Let Go and Be Clear

There was a time when i was really stuck thinking about a particular relationship that it consumed me everyday. It seemed that wherever i turn, i could only find myself trapped in my confusion of emotions and feelings. All my actions were colored by this internal struggle. i wasn't thinking clearly any more, and it showed, in what I did - a flurry of confused, impulsive acts that only made matters worse. Everything suffered, my sleep, my well being, my everyday functions.

But then, I saw a interesting method in one of the series I was watching. In this series, one of the protagonists was encountering the same confusion I was in. What the character did was to create a 200 day challenge. Here the character committed to replacing all negative thoughts and transformed them to positive ones that create power within.

With nowhere else to go, I created my own 200 day challenge: to transform any negative thought in my head to its positive counterpart. I challenged myself to live and think only of joy, abundance, and thanksgiving.

Miraculously, it didn't even take 200 days. By day 73, i was fee. I was able to let go. The 200 day challenge was truly a transforming experience - a simple method of letting go, and surrendering whatever was trapping me, and letting clarity and God in my life.

First, choose some attachment that troubles you - something that you are clinging to, or something you are craving for, and keep this attachment in mind as you listen to these 4 truths.

The first truth: You must choose between your attachment and happiness. You can not have both.

The moment you pick up an attachment, your heart is thrown out of kilter and your ability to lead a joyful carefree serene life is destroyed. See how true this is when applied to the attachment that you have chosen.

The second truth: Where did your attachment come from? You were not born with it. It sprang from a lie that your society and your culture have told you, or a lie that you have told yourself, namely, that without this or the other, without this person or the other, you can not be happy. Just open your eyes and see how false that is.

There are hundreds of persons who are perfectly happy without this thing or person or situation that you crave for and that you have convinced yourself that you can not live without. So make your choice: Do you want your attachment, or your freedom and happiness?

The third truth: If you wish to be fully alive, you must develop a sense of perspective. Life is infinitely greater than this trifle your heart is attached to and which you have given the power to so upset you. Trifle, yes, because if you live long enough, a day will easily come when it will cease to matter.

It will not even be remembered - your own experience will confirm this. Just as today you barely remember, are no longer the least bit affected by those tremendous trifles that so disturbed you in the past.

As so the fourth truth brings you to the unavoidable conclusion that no thing or person outside of you has the power to make you happy or unhappy. Whether you are aware of it or not, it is you who decides to be happy or unhappy, whether you will cling to your attachment or not in any give situation.

As you ponder on these truths, you may become aware that your heart is resisting them or argues against them and refuses to look at them. That is a sign that you have not yet suffered enough at the hand of your attachments to really want to do something about your spiritual radio.

Or your heart may place no resistance to these truths; if that is so, rejoice. Repentance, the refashioning of the heart has begun and the kingdom of God - within your grasp at last and you are about to reach out and take possession of it.

As one goes through everday, one will never fail to encounter the negative voice in our heads that limit us. At the very start of the day, these voices are there, even as open my eyes to a new day. These limiting voices of fears, doubts, complaints rob me of my energy and inspiration. They prevent me from taking the action needed to life the life of my dreams every moment.

What has worked for me in driving up my empowerment and inspiration everyday, is to begin each day with empowering statements about myself and what I want to accomplish - the big games I want to play, who I am who makes a difference in my own life and in the lives of others. Declaring to the one's self and the universe these empowering statements puts into focus what we truly want out of life, what inspires, and what difference we want to make in the world. It brings inner peace and clarity. Indeed, as many wise teachers say, what we believe in, what we say to ourselves, shapes how we see ourselves and how we see the world. This in turn shapes our actions, eventually shaping our results, our reality.

Indeed what Charles Haanel in his book the Master Key System is a timeless truth, "The world within creates the world without."

So, as soon as you Get Up, don't waste time. Clear Up! Then you will begin to see the miracle of the world around, every day.

I was once struck by a Korean Series entitled "That Fool", where the lead character, whenever he felt all the negative emotions well up inside him would do one simple thing. Working in a post office, he would go down to the letter stamping area, and just keep stamping the letters as fast as he could. By doing this, he clears himself.

Reflecting on this, i realized that indeed this is a way to clear one's self. A way to get out of being trapped in our thoughts and constantly thinking about the negative events or emotions, is to act. To act in a way so simple that we are absorbed in the moment. As they say, being present to the now brings joy. Thus, this simple action of stamping letters allows the lead character to focus on the action and be in the moment. This leads to letting go and clearing. Looking into this further, it may not even have to be stamping letters. We can just do simple repetitive actions when the negative emotions or thoughts attack us, to return us to the now, to return us to a clear state to allow joy and peace into our lives.

What comes to mind is an old Japanese verse speaking of this clearing process. I never understood this before, but understanding the process of letting of my attachments and negative states through simple repetitive actions shed some light on this verse. Indeed, what the Japanese monks say is true: "You will find enlightenment in chopping wood & carrying water".

Whenever I feel the negative emotions and thoughts welling up, I go running. For me, running allows me to focus on the run, on being in the present moment experiencing the rhythm of the now. Many have reported that exercise energizes them not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. I have seen this true in my life. As perform regular exercise, like running, which i usually do at the end of the day, I find myself letting go of all the negative thoughts and emotions which have i held on to within the day. Running allows me to release and let go, to surrender and be in the moment. Thus, during and after, I feel refreshed and energized.

Furthermore, they say that physical exercise unleashes the "happy hormone" - endomorphins, which bring a natural state of energy and well being to the mind and body. This allows us to feel at ease, upbeat, and uplifted.

So whenever, the negative thoughts and emotions well up, go for some exercise. Be in the moment of this activity and unleash the happy moment. I experienced that this has helped me let go of all my negative emotions and thoughts - "running them away".