Letting Go

A meditation for letting go: letting go of thoughts, emotions, feelings, ideas, and people. Using visualisations you will bring awareness to the things you are holding on to, and work to let them go if it is comfortable for you. This is a gentle meditation aimed at beginning the process of letting go of what you can, and observing with non-judgement what you aren't ready to let go of yet.

Transcript

Welcome to today's meditation on letting go.

Before we start I invite you to get into a comfortable position that you'll be able to stay in for approximately 15 to 20 minutes but knowing you can adjust your position or move throughout the meditation to ensure you are comfortable.

I invite you to close your eyes or if you prefer to keep your eyes open I suggest a soft gaze at the ground in front of you.

It's important to put self-care above all else today so if at any point you feel uncomfortable physically or in your thoughts or emotions I encourage you to return your focus to the breath or stop the meditation and join again if you wish.

It's very normal for the mind to wander throughout a meditation and if your mind does wander simply bring your attention back to the breath or back to the sound of my voice and like a mind wandering you might notice sounds taking your attention away and you can simply let these pass by as well returning your focus back to the breath and back to the meditation.

In today's meditation we'll be entering the present moment through the process of letting go and throughout the meditation I invite you to have an attitude of non-judgment,

Non-judgment for any thoughts feelings or emotions that arise and non-judgment if letting go isn't possible for you today.

So to get started I invite you to take some slow grounding breaths and with every inhale and exhale envision your grounding into the body.

If visualizations are possible for you you may wish to envision you're a large tree rooting into the ground and otherwise you may feel the body getting heavier and heavier with every breath continuing to breathe and just falling into a natural breathing pattern that is right for you and as you take these deep breaths just noticing how every inhale requires you to let go of it in order for you to exhale and that exhalation is a letting go of itself to allow you to take the next inhale,

The next breath.

In this way letting go is a natural part of life and a natural part of every moment and understanding that the things that we are holding on to are holding us in the past.

Today we will practice moving into the present moment and we can do that by asking ourselves this question which is in this moment do I need to be holding on to this thing?

Can I let it go?

It's this person,

This feeling,

This emotion,

Is this helpful to me in this present moment?

Resisting letting go is like holding on to our breath.

We are holding on to something that doesn't need to be held.

Its natural state is to flow and sometimes we hold on to things and that is okay but when we notice and when we are ready we can learn to let these things go to create the flow of the new breath,

The new life,

The new experience.

And remembering today that we're just going to observe with non-judgment the things that we might be holding on to and the things that we haven't been able to let go of.

Sometimes we hold on to things that we loved and weren't ready to let go of at the time.

Sometimes we hold on to hurt feelings or anger or resentment and it's important to acknowledge that sometimes those things we loved can't ever be replaced but it is possible to loosen our grip and trust that we can bring that thing back to us with a loving thought or memory whenever we like and it's okay to not carry it around or that person around every moment or every day as that can simply get too heavy for anyone.

Sometimes we are holding on to ideas and it can be helpful to let go of the idea that there is a right and wrong thing to do or there is a right or wrong way to be or there is a right or wrong way to be.

So gathering up all of these things we will begin the process of noticing with non-judgment what arises and what we're holding on to and what might be possible to let go of today.

So moving our focus now what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

Whatever it is I invite you to write that thing on a piece of paper,

This thought,

Feeling,

Emotion,

Idea,

Person and just see that you are holding on to it.

See that it is written there in your hand and I want you to envision now that you're standing in front of an ocean and you move close to the shore and notice that the waves are coming in and however it feels comfortable for you I invite you to let go of that piece of paper.

Maybe you'd like to rip it in half,

Crumple it up,

Drop it or gently place it at the shore and just watch as the waves come and take that piece of paper away allowing the waves to do the work.

You just need to let that piece of paper go.

If you've been holding on to that thing the waves might be slower to take it or you might be very ready and the waves come quickly.

However it happens watch as the paper dissolves and becomes water and joins the rest of the vast ocean.

You might even notice that that thought,

Feeling,

Emotion or person you're holding on to isn't quite ready to leave yet and it appears again and just observing with non-judgment and understanding that that is okay.

You may wish to write it down again on this piece of paper,

Notice it there in your hand that you're holding on to it and again just placing it at the shore and seeing if the waves will take it this time.

And if they don't just gently observing that today might not be the day to let that thing go.

So returning back to your breathing and seeing if another thought,

Feeling or emotion appears and again writing that thing down on a new piece of paper.

Observe it there in your hand.

Observe that you're holding on to it and then letting that piece of paper go in whatever way it feels comfortable for you and allowing the waves to absorb it.

And just taking a moment to notice how large and vast the ocean is compared to your body.

And just noticing that the ocean has the capacity to take on anything that you're holding on to and that you needn't hold on to them anymore.

And noticing that there isn't good or bad.

Everything that we let go of joins the rest of this vast ocean of thoughts,

Feelings,

Emotions,

Ideas and people and dissolves them and everything becomes neutral,

Becomes water.

Even if you have something you might consider a happy thought it too dissolves and joins the ocean.

This practice of letting go has allowed you to practice being more present and you may wish to hold this intention into the rest of the day.

Observing with non-judgment anything that arises and see if you can simply let it go in a way that feels right for you or by using this technique of placing these things on a piece of paper by the ocean and letting the waves absorb them.

I invite you to take a moment to express gratitude to yourself for taking the time to meditate,

For entering into the present moment and for letting go anything that you were able to let go of today.

And as the meditation draws to a close I invite you to bring your awareness back to the breath and back to the body.

You may notice the sounds around you getting louder.

You may become more aware of the ground or chair beneath you.

You may wish to bring some movement into your body,

Moving your fingers and toes and when you're ready you can open your eyes.

Reviews

After an emotional day this was exactly what I needed, the beautiful visualisations really worked in making me feel so much freer and lighter now. Appreciated💙

Listened to it twice in a row. Very soothing.

Very positive and powerful!

So relaxing and freeing💕🙏🤗

Enjoyed this so much. Thank you🙏🏽

Amazing, thank you!

Great visualisation, thank you so much! 🙏💗

This is beautiful 💖 thank you 🙏 I need to let go a lot!!!!🙄☺️😉😃

Thank you. very helpful meditation 💕🧘‍♀️😊

Thank you! I really liked this meditation 🧘‍♀️ Namaste 🙏

This was so soothing, simple, pleasant, and freeing. I’ll definitely be adding this to my ritual this week...and beyond 💚

This is a terrific meditation and exactly what I needed today. I will return to this. I loved the ocean analogy. Thank you

Very peaceful and useful. Thank you!

A very helpful technique. May well work for daily use, thank you.

Thank you! Lovely meditation. Sending blessings and gratitude 🙏 Thank you for noticing my kitty Mickey❤️🙏

I really like this meditation, because it is non-judgemental of your experience and it makes you feel lighter and calmer. thank you 🙏✨

Thank you for a beautiful meditation and a powerful process. It was just what I needed ❤️

Helpful practice for feeling lighter

Lovely and just what I needed 🙏