Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender

“Letting go of negative feelings is the undoing of the ego”

A close friend shared the transformative book “Letting Go: A Pathway to Surrender” with me. Gifted books hold significant meaning, and this one proved to be no exception. As someone who has long sought to maintain control over every aspect of life, I initially struggled to embrace the concept of surrender. Only recently have I come to appreciate the profound beauty and freedom of relinquishing control and living in a state of unknowns. I have turned the narrative from scary into exciting.

However, in occasional moments of anxiety and fear, I’ve found solace in a particular passage from the book that has reshaped my perspective on these emotions. I’ve felt compelled to share this sentiment with others, as it captures the profound truth that lies on the other side of mastering letting go: a deep sense of happiness and peace. This journey of surrender is not always easy, but the rewards it offers are immeasurable, leading to a life of greater resilience, ease, and fulfillment.

@melissasantamaria

The Mechanism of Letting Go 

Letting go involves being aware of a feeling, letting it come up, staying with it, and letting it run its course without wanting to make it different or do anything about it. It means simply to let the feeling be there and to focus on letting out the energy behind it. The first step is to allow yourself to have the feeling without resisting it, venting it, fearing it, condemning it, or moralising about it. It means to drop judgement and to see that it is just a feeling. It is resistance that keeps the feeling going. 

When you give up resisting or trying to modify the feeling , it will shift to the next feeling and be accompanied by a lighter sensation. A feeling that is not resisted will disappear as the energy behind it dissipates.

When letting go, ignore all thoughts. Focus on the feeling itself, not on the thoughts. Thoughts are endless and self-reinforcing, and they only breed more thoughts. Thoughts are merely rationalisations of the mind to try and explain the presence of the feeling. The real reason for the feeling is the accumulated pressure behind the feeling that is forcing it to come up in the moment.