LETTING GO...
What does that mean? How do I do that!
I’m certain that along the way, you’ve been told “You just need to let it go.”
But when you’re hurting, grieving, or confused, that can sound ridiculous and even impossible!
Recently, I listened to a Michael Singer podcast on Chit Shakti: The Journey from Distraction to Merger, and actually understood what letting go truly means.
It’s not about pretending you’re fine, erasing memories, or burying hurtful feelings.
It’s about releasing the grip on what the personal mind keeps replaying — and allowing life to move again.
The Personal Mind?
Michael calls it the personal mind — the mind filled with stored experiences, old hurts, judgments, and stories that have shaped how we see ourselves and others.
I imagine my personal mind engaging ME in a TUG OF WAR.
On one end of the rope is that relentless pull of old thoughts and hurts.
On the other end is my Self — the one who witnesses those thoughts.
On my side, I’m trying desperately to pull back… but the power of that personal mind is overwhelming — tugging fiercely, determined to win!
That struggle is resistance.
LETTING GO MEANS DROPPING THE ROPE!
Can I watch those thoughts and emotions, ready to pull me into that dark hole? Can I stop engaging in that tug of war with my personal mind?
Can I CHOOSE to let go?
Why this matters…
When we hold on to the past, it doesn’t stay in the past.
It lives inside the personal mind and echoes through our nervous system.
We replay old conversations, grievances, and fears as if they’re happening right now.
And every time we’re sucked in, we lose the tug of war!
Singer says simply, “If you can’t accept what’s already happened, you’ll pay a price every day of your life.”
That line stopped me cold.
When I think of the times I resisted what was — the silence, the distance, the unanswered texts — I recognized the true pain of what happened.
But that “personal mind” was choosing suffering in the present over and over again by not accepting that it did happen.
Letting go doesn’t mean “I approve.”
It simply means I stop fighting reality so I can finally breathe.
OK, this is hard…
Our personal mind is a control freak!
So when life doesn’t align with what it wants to happen — what it believes should happen — the personal mind tugs harder on that rope.
Letting go is not giving up.
It’s recognizing what is — and what isn’t — in our control. And gently asks us to say: “This moment is here. I will meet it as it is.”
How to Let Go?
Singer’s guidance is simply this:
When a thought, feeling, or memory surfaces — don’t fight it, and don’t follow it.
Just NOTICE IT: “I see you. There you are.”
Take a breath.
Relax your shoulders, your jaw, your heart.
When you feel that inner tug — the pull to be sucked in — picture that wise SELF letting the rope fall from your hands.
Remember…every trigger is an invitation to let go of the rope. “Freedom is not found in controlling life, but in allowing it.” — Michael Singer
As for me…
There is a noticeable shift from being at the whim of the personal mind to living without the constant weight of resistance.
When I listened to Michael Singer, I thought about all the ways I clung to my story, the unfairness, the unanswered questions, and the deep desire to be understood.
Now, I now notice the times I could easily be pulled back into that story.
I choose letting go.
There’s a huge wealth of possibilities to better fill and inspire my mind.
THE NEW SCIENCE OF LETTING GO: Releasing Pain, Reclaiming MY Authority, and Restoring Personal Power - Barbra’s next presentation - Essential before the holidays, For more INFORMATION
Thank you for this powerful truth!
I love the image of letting go of a rope.