Dr. David R. Hawkins, a psychiatrist and spiritual thought leader, likens us to pressure cookers, ready to release steam when even slightly provoked.
His advice is to instead go right to the source fueling underlying tensions — usually repressed anger, guilt, fear and other negative feelings. Release those things, and you’re in the business of letting go.
Hawkins describes a simple yet powerful technique to moving on:
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 moralizing about it. It means to drop judgment and to see that it is just a feeling.
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.The thing to give up is trying to find relief, resolution or retribution in the past. Let go, and you’ll find promise in the present — and an easier path into the future.
from Dr. David R. Hawkins
