David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
What Does It Mean to Let Go?
By Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., at PsychCentral
In this human life we get our share of joys and our share of sorrows. The brain is wired to hang onto the fears and sorrows more than the joys so that it guard against what?s uncomfortable and keep us safe. However, in doing this we have the experience of holding onto the difficult in our lives and many of us would enjoy the ability to ?let go? a little easier.
One of my favorite paths in teaching isn?t through the intellect, but through poetry which can reach beyond the rational brain and more directly to the emotional brain where our decision making and ?holding? lies.
Here is a poem that speaks directly to the possibility of letting go.
Before you allow judgments to arise about whether it?s possible for letting go to be this close, just allow these words to settle into your mind. Sit with them, allowing for an openness to the possibility.
Elisha Goldstein is the author of Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, The Now Effect, co-author of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, the premier eCourse Basics of Mindfulness Meditation: A 28 Day Program, the Mindful Solutions audio series, and the Mindfulness at Work? program currently being adopted in multiple multinational corporations.
By Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., at PsychCentral
In this human life we get our share of joys and our share of sorrows. The brain is wired to hang onto the fears and sorrows more than the joys so that it guard against what?s uncomfortable and keep us safe. However, in doing this we have the experience of holding onto the difficult in our lives and many of us would enjoy the ability to ?let go? a little easier.
One of my favorite paths in teaching isn?t through the intellect, but through poetry which can reach beyond the rational brain and more directly to the emotional brain where our decision making and ?holding? lies.
Here is a poem that speaks directly to the possibility of letting go.
Pause?Take a Breath?Read?See What Arises
by Reverend Safire Rose
She let go
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ?right? reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry,
she just let go.
She didn?t ask anyone for advice.
She didn?t read a book on how to let go.
She didn?t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations
about how to do it just right.
She didn?t promise to let go.
She didn?t journal about it.
She didn?t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn?t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn?t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn?t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn?t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn?t call the prayer line.
She didn?t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn?t good and it wasn?t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone
forevermore ?
by Reverend Safire Rose
She let go
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ?right? reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry,
she just let go.
She didn?t ask anyone for advice.
She didn?t read a book on how to let go.
She didn?t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations
about how to do it just right.
She didn?t promise to let go.
She didn?t journal about it.
She didn?t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn?t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn?t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn?t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn?t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn?t call the prayer line.
She didn?t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn?t good and it wasn?t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone
forevermore ?
Before you allow judgments to arise about whether it?s possible for letting go to be this close, just allow these words to settle into your mind. Sit with them, allowing for an openness to the possibility.
Elisha Goldstein is the author of Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, The Now Effect, co-author of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, the premier eCourse Basics of Mindfulness Meditation: A 28 Day Program, the Mindful Solutions audio series, and the Mindfulness at Work? program currently being adopted in multiple multinational corporations.
