maybe you begin to see how this letting go,

This lack of control,

Leaves you free.

It leaves you free to experience things in a different way.

It leaves you free to experience yourself as you truly are.

It leaves you free to maybe let go of the control over the attention and the breath entirely.

And maybe it leaves you free to experience the breath for what it truly is.

An outside entity,

Another natural process,

Yet a perfect example of the impermanence of all things.

Rising,

Staying with you for just a moment,

And then falling away as you let it go.

And perhaps you're free to regard other outside entities in the same way.

Maybe a thought or feeling comes up and it stays with you for a moment,

And then it falls away as you let it go.

And that's why there's no sense resisting or trying to control anything that comes up.

Whether it's the breath or a thought or a feeling or a sound,

They're all impermanent.

They'll only be with you for a moment,

And when you let them go,

They fall away.

And maybe from this place of freedom and peace and ease,

You can begin to look deeper.

Beyond the observer,

Who's arresting,

Observing these natural processes rise and fall.

What's beyond the observer?

What holds up the observer?

What is or who is observing the observer?

And as you ask yourself these questions from this place of freedom and peace,

You can begin to realize the answer is you.

It is in this space that the true you resides and rests.

And only when we let go can we achieve enough freedom to truly see and feel that.

And allowing ourselves to just rest and bask with this understanding and this deeper feeling.

And very gently now,

Purposely allowing the sensations of the breath to come back to the center of your attention.

And allowing the attention to expand and noticing the sensations as they rise and fall of the breath moving through the body.

Allowing the sensations of your hands wherever you've placed them to come back to your attention.

Your seat on the surface beneath it and your feet and legs on the surface beneath them.

Allowing the sounds and the smells of the space around you to come back to your attention as you purposely and mindfully allow your consciousness back into the space that the body is in.

And pausing for a moment for gratitude.

Gratitude for not only having given yourself the time and space for this practice today,

But gratitude for any moment when you felt genuine freedom and peace.

And pausing to reflect for a moment that this freedom and peace was truly achieved by letting go.

As you're ready you can introduce some subtle movement,

Maybe wiggling the fingers or the toes,

Maybe gently moving the shoulders or the head,

Slowly working out any points of tension that were created during the practice.

And when you're ready blink open your eyes.

Reviews

Excellent

Beautiful 🤩

Very good namaste

Excellent thankyou for 🥀🦜🧘‍♀️👌