Letting go is hard. We hold on to things from the distant past and continue to add to it as we walk the path of life. We choose to keep experiences, along with the feelings they incite, for better or worse. Usually it works against us, as the most likely energies we hold are those which are detrimental. These have the biggest impact on us. Times when we made a mistake at work or in school, chose the wrong relationship, didn’t take advantage of an opportunity, disappointed someone, or even times when others did or said something hurtful towards us, tend to stick in our minds.
Recalling upsetting moments has the same effect as they did when they actually happened. They are recorded physically, emotionally, and mentally. The process of remembering a difficult time makes our bodies tense, our heart race, our emotions flare with anger or dampen with sadness, and our thoughts go through the same paces and lines of negative thinking. This is why holding on to negative experiences and the energies they contain is detrimental to our wellbeing. It is like watching an upsetting movie over and over.
Yet we cling to these experiences as though if they are released, we will lose a piece of ourselves. That if we persist in remembering, then we are actively doing something about it. That holding onto them ensures that we will never make the same mistake again. The fault in this logic is that the damaging effects far outweigh the good. The self-deprecating beliefs that started when the incident happened continue to be reinforced each time the event is called forth.
The other difficulty produced by hanging on to the old is that fresh energies that are aligned with your current desires and ideal lifestyle are unable to come in. Space needs to open in order for the new energies to have a place; a void must be created. The thought of having a void within the self is scary on its own. That sense of the unknown makes us shudder and takes us off center. What will it be replaced with? Will it be worse than what is there now? After all, we grow used to discomfort and allow it to continue due to its familiarity.
While we can agree that it is best to let go of the old way of thinking and being brought on by past circumstances, it is much more difficult to clear it from our consciousness than simply deciding not to think about it anymore. It has become embedded into our psyche, our cells, and our emotional memory. Our senses pull in sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes that may trigger an uncomfortable memory. A feeling of heaviness may accompany the review of the negative situation.
So what is the secret of letting go of the past in order to make room for the new?
Keep the lesson and lose the negativity associated with it! We do not need the entire circumstance in our memory banks to have total recall of the valuable lesson held within. Let’s get started on clearing some of the outmoded and begin the healing and revitalization of your life:
- Stop talking about the disturbing situation. Frequently talking about a negative occurrence allows it to dig an even deeper hole into your consciousness. Say we are in a toxic relationship or hold onto the memory of one. We talk about it to anyone who will listen. The energy of this is enhanced when continuously brought up. Enlisting the help of friends to alert us when we bring it up can help us break the habit. Let go of reinforcing the situation with conversation. Bring forth fresh energy by getting out of the current toxic relationship or by remembering the lesson of knowing when it is time to leave from the last situation.
- Stop the thought in its tracks. Wear a rubber band on the wrist, and when the thought comes up, snap the rubber band and mentally yell “stop!” Let go of the tendency to beat ourselves up again and again each time the memory is recalled. Bring forth new, positive thoughts about the times, both in the past and in the present, when we did something right at work or helped someone when they needed it most.
- Dump the old energy into the ground. The accumulation of negativity is overwhelming and must be dumped on a regular basis. Stand on a piece of ground outside or over your shower drain. Release every negative thought, emotion, and memory held within. Allow all the stress of the day, all worry, doubt, and fear to drain from the body, starting at the head and moving all the way down the arms, torso, legs, out the bottoms of the feet, and into the ground. Let the negative energy flow into the ground (Mother Earth will cleanse it) until there is nothing left. Let go of everything that no longer serves you until you feel empty. Bring forth fresh Earth energy by moving ten feet away and pulling bright orange light from the center of the planet to fill in the newly opened space.
Letting go does not mean negating your past or the people in it. Rather, it is a clearing and a rejuvenation that can only occur when there is a willingness to release resentment, hurt, anger, distress, pain, and humiliation. Once this happens, the lesson is retained without the harmful side effects to make room for the glorious energies that await.
Diane Wing, M.A. is the founder of Wing Academy of Unfoldment, host of Wing Academy Radio, author of five books, and an experienced guide for those ready to see things differently. For more information and techniques about energetic health, check out her book The True Nature of Energy: Transforming Anxiety into Tranquility on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Find out more at www.WingAcademy.com
