One of the things that keeps us from moving forward in our lives is our tendency to hold on to things that no longer serve a purpose. This can be in any aspect of life–certain activities, thoughts, worry, relationships, jobs, objects, or your past. A helpful practice to cultivate is letting go to receive the new, good things you want to create.
Everything that we attract into our lives has a higher purpose.
When that purpose is fulfilled, we need to let go in order to make room for our next stage of growth and expansion. Holding on to things that we no longer need is a form of lack thinking. I remember a comedy routine by George Carlin many years ago about how people relate to leftovers in the refrigerator. They open the door, look at the leftovers, realize they are spoiled and then put them back in the refrigerator. Of course he acted this out in a very funny way, but as I was laughing hysterically, I realized that he was absolutely right! We hold on to things long after the life has gone out of them.
Those things we hold on to past their purpose act as energetic roadblocks to our growth and to new opportunities, insights and success. Energy is always in motion. In order for the new to come into your life, you must recognize what things are no longer serving you and release them. Doing this is an act of faith in the abundance of the universe and your own ability to allow abundance.
Letting Go of What No Longer Serves
Ask yourself what you might be holding on to that no longer serves a purpose. You can tell what those things are because they have lost their sense of aliveness or meaning. Even clearing out clothes you haven’t worn in the past year or longer can be a clearing of old energy that allows the new to come in. Clear out broken equipment or anything that you aren’t using. Holding on to useless things tells your subconscious that you don’t deserve abundance.
Are you feeling burnt out or bored with your job? Perhaps it’s time to consider work that would light you up and feel like fun, joy and fulfillment. Start exploring alternatives and make a plan to prepare yourself for a change.
Do you have memories of the past when things didn’t work out well for you? When you think of the past, shift to think only of times when things worked out and you were feeling powerful, joyful and creative. If you can’t think of a time like that, use your imagination to re-write your past. Your imagination is a a gift that connects you to your soul.
Releasing Relationships
Relationships that are no longer healthy and serving both people can be released with love, whether it is a romantic relationship, friendship, or business partner. By focusing on what you want in any of these types of relationships from a place of joy, love and well-being, the relationships will either evolve or dissolve. Send love to the person and imagine letting them go. Remember that each relationship you have has a higher purpose. Don’t think that if a relationship dissolves, it’s a failure. Connect with your Higher Self and ask what the purpose was. Embrace the growth and understanding that came from it, and allow yourself to be grateful for it.
Take heart–not every relationship needs to be released! When the purpose is to help each other continue to grow and learn, it can last for a lifetime. There are marriages that have lasted for many years and the people in them seem full of life. In those cases they have continued to grow together, exploring new ideas and activities along the way. I’m happy to say my own marriage is one of those!
Letting Go of Thoughts That Keep You Stuck
Holding on to thoughts and feelings that are not in alignment with where you are now keeps you stuck. What images of yourself do you hold that don’t reflect who you really are at the highest level? What fears or worries show up for you when you think of moving ahead in life? Write a list and then flip each item to a reason why you can move ahead and why you deserve to.
Try this energy exercise to help let go.
Get in a comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. Take a few deep breaths and allow your body to relax. Imagine a beautiful, intelligent light coming to you. You can imagine this in any way you like. You might see it as a shimmering golden light, or a white light. See if you can make it even more beautiful.
Now, notice where you feel the negative thoughts or feelings in your body. Send light to those thoughts and feelings. Imagine them being surrounded by this light, and permeated with this light until they become light. Then, on your out-breath, release them to the universe. See them rise up and dissolve. You have changed your thoughts to light. Express thanks to this light and bask in the glow.
If you would like more help in releasing self-sabotaging thoughts at the subconscious level I would recommend techniques such as PSYCH-K and EFT. I am a PSYCH-K facilitator and would be happy to help.
What a perfect time of year for me to find my way to this post. With spring sprouting and erupting everywhere I look it is clearly a time for birth of the new and release of the old. As I weeded in my vegetable garden, I was acutely aware, as I tugged at large weeds, that it would have been easier to clear the garden when the weeds were smaller rather than now, when they are gargantuan. The thought arose, what beliefs have I allowed to become as deeply rooted within me as these weeds are in the garden? The roots of weeds become so intimately entwined with the asparagus and blueberry and blackberry and herb plants that it becomes much more difficult to remove them. The roots of my self-limiting beliefs, like “I’m not capable” do the same in my mind. Such thoughts are sometimes so intertwined with or buried under other seemingly less detrimental thoughts that we don’t see them as “weeds” in our garden until they are huge and entrenched. But, whenever we do discover them, a healthy dose of tenderness, self-compassion and unwavering resolve can help to remove them, release them. Thank you, Estra, for this post.
Thank YOU, Melanie! I love your thoughtful analogy of the weeds in your garden. Once they are removed the garden is free to flower and flourish in a healthy and beautiful way. And it is true that if we have contrast and don’t do anything about it, it will get bigger so we can see it clearly and deal with it. It’s all good! Thanks for stopping by.
I have found this post in a much needed time of my life, when im trying maybe to hard to keep my mind from dwelling on past unhappy expiriences trying to let go of all this baggage has not been easy, really need advice on how to let go when there is more sad memories then happy ones.
Hi Ivy, thanks for commenting. Our brains tend to pay more attention to our negative experiences than our positive ones. That served us in primitive times, but not so much now. The good news is that because of the brain’s neuroplasticity, we can retrain those thought patterns into more positive ones and create new neural pathways. You have been living with these experiences and the thoughts you have about them for so long that your brain easily goes there. Also, the law of attraction brings us a match to what we are thinking about so it will bring us more thoughts to match what we just thought unless we do something to interrupt it. I would suggest committing to being as aware of how you are feeling as you can. When you notice you are feeling bad in any way (contracted) stop and notice what thought you just had that led to that feeling. Congratulate yourself for noticing. Then, think what better feeling thought is as true or truer than the thought that produced the negative feeling. Really question your thoughts. Replace the negative thought with one that feels a little better. It doesn’t have to feel marvelous, just a little better. You just want to feel some relief. Keep going from there. Can you find a thought that feels still a little better? You can also interrupt the negative cycle by singing, dancing, working out, or taking a walk in nature.
You did say you had more sad memories than happy ones. That implies there are some good ones. When you notice yourself going down a negative memory path, stop and intentionally bring up a happy memory. And–understand that everything that happens is FOR us in some way. What did those unhappy times teach you? What have you learned, how have you grown? Once you understand the lesson and the gift of hard times in the past, you can let them go more easily. Ivy, I would love to offer you one of my free discovery sessions. I’ll email you my link to my online calendar in case you would like to schedule a call with me. No obligation. Best to you! Estra
Thank You so much for your promt attention I will welcome any help you can offer, please do email me the link to your online calendar will be looking forward to it, I also have followed your advice, it has not been easy but im working on it and I have faith that in due time I will succeed in releasing all those negative thought that torment me.