Many of the modern gurus such as Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle suggest that in order to grow and be happy we need to let go of negative thoughts, expectations, guilt, our past, and so on, and come into the present moment. The idea of letting go is not new and it originates from the ancient Buddhist concept of non-attachment: a state of being free of desire and suffering, which leads to higher consciousness and ultimately enlightenment.
One of my favourite explanations of letting go comes from the Osho Zen Tarot deck. The image on the card (pictured above) is of lotus leaves in the early morning.
We can see in the rippling of the water that one drop has just fallen. It is a precious moment, and one that is full of poignancy. In surrendering to gravity and slipping off the leaf, the drop loses its previous identity and joins the vastness of the water below. We can imagine that it must have trembled before it fell, just on the edge between the known and the unknowable.
To choose this card is a recognition that something is finished, something is completing. Whatever it is – a job, a relationship, a home you have loved, anything that might have helped you to define who you are – it is time to let go of it, allowing any sadness but not trying to hold on. Something greater is awaiting you, new dimensions are there to be discovered. You are past the point of no return now, and gravity is doing its work. Go with it – it represents liberation. (p.112)
As beautiful as the above description is, letting go is sometimes easier said than done, and I am often asked by clients how to let go of their negative thoughts and behavior patterns when they are aware of them, yet struggle to release them.
When we have had an experience of wounding in our past – whether emotional, psychological, physical, or sexual – that has not been healed, the remnants of that experience continue to live in our unconscious and our body, and affect the way we perceive reality. It’s like wearing a pair of glasses that affects what we see and how we make meaning out of it.
To let go of thoughts, behvaiours, and feelings that have their roots in the original wounding experience, the past needs to be released safely and compassionately in order for healing to take place. Once we work with the roots of what set the suffering in motion, the practice of letting go becomes a way of being.
One of my favourite explanations of letting go comes from the Osho Zen Tarot deck. The image on the card (pictured above) is of lotus leaves in the early morning.
We can see in the rippling of the water that one drop has just fallen. It is a precious moment, and one that is full of poignancy. In surrendering to gravity and slipping off the leaf, the drop loses its previous identity and joins the vastness of the water below. We can imagine that it must have trembled before it fell, just on the edge between the known and the unknowable.
To choose this card is a recognition that something is finished, something is completing. Whatever it is – a job, a relationship, a home you have loved, anything that might have helped you to define who you are – it is time to let go of it, allowing any sadness but not trying to hold on. Something greater is awaiting you, new dimensions are there to be discovered. You are past the point of no return now, and gravity is doing its work. Go with it – it represents liberation. (p.112)
As beautiful as the above description is, letting go is sometimes easier said than done, and I am often asked by clients how to let go of their negative thoughts and behavior patterns when they are aware of them, yet struggle to release them.
When we have had an experience of wounding in our past – whether emotional, psychological, physical, or sexual – that has not been healed, the remnants of that experience continue to live in our unconscious and our body, and affect the way we perceive reality. It’s like wearing a pair of glasses that affects what we see and how we make meaning out of it.
To let go of thoughts, behvaiours, and feelings that have their roots in the original wounding experience, the past needs to be released safely and compassionately in order for healing to take place. Once we work with the roots of what set the suffering in motion, the practice of letting go becomes a way of being.
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