The Mindful Practice of Letting Go
As the year draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the past twelve months. It's a time for introspection, a moment to assess what served us well and what didn’t. In the spirit of welcoming a fresh start, what better way to prepare for the new year than by embracing the mindful practice of letting go? Enter the Sedona Method – a powerful tool that empowers individuals to release the emotional baggage that hinders personal growth and happiness. Also having the ability to self-regulate and work through our emotions allows us to find composure by releasing the things we are unconsciously holding on to.
Let’s explore a simplified way of finding central peace and letting go of things that didn’t serve us this year. And how to practically implement it through an exercise.
Give yourself permission
Navigating the ebb and flow of emotions can be a challenging endeavor for some, often leading to a lack of self-regulation. This practice offers a compass for those seeking composure, providing a method to release the burdens that weigh them down, fostering emotional resilience.
Approaching the year's end, the combination of family and work dynamics can introduce friction into our lives. Balancing year-end functions, family obligations, and work responsibilities, including festivities like Christmas and New Years, becomes a delicate dance, all while maintaining business as usual.
This delicate dance can cause mental strain and anxiety, with stress leading to signs of physical illness and strain. Granting ourselves permission to let go is a powerful gift. It addresses internal conflicts, calms anxieties – especially recognising that not everyone finds joy at this time of year – and embraces a mindful practice of releasing what no longer serves our well-being.
Choosing to let go allows us to release any feelings that we build against someone, that by carrying ultimately causes more harm to us, either internally manifesting as ill-health or externally with our relationships.
Only six seconds
Six Seconds, a pioneering company in emotional intelligence, helps us recognise that our feelings are valuable data, capable of shaping the course of our lives.
Research tells us that the brain requires a mere six seconds to process and generate a response. It's in these fleeting moments that our reactions are formed, often influenced by the circumstances surrounding us. Understanding this fundamental aspect of human cognition gives us an opportunity to redefine the way we respond to the world around us, and the behaviour display.
Consider the everyday scenario of a spouse leaving a coffee cup on the counter and not in the dishwasher. In those six seconds, we are presented with a choice – do we default to annoyance, or do we choose to see the act as a memory of love? The power lies in our perspective, and Six Seconds encourages us to harness this power to shape more intentional and positive responses.
By recognising feelings as data, we gain insights into how we process internally. This awareness becomes a catalyst for change, prompting us to reconsider automatic and quick reactions and choose responses that align with our values. It's a mindful shift that empowers us to navigate life's intricacies with greater emotional intelligence.
What doesn’t serve us
Engaging in the mindful practice of the Sedona Method, involves connecting with our feelings and sensations. It requires us to acknowledge and release tension, calming our systems and pinpointing where these emotional challenges manifest within our bodies. A simple act like deep breathing serves as a bridge to letting go, allowing us to physically connect with our release, similar to opening a window to send out stagnant and non-serving energy.
In recent times we have seen the fragility of life and how things can change in an instant. This process is not shared to diminish grief or loss in any way but is shared to support our own journey of healing.
Now that we have covered the basics of letting go, below is a practice that you can do at home or at work.
Click here to download a copy of the below instructions.
Choosing to Let Go
Feelings are created by us and they are just feelings not facts.
It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you think about what has happened to you that leads to the emotions.
The process of releasing, leads to letting go of any unwanted emotion on the spot, and allowing some of the suppressed energy in your subconscious to dissolve.
You don’t need to wait for a feeling to be strong before you let it go. If you are feeling numb, flat or empty inside, as well as scared and angry these feelings can be let go.
This method may seem simplistic, but it is powerful.
Most of us live in our thoughts, pictures, and stories about the past and the future, rather than being aware of how we actually feel in this moment. The only time that we can actually do anything about the way we feel (and, for that matter, about our lives) is NOW.
The more you work with this process, the easier it will be for you to identify what you are feeling.
Make yourself comfortable and focus inwardly. Your eyes may be open or closed.
The Sedona Method was developed by Lester Levenson after he was given three months to live. He then lived another 42 years. Lester was a man who loved challenges. Instead of giving up, he decided to go back to the lab within himself and find some answers. Because of his determination and concentration, he was able to cut through his conscious mind to find what he needed. What he found was the ultimate tool for personal growth - a way of letting go of all inner limitations. He was so excited by his discovery that he used it intensively for a period of three months. By the end of that period his body became totally healthy again. Furthermore, he entered a state of profound peace that never left him through to the day that he died 42 years later. The Sedona Method written by Levensonʼs pupil Hale Dwoskin, explains the system that he discovered. Basically, it is extremely simple, just a mantra of three questions.
Step 1: Focus
Focus on an issue that you would like to feel better about, and then allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling in this moment.
This doesn’t have to be a strong feeling. Just choose something that is not working for you or preventing you from having what you want.
Just welcome the feeling and allow it to be there.
Step 2: Body Connection
Take your attention away from your mind and direct it to your body.
The feeling or sensation may come from your heart, your chest, your stomach or somewhere else. Once you’ve located it place your hands over the area and just feel the sensation.
Step 3: Three Questions
Ask yourself the following three questions:
Could I let this feeling go?
Would I let this go?
When; now will I let this go?
These questions are asking you if it is possible to take this action. “Yes” or “no” are both acceptable answers. You will often let go even if you say “no.”
All the questions used in this process are deliberately simple. They are not important in and of themselves but are designed to point you to the experience of letting go, the opposite of holding on.
Step 4: Window
Now imagine a window where your hands are over the feeling.
You can draw a little window and when you are ready you can open both sides of this window. As you are breathing you let go.
You can ask yourself when? This is an invitation to just let it go NOW. You may find yourself easily letting go. Remember that letting go is a decision you can make any time you choose.
Step 5: Repeat
Repeat the preceding four steps as often as you need until you feel free of that particular feeling.
You will probably find yourself letting go a little more on each step of the process. The results at first may be quite subtle. Very quickly, if you are persistent, the results will get more and more noticeable. You may find that you have layers of feelings about a particular topic. However, what you let go of is gone for good.
Conclusion
The process involves reframing our perspective. It's not about merely coming to terms with our struggles but actively releasing the grip they have on our bodies and minds. Through intentional breath and conscious effort, we cultivate a mindset of resilience, ensuring that the impact of these challenges doesn't persist in an unrelenting manner.
As we stand on the start of a new chapter, let us embrace the mindful practice of letting go. In doing so, we give ourselves the invaluable gift of internal peace, resilience, and a renewed spirit, ready to face the opportunities and challenges that the coming year holds.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at The Woohoo Company.