Letting Go and Mental Tension
Three thoughts:
When you feel a lot of agitation, you need to be aware that your mind will look for objects (people, ideas, or situations) to focus on so that it can further increase the agitation. Tension needs fuel to burn and that fuel is normally the attachments that keep the mind from fully accepting the present moment as it is. A mind that is already caught in a storm tends to set aside rational and compassionate thinking. Passive aggressiveness and unnecessary conflicts are common when we let our mental heaviness chart the course of our actions. The mind is more familiar with turbulence than it is with peace; it most commonly swings between mental images of the past and the future. Peace requires intentional mental training because it can only be found in the present moment.
Letting go is essentially a profound acceptance of the present moment. To be able to accept what is, we have to relinquish our hold on how we wish things to be. The transformative process of letting go is a gradual journey, to be able to set aside the emotional baggage that we carry we have to find a way/train ourselves to stop living in the past. Becoming more attuned to the present does not ignore or suppress the past; the past will actually show up in the present as pathways that lead back to old behavior. The shift comes when we change our relationship to the options that keep popping up in our mind when difficult things happen. The pull to behave in old ways weakens over time as we keep choosing to behave in new ways that honor the present more than the past.How you focus your mental energy can determine the future of your life.
There is a moment that many of us go through when we realize that all of the effort we have been putting into our transformation is actually working, that a massive change is occurring. When the mind starts feeling lighter, when we feel more ease when we think about the future, when the past no longer feels like a dark weight we have to carry, when our reaction to hard moments is no longer as intense as it used to be – these changes start slowly but with time and intention they become significant. One of the biggest leaps forward is when our perception is less driven by old tough emotions and is more focused on taking in what is actually happening without making hard judgments. To be able to see and live with a fresh mind that is no longer in survival mode is a gift that we can only give ourselves.
Clarity & Connection:
My new book, Clarity & Connection, is now three weeks old! You can get a copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Book Depository for international orders, and at your local bookstore. Amazon is fully restocked and has ample copies of C&C again.
Clarity & Connection is the sequel to my first book Inward. You can open to any page for reflective material or read the book from beginning to end. C&C is for anyone going through a serious transformation and for those looking to deepen their connections.
If you loved the book and have the time, please leave a kind review on Amazon and Goodreads. A good review makes a big difference!
Mental Health Event:
This Thursday on IG Live at 7pm EST I will be having a conversation with my good friend Jeremy Fall. I love speaking with him about mental health topics because we approach it from different angles, my practice is meditation and he has benefited greatly from psychiatry. If you have any questions for us write back to this email and we will try to address them in the Q+A. Join us for this live chat.
Journal Prompt:
What new positive habits are you currently working on building? What is your strategy for maintaining and sustaining this new habit in the long-term? Are you finding the balance between being productive and being patient? What goals from the start of the year are you currently working on recommitting to?
Links:
Clarity & Connection Barnes & Noble