RELEASE

" Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness. " - The Buddha

Release is simply the act of letting go. In every situation, you can either take responsibility and attempt to cause things to happen, or you can let go. Neither option is better or worse. Every situation is different, and only you will know what is the right thing to do in each case. There are times when you will need to take responsibility for the progression of a relationship, and times you will need to just let go and walk away, just as there are times you need to fight with your boss for what you believe and other times when you need to release the situation to save your energy for more important battles. You learn the lesson of release when you begin to choose it as a conscious act rather than as a passive means to hide from responsibility.

There will be times in your life when you will need to let go of certain self-beliefs that hold you back from creating your own reality. A woman in one of my workshops named Nancy suffered from a lack of self-esteem that was limiting her ability to create the life she wanted to live. She never felt that she deserved the best of anything, and as a result, she always settled for " good enough". Nancy traced this belief back to her childhood in Brazil, in which she was always treated as inferior to her older sister. Nancy's mother always introduced her as " the second child", which created a belief in Nancy's mind that she would always be second best. Her entire wardrobe was secondhand, and all her toys had already been enjoyed by her sister. Nancy needed to release this belief so that she could enable herself to make appropriate and deserved demands in her adult life.

Another emotion that often lurks in people's minds is anger. They cling to their anger toward their parents for the way they were raised, or toward their spouse for disappointing them, or toward fate for presenting them with injustices. This anger can fester in their unconscious minds, blocking the flow of their natural power to create their lives. They focus so intently on their negative feelings that they are blind to the power of forgiveness and release.

Sometimes negative memoreies can clutter your mind and take up the space needed in order to imagine and create a life based on what you want. It is unfortuante that "bad" things happen, but clinging to the psychic debris left behind can do even more damage than the actual event. People are able to overcome and release even the most heinous of experiences if they are willing. The human heart is remarkably resilient, and you will need to trust yours in order to release the memories that stagnate you.

Other times you will need to let go of situations, like a toxic relationship or a degrading job, so that you can create a better reality for yourself. I remember consulting a few years ago with a couple who were trapped in the sticky web of a toxic relationship. Eric and sarah were practically torturing each other with criticism, anger, and inconsiderate behavior.When I asked them why they stayed together in light of their mutual unhappiness, neither could really produce a logical answer. As we talked about their relationship, both Eric and Sarah began to see that by clinging to what was obviously an impossible situation, they could both avoid progressing with their independent lives. They both admitted a fear of having to create a new reality for themselves. This admission cerated enough awareness for the need to release that union to allow them to do so.

Regardless of what emotion or belief you have lingering in your unconscious that prevents you from creating your own reality, you can learn to release it by remmebreing two lessons you already learned: awareness and willingness. Once you become aware of what stand in your way and become willing to release it, you signal the universe that you are ready to manifest the life you were meant to live.