Let Go And Be Free - 5-Minute Daily Insight

Do you ever experience repetitive thoughts and feelings about the past, in the form of regret, resentment, grief, shame or confusion? Or do you simply feel that you haven’t fully accepted and moved on from something? Then this meditation is for you! Learning to let go is one of the most important things for living well, feeling happy, and being more present. It also frees your energy for achieving your goals in life.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Daily Insight. My name is Giovanni Dienstmann. I am a meditation teacher and the author of Practical Meditation. Today you will learn two stories that will teach you how to let go. Letting go is an essential skill for living well and having peace of mind. May today's lesson guide you into actually letting go. The banana and the cold beer. Monkeys are swift, Energetic, And invasive. Trying to catch one is no easy task. Unless if you have a banana. And you know how hard it is for the monkey to let it go. Asians discovered that to catch a monkey all you need to do is to put a banana inside a bottle and tie it with a rope. The bottle should have a neck narrow enough for the monkey's hand to pass through and a banana inside. When a monkey sees that bottle, He puts his hand inside, Grabs the banana, And he's stuck. His hand now forms a fist and he can't pull it out like that. The joy of grabbing the banana doesn't last too long. The poor animal is in panic and he has the impression that the bottle is holding on to him. He would jump around, Curse the bottle and try anything, Apart from opening his hands and letting go of the banana. The locals come and easily capture the monkey, Which will probably be eaten for lunch or live the rest of his life as a slave. Are we not like that silly monkey sometimes? Feeling that life is keeping a grip on us while it is actually we who cannot let go. Letting go is always an option, And it's better done earlier than later. Here is another metaphor. Imagine you're holding a hot coal in your hand. It's burning. It's painful. And yet you ask, How can I stop the pain? Open your hand and let it go. The Zen Master says. How to let go? I can't. Ah, It's burning! Let go. It's as simple as that. Once you have done the inner work in the previous lessons, You are ready to release the cold. But if you haven't completed that work, You might feel that even though the coal is burning, It's hard to let it go. You may feel that this is a good call. Yes, It's painful, But I might need it again in the future. I just can't throw it away like that. Sometimes we have a banana attachment, Meaning that it gives us a lot of trouble and pain, Yet somehow we still want to keep it. Ideally, You want to have the banana without the negative consequences. We want to have the cake and eat it too. It's really the monkey-minded play. At other times we have a coal attachment, Meaning that it's pure paint. In a way, This is better, Because it soon drives us to a point where we really cannot take it anymore. Life forces us to let go. And let me tell you once again, You always have the option of letting go. It's now time to pause this lesson and make a firm resolution to let it go. Here is how this could look like. For a long time I have been attached to fill in the blanks. Now this is only holding me back in life. It doesn't serve me anymore. I fully let go, Once and for all, Right now. I fully let go, Once and for all, Right now. I fully let go, Once and for all, Right now. Create your own resolution in a way that it sums up your insight about your situation and your decision to let go. Then write it on a piece of paper and repeat it out loud with conviction. Let go of your past, Like a monkey letting go of the banana, Or the burning hand dropping the coal. Or like a child letting go of a paper boat on a water stream. Don't doubt. Take a leap of faith. Be bold. Surrender. Just let it go. Let it go. Throw it away. Enough of it. Let it go even just for today and see what happens. You won't miss it, And nothing bad is going to happen. Bless it and let it go. Feel yourself being emptied of that thing. Feel the freedom that comes, The open space that is now available in your mind and heart. Let it go, Then let it be. Today you learned a short exercise for letting go. If you want to go deeper, Then I recommend you listen to the 10-minute and 20-minute versions of this daily insight, Which will teach you two different exercises. And for now, Please share with us in the comments what is the one word that defines how you feel after this meditation.