Hello,
My name is Debbie and welcome to this meditation on letting go.
We often confuse letting go with getting rid of.
When we let go,
The thought or emotion,
The desire or the situation might remain but we're allowing it to come,
Stay and go in its own time.
What we let go of then is trying to control.
We let go of fighting or feeding what arises.
We let go of struggle and effort.
Take a moment to get comfortable in a position that allows you to fully relax while remaining alert.
Make any little adjustments you choose to be as comfortable as you can be in this moment,
Knowing that you don't need to remain perfectly still but can mindfully move whenever and however you choose during this practice.
Bring your awareness to the sounds that you can hear.
Sounds near and far,
Sounds subtle,
Sounds that are obvious.
Allowing your attention to organically drift from sound to sound.
Become aware of the sound of your breathing.
Letting the sound and rhythm of the breath guide you further inward.
Be expanding with your breath in and contracting with your breath out.
Expanding and contracting.
Settle into your body's organic rhythm.
Imagine yourself sitting beside a gently flowing stream,
Lush grass underneath you and perhaps a picnic blanket or a cushion for your comfort.
As you look around,
Notice what time of day or night it is.
What the quality of the light is like.
Inhale the fresh country air.
There's enough light to see the stream and you listen to the sound of the water as you gaze into it.
Laid out next to you are a number of paper boats.
Each has written on it something you've been holding on to.
You pick up one of the paper boats and read what's written on it.
You notice the thoughts and emotions that arise as you read what's on this paper boat.
You hold on to the boat tightly.
Imagine how you grapple with this particular boat.
Perhaps furiously trying to reform it into a different shape.
Holding it tightly to your chest or trying to cover it with your hands so it's hidden and out of sight.
Feel the tension in your body and mind.
Perhaps a sense of urgency or frustration or confusion.
Feel the compulsion to act,
To understand,
To fix,
To solve or to be rid of this boat.
And then you pause in your struggle.
Your breathing deepens and slows.
Let yourself be soothed by the rhythm of your breath.
Let it slow you down,
Calm you,
Bring you here to this moment,
To this breath.
And as you exhale you whisper to yourself,
Let go.
As you inhale,
You touch the stillness of presence in this moment.
As you exhale,
You release control and whisper,
Let go.
Inhale,
Present and still,
Exhale,
Let go.
Relaxing even just 5% more with each exhale.
You relax your jaw,
Your shoulders drop,
Released as muscles relax.
Your belly softens,
Your body releases and your mind hums with spaciousness.
Your grip eases and the paper boat slips gently from your hands and into the stream.
One by one you pick up each paper boat in turn,
Reading what each represents.
You take a moment to acknowledge your thoughts and emotions,
Letting them be just as they are,
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to change,
Nothing to control.
Allowing this moment to be just as it is,
Breathing in presence,
Breathing out,
Letting go.
One by one,
Allow each boat to slip from your relaxed hands into the stream.
Some of the boats might get stuck and hang around for a while.
Others might catch a current and drift by more quickly.
However they are is perfectly fine.
You allow them to come,
Stay and go in their own time,
At their own pace,
In their own way.
Letting go is a relaxing,
Letting go is a softening,
Letting go is a letting it be,
Just as it is.
Nothing to control,
Nothing to fix,
Taking action when we're able and otherwise allowing this moment to be just as it is,
Breathing in and out,
Letting go into the breath,
Inhaling with presence and stillness,
Exhaling,
Letting go,
Falling back and down into the body,
Releasing into the breath,
Body becoming lighter as muscles relax.
A state of being,
Not a state of doing.
Take a few more moments to watch the boats bobbing up and down or floating away into the distance until their tiny dots on the horizon.
And as we draw this meditation to a close,
Imagine your position in the room that you're occupying.
Feel the supports underneath you and in your own time gently blink open your eyes,
Taking in your surroundings.
Remember that practicing letting go is a process and it may take time and patience to develop the ability to observe your thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them.
Be kind to yourself and keep practicing.
